A Postdoctoral Researcher, at the Department of Linguistics at the University of Ghana, Dr. Nikitta Dede Adjirackor said information available online about women in Ghana’s history is often inaccurate and repurposed thereby creating and spreading misinformation.
Hence the decision to write the book, “Black and Bold Queens”. A book that details the stories of women in Ghana’s history.
“During the covid-pandemic, I was at home and wanted to find something to do. One day I decided to make a list of the people I know; the women in Ghana’s history. Of course, Yaa Asantewaa is always the name that pops up in everyone’s head. I started making a list, off the top of my head I could not reach five names. Spontaneously writing, it was very difficult so I had to take some time and come up with the names. But I did it for the men and off the top of my head I was reaching 20 names. And so, I thought, this is sad. I am an educated person and so I thought this was not a good thing. I kept compiling the list (for women) and the longer the list got, the more interested I got in their stories and I kept looking up information about them”
Speaking on The Ladies Point, Dr. Adjirackor explained that one of the major challenges when writing her book “Black and Bold Queens” was accessibility to information and its accuracy.
“One of the challenges I would say about the book has been the accessibility to information. If there is information online, it is not always right. And so, you would find information about women but it is wrong. As an academic my resources are not limited to blog articles but also academic research, monographs, books, and so there is a lot of research I ended up doing. That made me realise we needed something. We needed something especially for young people because they do not have the resources that adults would have to find information”
“Black and Bold Queens” is a book with colourful illustrations that highlights the women in Ghana’s history whose works and struggles contributed to the nation’s development and attainment of independence.
Dr. Adjirackor envisages this becoming a reference book for individuals at various educational levels to learn more about the women in Ghana’s history from diverse fields and backgrounds.
“I was particular about the different types of women. The different classes, different geography and so not just women from Accra but women who were living in different parts of the country. Women with different careers and women with different educational levels, so some of the women are market women……like Dedei Ashikishan. Her work was very important for financing the CPP. There are pilots, writers, photographers among others”
She is optimistic that someday the book would be a part of Ghana’s Educational Curriculum to allow children and young adults to learn more about women in Ghana’s history
“I hope that this book helps with the information that young people have. In the sense that it becomes eventually part of the curriculum because we do not have books like this. If this becomes a part of the curriculum, then it becomes a very useful book that schools can access and students can access”
The book “Black and Bold Queens” officially launches on Tuesday16th May 2023 at the J.H Nketsia Hall at the Institute of African Studies. The book would be available for purchase on the following websites. www.mybooksiebox.com www.yellowmangopress.com www.booknook.store
