Ghana was the first country in sub-Saharan Africa to gain independence from colonial domination on March 6, 1957.
At the time it was the black shining star of Africa, and its future looked promising.
The West African country’s independence from the British was led by Dr Kwame Nkrumah, but he didn’t do it all alone. Apart from the support he had from men, women also played some key critical roles in the struggle for independence.
This article will throw some light on six women who were instrumental in Ghana’s independence struggle.
It is important to note that these women supported Dr Nkrumah and the other founding fathers through various means, in their bid to liberate Ghana from colonial rule.
Six women who were very influential in Ghana’s fight for independence:
- Ama Nkrumah
She was one of the few female political activists at the time. Ama Nkrumah was with Kwame Nkrumah through Ghana’s independence struggle.
She served in a number of political roles pre and post independence. She was a fearless leader who showed great courage and gave everyone a reason to still fight on.
“While I was in jail and the party organisation was at its most critical period, I learned that at a rally in Kumasi, a woman party member adopted the name of Ama Nkrumah (Ama being the female equivalent of “Kwame”) got up on the platform and ended the fiery speech by getting hold of a blade and slashing her face. Then smearing the blood over her body, she challenged the men to do likewise in order to show that no sacrifice was too great in their struggle for freedom and independence,” this is what Kwame Nkrumah wrote about her in March 1957 issue of The Crisis – a journal of civil rights, history, politics, and culture founded by W.E.B. Du Bois.
- Sophia Oboshie Doku
Sophia Oboshie Doku was one of the devoted female activists who played a great role in Ghana’s independence movement.
Sophia Oboshie Doku
She was also the first female parliamentarian in the first Parliament of the First Republic of Ghana under President Kwame Nkrumah.
- Mabel Dove Danquah
Mabel was the wife of one of the Big Six, J.B Danquah. She got into politics after Kwame Nkrumah founded the Convention People’s Party (CPP), in 1949, and she became a member of staff of the nationalist Accra Evening News, joining the campaign for the end of British rule and immediate self-government for the Gold Coast.
Mabel Dove-Danquah
She was the women organiser for the CPP In the 1954 general election. ,She was subsequently put up as a CPP candidate for Ga Rural constituency, which she won. Her election made her the first female member of the Legislative Assembly of the Gold Coast.
- Rebecca Naa Dedei Aryeetey
Naa Dedei Aryeetey also known as Dedei Ashikishan was a businesswoman, political activist and a feminist.
She was popularly known for her flour business in Accra.
Rebecca Naa Dedei Aryeetey
She was known to be the chief financier of the then CPP party and led CPP women activities at her house in Kokomlemle. As a political activist of the CPP, she campaigned and funded Nkrumah and the CPP party.
She financed Nkrumah to win the Ashiedu Keteke legislative council seat which made him the first Prime Minister of Ghana.
She is also the woman on Ghana’s 50 Pesewas coin.
- Agnes Oforiwa Tagoe-Quarcoopome
She was one of the women who supported Dr Kwame Nkrumah in the fight for independence.
She was also a market queen and a businesswoman at Makola and Okaishie.
Agnes Oforiwa Tagoe-Quarcoopome
She became close friends with Kwame Nkrumah when he had to stay with her for a short time after his arrival from the UK to Ghana to join the United Gold Coast Convention (UGCC) as General Secretary.
As a staunch member of the Convention People’s Party (CPP), she supported Kwame Nkrumah by mobilizing the Makola Women Association and generated massive funds for Nkrumah’s independence campaign. She organised several meetings at the market places for Nkrumah to speak with the market women.
- Hannah Kudjoe
Hannah Kudjoe was a prominent activist in the 1940s and 1950s. She was one of the first high-profile female nationalists in the independence movement, and was the National Propaganda Secretary for the Convention People’s Party.
Hannah Kudjoe
In March 1948, when the Big Six of the party were arrested, she raised money and led a campaign for their release.
