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Ecofeminism and Social Learning as a Framework for Addressing Child Undernutrition and Gender Inequality: A Case Study of Women-Led Activism in Northern Ghana


Authors : Mohammed Ali; Zakaria Abotiyire Iddrisu; Damata Mohammed Yakubu

Volume/Issue : Volume 11 - 2026, Issue 6 - June


Google Scholar : https://tinyurl.com/mwjt6ps7

Scribd : https://tinyurl.com/r26vvvt9

DOI : https://doi.org/10.38124/ijisrt/26jun981

Note : A published paper may take 4-5 working days from the publication date to appear in PlumX Metrics, Semantic Scholar, and ResearchGate.


Abstract : Child undernutrition and gender inequality in Northern Ghana are systemic challenges, shaped by structural, ecological, and social factors. In that context, this paper considers ecofeminism and social learning as complementary frameworks to address these problems. Ecofeminism foregrounds women’s ecological knowledge, caregiving activities, and subsistence labor in sustainable food systems and elucidates systematically embedded disparities that perpetuate vulnerability. Social learning theory supports this stance by outlining how such practices and knowledge are transmitted, sustained, and scaled up in communities, and it recognises observation, modelling, and collective engagement as determinants of behaviour change. Applying information and case studies, the paper illustrates how women-led agroecology, farmer field schools, and peer mentoring programs represent both ecofeminist principles and social learning processes, yielding outcomes of improved food security, greater dietary variety, and child health outcomes. There are also references to global ecofeminist and social learning movements, which lend added relevance for these frameworks to help drive food sovereignty, health justice, and gender equity. The academic study fills a gap by theoretically infusing ecofeminism and social learning into a dual lens of analysis for women-led activism and, practically, as one that highlights paths, specifically policy and community interventions. The research also finds that encouraging women to participate in activism and collective learning offers sustainable, equitable, and community-driven solutions to child undernutrition and gender inequality in Ghana that resonate around the world in its discussions of nutrition and health justice.

Keywords : Ecofeminism, Social Learning Theory, Child Undernutrition, Gender Inequality, and Ghana.

References :

  1. Bandura, A. (1977). Social learning theory. Prentice-Hall.
  2. Bandura, A. (2001). Social cognitive theory: An agentic perspective. Annual Review of Psychology, 52(1), 1–26. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.psych.52.1.1 (doi.org in Bing)
  3. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. (2022). Evaluation of FAO’s country programme in Ghana 2018–2022. FAO. https://doi.org/10.4060/cc0639en
  4. Gaard, G. (2017). Critical ecofeminism. Bloomsbury Academic.
  5. Ghana Statistical Service. (2023). Demographic and Health Survey 2022. Ghana Statistical Service.
  6. Lawrence, R., et al. (2024). Community-based nutrition and agroecology in Northern Ghana. Journal of African Development Studies, 36(2), 145–162.
  7. Merchant, C. (1980). The Death of Nature: Women, Ecology, and the Scientific Revolution. Harper & Row.
  8. Mies, M., & Shiva, V. (1993). Ecofeminism. Zed Books/Fernwood Publications.
  9. Salami, T. (2024). Decolonial ecofeminism and food justice in West Africa. African Feminist Studies, 12(1), 55–72.
  10. Siegel, L. (2024). Ecofeminism intraconnectivism: Working beyond binaries in environmental education. Gender and Education, 36(4), 328–344. https://doi.org/10.1080/09540253.2024.1234567 (doi.org in Bing)
  11. United Nations Children’s Fund. (2024). Global nutrition report: Country profile Ghana. UNICEF/WHO/World Bank.
  12. United Nations Children’s Fund. (2025). UNICEF Ghana annual report 2024. UNICEF.

Child undernutrition and gender inequality in Northern Ghana are systemic challenges, shaped by structural, ecological, and social factors. In that context, this paper considers ecofeminism and social learning as complementary frameworks to address these problems. Ecofeminism foregrounds women’s ecological knowledge, caregiving activities, and subsistence labor in sustainable food systems and elucidates systematically embedded disparities that perpetuate vulnerability. Social learning theory supports this stance by outlining how such practices and knowledge are transmitted, sustained, and scaled up in communities, and it recognises observation, modelling, and collective engagement as determinants of behaviour change. Applying information and case studies, the paper illustrates how women-led agroecology, farmer field schools, and peer mentoring programs represent both ecofeminist principles and social learning processes, yielding outcomes of improved food security, greater dietary variety, and child health outcomes. There are also references to global ecofeminist and social learning movements, which lend added relevance for these frameworks to help drive food sovereignty, health justice, and gender equity. The academic study fills a gap by theoretically infusing ecofeminism and social learning into a dual lens of analysis for women-led activism and, practically, as one that highlights paths, specifically policy and community interventions. The research also finds that encouraging women to participate in activism and collective learning offers sustainable, equitable, and community-driven solutions to child undernutrition and gender inequality in Ghana that resonate around the world in its discussions of nutrition and health justice.

Keywords : Ecofeminism, Social Learning Theory, Child Undernutrition, Gender Inequality, and Ghana.

Paper Submission Last Date
31 - July - 2026

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