GAF Documentary

This dataset includes a short documentary video titled Silent Titans, directed by Ghanaian filmmaker Magdalene Kwashie. The film explores the experiences of women serving in the Ghana Armed Forces, focusing on their roles in male-dominated specialties such as mechanical operations, leadership, and combat training. Through a combination of interviews and observational footage, the documentary captures personal narratives that reveal the challenges, negotiations, and affirmations of gender identity within a traditionally patriarchal institution. Research Hypothesis: The study hypothesizes that, despite efforts toward gender integration, women in the Ghanaian military continue to face implicit and explicit gender-based barriers that shape their professional identity and access to opportunities. Data Contents: Video file: Silent Titans (approx. 12 minutes), in MP4 format. Data Collection & Preparation: The documentary was created through primary fieldwork, using filmed interviews with consenting participants who discussed their professional and personal experiences within the military. The transcript was manually prepared from the video and reflects the exact verbal content of the participants. No personal identifiers have been removed, and the material is presented as it appears in the film for scholarly analysis. Notable Findings: The analysis revealed four major themes: Negotiating Work-Family Balance – Participants detailed the physical and emotional strain of combining military duties with domestic responsibilities. Gendered Role Expectations – Stereotypes and structural norms continue to influence the types of roles women are assigned. Institutional Support and Barriers – While some superiors support women’s advancement, broader institutional practices often hinder full participation. Agency and Identity Formation – The women assert strong identities and challenge limiting gender norms through discipline, performance, and self-expression. Interpretation and Use: This dataset is valuable for researchers in gender studies, military sociology, African studies, and media or film analysis. The documentary offers rich audiovisual material for studying how gender is negotiated in hierarchical, male-dominated environments. The transcript supports textual analysis, making the data suitable for thematic coding, discourse analysis, and education in feminist media practice and qualitative research本数据集包含加纳电影制作人玛德琳·夸希（Magdalene Kwashie）执导的短篇纪录影片《沉默的巨擘》（Silent Titans）。本片聚焦加纳武装部队（Ghana Armed Forces）女性服役人员的军旅生涯，重点探讨她们在机械操作、领导职务、战斗训练等男性主导的专业领域中所扮演的角色。本片结合访谈与纪实镜头，记录下诸多个人叙事，展现了她们在这一传统父权制体制中所遭遇的挑战、所进行的身份协商，以及对自身性别身份的肯定。 研究假设： 本研究提出如下假设：尽管加纳军方已推行性别融合相关举措，但军中女性仍会遭遇显性与隐性的性别壁垒，这些壁垒会影响她们的职业身份建构与机会获取。 数据内容： 视频文件：《沉默的巨擘》（Silent Titans），时长约12分钟，格式为MP4。 数据采集与预处理： 本片通过原始田野调查制作完成，采集了经知情同意的受访对象的访谈影像，受访者讲述了自身在军中的职业与个人经历。研究人员从视频中手动整理出访谈文本，完整还原了受访者的口头表述内容。本数据集未移除任何个人身份标识，所有素材均保留影片原貌，以供学术分析使用。 核心研究发现： 分析共揭示四大核心主题： 1. 工作与家庭的平衡协商：受访者详述了兼顾军事职责与家庭责任时所承受的生理与精神双重压力。 2. 性别化角色期待：刻板印象与结构性社会规范仍在影响女性被分配的工作岗位类型。 3. 体制支持与壁垒：尽管部分上级会支持女性的职业晋升，但整体体制性规则往往会阻碍女性的全面参与。 4. 主体性与身份建构：女性通过严守军纪、精进表现与自我表达，塑造了坚定的自我身份，并挑战了限制性的性别规范。 解读与应用价值： 本数据集适用于性别研究、军事社会学、非洲研究以及媒体/电影分析领域的研究者。本片提供了丰富的视听素材，可用于研究在层级化、男性主导的环境中，性别身份是如何被协商与建构的。配套的访谈文本可支持文本分析，因此本数据集适用于主题编码、话语分析，以及女性主义媒体实践与质性研究的教学场景。