Social barriers hindering women in the performance of Akpi and Adevu musical types in Logba Traditional area in Ghana

Musical types and their performances are means by which artistes in such professions make their living. But in the Logba Traditional area in the Volta region of Ghana where the people are so much enthuse with art and cultural related events, women seems to have been left out or disadvantage when it comes to the performance of some traditional musical ensembles such as Akpi and Adevu. The study sought to find out the barriers that hinder women artistes who want to go into performance of those musical types. The study adopted the qualitative design and made use of interviews and participant observation as some of the tools for gathering data. Sampling methods that were equally used covered purposive, Snowball and Random. The target population for the study comprises music students in the area, cultural coordinators, traditional musicians, and women with musical talents. The study revealed some of the social barriers hindering women when it comes to the performance of Akpi and Adevu musical types as Taboos, superstitions and marital ties. The study is useful to society as it could serve as a reference material for musicians, anthropologies as well as policy makers in the country. The study equally recommended that, cultural festivals should be instituted in the area to help explore talents among all genders. In addition, traditional authorities should perform their rites to eliminate the superstitious and taboos barring women from engaging in the performance the traditional musical types. Besides, music in general should be giving a priority in the educational curriculum so that, it would be well appreciated in society.