Has Ghana forgotten the ‘Founding mothers’ of its independence struggle? – Okyeame Kwame asks

Legendary rap musician, Kwame Nsiah Appau also known as Okyeame Kwame, has expressed dissatisfaction towards the omission of women who contributed immensely towards the country’s independence.

According to him, it is sad to line up six men (the Big Six) as the only people who fought for independence without also acknowledging some women who played key roles in the course.

“Last week, we marked Founders’ Day and celebrated it as a national holiday. Many well-intentioned Ghanaians paraded a popular picture of the prominent people who helped to found Ghana. There were six males - not a single female. The inscription that accompanied this picture was “founding fathers.” That made me feel an immediate surge of disappointment.

“That was when I decided against celebrating the occasion on social media. I was so confused by the inscription ‘founding fathers’ that I started to question why there was not a single female named among those who struggled for independence.

“That led to my next series of questions: Didn’t any woman participate in the legislation of pre Ghana Gold-Coast to create the laws that will set Ghana free? Didn’t any woman go to jail for her stance on the truth in the fight against colonialism,” he wrote on Facebook.

The ‘rap dacta’ nonetheless eulogised two women in the persons of Akua Asabea Ayisi and Mabel Dove Danquah as people who did not only serve the country but also contributed to the country’s freedom.

“Akua Asabea Ayisi was Cambridge-trained, lawyer, former High Court judge and the first female Ghanaian journalist. She wrote many articles to enlighten the people of Ghana to seek beyond colonial rule. She trained in journalism with popular names like Dr. Kwame Nkrumah and Mabel Dove Danquah. Alongside Kwame Nkrumah, she wrote political pamphlets in the Accra Evening News to demand independence. She also mobilized the youth to vehemently oppose colonial oppression.

“Mabel Dove Danquah was a journalist, political activist and one of the unsung heroes who offered support to the C.P.P. after its formation. She entered politics in 1950 before Ghana’s independence and became the first woman to be an elected woman of the African legislative assembly. Not only did she contribute to the laws that would set Ghana free from colonialism but also for the entire continent of Africa.

Read his full post below