International Women’s Day: 5 Inspirational Women From Ghana

It’s International Women’s Day! Ghana has been home to many inspiring and prominent women, from painters, poets, and activists, to engineers, business owners, and athletes. In order to celebrate the contributions and hard work of women all around the world, let’s have a look at some great women from Ghana, a beautiful country and a great place to start if you’ve ever considered traveling to Africa.

Farida Bedwei

Farida Bedwei (b. 1979), who was diagnosed with cerebral palsy at the age of 1, didn’t let that stop her from achieving her goals. Her determination and know-how has led the software engineer to become co-founder of Logiciel, a cloud software service that hundreds of African microfinance companies rely on for their businesses to function.

Esther Afua Ocloo

Esther Afua Ocloo (1919-2002), an attendee of the very first UN World Conference on Women in 1975, was an entrepreneur with humble beginnings, selling fruit juices and marmalade. From there she eventually climbed her way to a position operating a bank tailored to aiding low-income women. She was also chairman of the board of directors of Women’s World Banking, and came to the aid of millions of women looking to start businesses and bring prosperity to their communities.

Theodosia Okoh

Theodosia Salome Abena Kumea Okoh (1922-2015) is most well known as the designer of the beautiful national flag of Ghana in 1957, which served as inspiration for the designs of many other African nations’ flags. This extremely skilled and talented woman was not just a multidisciplinary artist, she was also a teacher, writer, and athlete, who played a pivotal role in the development of hockey in Ghana. She was also given an official Grand Medal by the state for her myriad achievements in service to her country. Upon her passing, Ghanaian flags were flown at half mast for three days.

Ama Ata Aidoo

A celebrated writer, playwright, and poet, Ama Ata Aidoo is an illustrious African writer who serves as inspiration for other African authors such as Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and Lola Shoneyin. Her writing is lush with detail that brings color and life to her work in a way no one else can replicate. She is also known for the support group she created for African women writers, Mbaasem, and has the first West African creative writing center named after her.

Efua Sutherland

Efua Sutherland (1924-1996) is a prominent Ghanaian author and playwright who wrote in both English and Akan. She was also involved in radio broadcasting, creative direction, and teaching, who contributed greatly to the development of literary and dramatic arts in Ghana. Her efforts in academia and government gave birth to drama studios, writer’s societies, a community story house project known as the Kodzidan, and Afram Publications. Her work allowed for the teaching of African theater at the university level.

If you want to get in touch with the country that brought forth such great and inspiring women, you can contact Texas Tower Houston at 713-874-1420 about expediting both your passport and your Ghana visa. We are ready to assist you with your passport and visa needs and wish you a wonderful International Women’s Day.