MOTHER OF THE NATION
Born Nana Konadu Agyeman in the Ghanaian city of Cape Coast, she came from a middle-class family and was the third of seven children.
Her father was J.O.T. Agyeman, whose lineage descended from the Ashanti Royal Family.
J.O.T. Agyeman was a technocrat who worked at unifying different tribes in the country. He believed in peaceful discussion, not political violence.
Nana’s mother was called Felicia. She was a schoolteacher and initially Nana was home educated.
At the time of Nana’s birth, Ghana was a British colony called the Gold Coast. The country gained independence in 1957.
Ghana’s Independence Day is the 6th March.
As she grew up and had younger siblings, Nana was sent to the Ghana International School, followed by a prestigious boarding school called Achimota, in the capital city of Accra.
Nana was the school’s top athlete, winning competitions in the 100 metres, 200 metres, Relay and Long Jump. She also sang in the school choir.
For her main exam subjects, Nana studied the sciences. One day, her class was taken to a morgue for an anatomy lesson. Nana refused to enter. “There are dead bodies in there. I’m not going in.”
Nana was reported to the Headmaster, who transferred her to the Arts – where she flourished.
It was whilst at school that Nana met her future husband, Jerry Rawlings.
When Jerry first saw Nana, he was a fifteen-year-old student at a nearby Catholic school, (her school was Protestant), and he was immediately besotted. He renounced Catholicism to go to the same school as her – in the hope he would meet her.
In his new school, Jerry joined the choir (even though he admitted he was a terrible singer).
Shortly after Jerry joined, Nana was expelled from the choir.
“I don’t know what Nana and her friends did wrong, but they were kicked out by the Music teacher – so I was stuck in there wondering what I could do to get kicked out.”
Jerry always claimed he was a slave to her love. Nana never told him why she had been thrown out of the choir.
Initially, Nana treated Jerry with contempt – so he was stunned when he asked her for a date, and she accepted. It was to be a lifelong romance.
After leaving school, Nana went to the University of Science and Technology, to study art and textiles.
There, she became Student Leader of her Halls of Residence (Africa Hall).
However, Jerry did not continue with his education, instead joining the Ghanaian air force as a Pilot Officer. There, he gained rapid promotions.
Despite his evidently successful career, Nana’s mother was unconvinced that Jerry was the right match for her daughter. Whenever he visited Nana, her mother refused to let him into the house until he had washed her car.
Nana and Jerry married in 1977. They were to have four children: Zanetor, Amina, Kimathi and Yaa.
Nana got a diploma in Interior Design from the London College of Arts. She received other awards from different establishments in ‘Advanced Personnel Management’ and ‘Development’.
She also gained a degree on ‘Philanthropy and Non-Profit Organisations’ from Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore.
In 1978, Jerry was promoted to the rank of Flight Lieutenant.
The following year, Jerry Rawlings led a military coup, ousting the government of Fred Akuffo.
Jerry was made Chairman of the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council. He effectively ruled Ghana. He was only thirty-two years old.
This made Nana the first lady – albeit briefly.
After three months in charge of the country, Jerry handed over the reins to new president, Hilla Limann.
Limann’s time in power was not a success, and in 1981 Rawlings led another military coup. This time, he was titled Chairman of the Provisional National Defense Council.
Just eight days later, Jerry Rawlings made himself President. He ruled for twenty years – the longest serving in Ghanaian history. Jerry created his own political party, the National Democratic Congress (NDC).
His wife, Nana, became one of his chief advisors.
She set up the ‘31st of December Women’s Movement’. It was named after the day that her husband seized power. Jerry saw it as a wing of the NDC.
Nana disagreed with him. She insisted it was a non-governmental organisation.
Nana used the movement to empower women, particularly in poor, rural areas. It taught them trades and skills, enabling them not only to provide for their families but help build the communities around them.
Her speech to launch the women’s movement, is remembered in Africa to this day.
“My desire is to see the emancipation of women at every level of development to enable them to contribute and benefit from the socio-economic and political progress of the country.”
She added, “Women’s vital role of promoting peace in the family, the country and the world at large must be acknowledged. And to do this, they must be empowered politically to equip them adequately for the challenges of critically identifying and assessing solutions for the betterment of society.”
Nana claimed she had three areas she intended to improve in women’s lives – ‘Health, Education and Literacy.’ – Before her intervention, many poor women in Gahana were illiterate.
She announced at a political conference in Beijing, “For us in Africa, the girl is a special concern.”
Nana was also the driving force behind the ‘Intestate Succession Law (1989)’ enabling women and children to have inheritance rights. Up to this point, they had been excluded from all wills.
Single-handedly, Nana campaigned (successfully) to have child marriage banned in the country. She set up daycare centres, adult literacy courses and argued for ethical and sustainable oil extraction (Ghana’s biggest export).
The 31st December Women’s Movement not only raised literacy standards but improved the nation’s health through nutrition and immunization campaigns, and encouraged women to participate in the electoral process.
It created co-operatives to enable cottage industries to flourish.
Their mission statement was, ‘Making women self sufficient and self reliant.’
Nana was not without opposition. Before her, the role of the First Lady was merely to support her husband and take no active part in politics.
Newspapers led a hate campaign for over ten years, accusing her of corruption, being power obsessed and ostentatious (she had an exquisite taste in clothes). All of the ‘media bashing’ (as she called it), was sexist, but it did not faze her – “I chose to be visible and outspoken. I chose to do what is right for the people.”
In 1991, Ghana became the first country in the world to ratify the ‘United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child’.
The following year, democracy returned to Ghana. President Rawlings re-introduced free elections. Nana ensured women had the same voting rights as men.
Nineteen women were elected as MPs – the first ever in Ghana.
Rawlings won the election comfortably and promptly introduced a new constitution for the country.
Nana made sure gender equality was a key component of the constitution.
In 1995, President Jerry and First Lady Nana, toured the USA, developing trade links. They met with US President Bill Clinton and his wife, Hillary – who became close friends.
Nana and Jerry were both awarded honorary degrees from Lincoln University in Pennsylvania.
In 2002, Jerry stepped down as president. He was succeeded by John Kufuor.
Nana had been First Lady for nineteen years – a Ghanaian record.
The Rawlings had been a dynamic, forceful and glamourous presidential couple who were sometimes controversial.
In 2009, Nana became Vice President of the NDC (National Democratic Congress), a role she held for two years.
Nana made her own bid for power in 2012, trying to be the presidential candidate for the NDC – but she was unsuccessful in her bid, being beaten to the nomination by John Atta Mills.
She tried again in 2016, this time securing the NDC nomination. Despite being labelled ‘The Hillary Clinton of Africa’, Nana polled badly.
Her third and final attempt to become President of Ghana came in 2020. By now, she was the leader of the NDC.
However, one month before the elections, Nana’s husband Jerry died, aged just 73. Her heart was no longer in politics, and she stopped campaigning.
Shortly afterwards, Nana wrote an autobiography called ‘It Takes a Woman’.
Nana was asked if she felt her women’s movement had been a success.
She responded, “A lot of women are now on committees in their villages and districts, and some are even the chair of their committees. I can only say we’ve made a lot of impact, and I can see from the self-esteem and near arrogance of the women, that now we’ve actually been able to break through that thick wall.”
Nana’s eldest daughter, qualified surgeon Dr Zanetor Agyeman-Rawlings is currently a member of parliament, representing the NDC.
Aged 76, Nana was rushed to hospital in Accra, suffering an asthma attack. She died shortly afterwards.
At the time of her death, the ‘31st of December Women’s Movement’ had over two million members. They had opened 870 schools in Ghana – and had introduced family planning to rural areas.
There have been many tributes to Nana, and grief swept over Ghana.
Parliament was shut for a few days as a mark of respect to her, not opening again until after Nana’s funeral. There were three days of national mourning for her, and the President, John Mahama (a former political rival of Nana’s), granted her a state funeral.
Mahama, called Nana, “An advocate for women in African politics.”
He also described her as, “The Mother of the Nation.”
Nana has been cited as, “An instrumental part of the revolution in Ghana’s economy as women are the largest part of the work force.”
The current leader of the 31st December Movement, Rebecca Akufo-Addo said, “Nana’s courage, strength and devotion to equality, continue to inspire generations to dream boldly and lead fearlessly.”
Before Nana, women had no rights in Ghana. Now, they are regarded as equal to men – a wonderful legacy.
RIP – Resisting Inequality (in) Politics
