'I started going to the mortuary at age 3' - 24-year-old 'mortuary woman' tells her story

Ghanaian young female mortician, funeral undertaker, embalmer, and hearse driver Ewurabena Quartey has opened up on how she got involved in the sector, which is mainly dominated by men and seen as a preserve of less educated people.

In an interview on Raw with Roselyn, Quartey, a 24-year-old university graduate, stated that she began visiting her parents at the mortuary when she was just three years old because it was their family business.

According to her, family members who witnessed those moments have testified that she was never afraid whenever she visited the mortuary.

She explained that she saw the mortuary as her parents' workplace and felt it was natural to visit them there, just as any child would visit their parents at work.

"It's like your parents having a poultry farm or anything else and from time to time you will visit the place. I asked my parents at what age I should start going to the mortuary and they said 3 years."

But was she scared of the dead bodies?

She said, "Per the stories I've heard from my aunties, relatives and friends, it didn't look like I was scared."

She said she was too young to understand what went on at the mortuary. However, as she grew older, she gradually became involved in the work. Although seeing some disfigured bodies initially frightened her, she had to build her confidence and adapt because it was her family's business.

After completing her tertiary education, she made the bold decision to take over the family business from her parents. She explained that she wanted to sustain the business as they were growing older, while also considering the challenges of securing employment in Ghana.

"After tertiary, I had the chance to come to Accra to look for jobs and it didn’t go smoothly as I expected, so I had to go back home, rethink about everything and talk to my parents and my siblings, and we all decided that since I'm the only person who can manage it, why not? Because at some point we had to close it down as my dad was ageing."

Sharing her first experience of bathing a dead body, Ewurabena said it was no different from bathing someone who was asleep.

In many African societies, especially in Ghana, children are often afraid to visit mortuaries. However, Ewurabena made the bold decision to put her educational career on hold to take over and sustain her family's business, one that many people would reject.

At the age of 18, the now 24-year-old defied the odds and has been managing the mortuary established by her father for the past seven years.

Watch the interview below:



BAI

AROUND TOWN: Are Toyota Voxy vehicles fit for Ghana’s roads?