It took a woman – Nii Okai Sekyere writes

On 23rd October 2025, Ghanaians were shocked to learn of the passing of the nation’s longest-serving First Lady, Mrs. Nana Konadu Agyeman-Rawlings. Upon hearing the news, I teared up, even though I had never had a personal encounter with the former First Lady.

My mind immediately went back to 21st May 2022. I was part of a group from the evangelism ministry of my church in Cape Coast, tasked with collecting data about the communities where we intended to hold a crusade.

Upon arriving at Kwesikwaa, one of the villages on the border between the Central and Western Regions of Ghana, the evangelism ministry coordinator and I were assigned to speak to a few people while the rest of the team continued to other adjoining communities. We spoke with a couple of people in the village, including the only nurse at the CHIPS compound and the Assemblyman.Ghanaian cultural products

It was a memorable experience, but my encounter with the Assemblyman is forever etched in my memory. He took my partner and me to see the borehole in the community, their only source of potable water.

Pointing to the inscription beneath the borehole, he told us it had been in use since it was drilled in the 1990s. Children and women alike were fetching water into their yellow gallons and tray pans. The Assemblyman, a retired teacher with gray hair, said with a smile, “This borehole was commissioned by Nana Konadu Agyeman-Rawlings. She came here herself to commission it.”

To say I was stunned is an understatement. In a country where developmental projects are often done shabbily and fail within a few years, here stood a borehole that, though slightly rusty, still provided life to hundreds. Secondly, I could not believe the wife of the then-President of Ghana had bothered to visit this remote village—which would have been even more remote in the 1990s. It was also my first real-life interaction with the work of Mrs. Agyeman-Rawlings.

Before this experience, I had seen Mrs. Agyeman-Rawlings on television several times. She often graced national events such as Independence Day celebrations and State of the Nation Addresses alongside her husband, wearing her colorful Kaba and slit with her signature headgear.

I knew from conversations with older family members that some of my aunts were members of the 31st December Women’s Movement. Through this movement, Mrs. Agyeman-Rawlings taught Ghanaian women to be politically conscious and financially independent. Many women were trained in income-generating skills such as cassava processing, soap-making, and beekeeping.

In addition to civic education, the movement taught mostly rural women how to read and write. I also knew of “31st,” a locality in Teshie, Accra, named after the daycare center the movement established to provide a safe environment for children while their mothers worked. This was one of nearly 1,000 nurseries built by the movement. At a time when women in Ghana were financially disadvantaged and faced social barriers, her work was revolutionary.

In healthcare, the movement organized health sessions in rural communities and inner cities to educate women on prenatal and postnatal care. These are just a few of the initiatives she led to improve the lives of ordinary Ghanaians—all without government support.

Mrs. Rawlings’ legacy as a politician is more complicated. During nearly two decades as First Lady, she was often perceived as the actual power behind the Presidency. In a patriarchal society like Ghana, where women are often relegated to the background, her assertiveness, outspokenness, and frankness made her a lightning rod for criticism. Her refusal to confine herself to ceremonial duties and her interest in nation-building unnerved those who considered her overly ambitious.

Such sentiments intensified when she contested a sitting President, Prof. J.E.A. Mills, during her party’s presidential primaries in 2012. Her subsequent defection from the National Democratic Congress (NDC) to form the National Democratic Party (NDP) earned her more detractors, who painted her political ambitions negatively. In 2016, she became the first woman to contest the Presidency of Ghana.

Despite the controversies, one cannot deny the boldness it took for her to forge a place in an environment historically hostile to women. While one may disagree with her methods or her unprecedented challenge to a sitting President, her actions forced a national conversation about women’s political participation, ambition, and leadership—a conversation that continues today. Her departure from the NDC and formation of the NDP demonstrated her unwillingness to be sidelined, a trait that drew both admiration and criticism.

Nana Konadu was a strong woman who evoked strong emotions. She refused to follow the script written for Ghanaian women of her generation. Her work through the 31st December Women’s Movement empowered millions, her community projects transformed lives, and her political courage broke ceilings that many women now walk under with confidence.

Her legacy is not easy to summarize. But she was a privileged woman who used her influence to empower less-privileged women in Ghanaian society. Arguably, she is the most influential woman in modern Ghanaian public life. In the spirit of Nana Yaa Asantewaa, who courageously resisted British oppression, Mrs. Rawlings continued the legacy of courageous Ghanaian womanhood through her steadfast fight for the dignity of ordinary women.

As I reflect on the day she passed, my mind returns to that borehole in Kwesikwaa—rusty, weathered, and unassuming, yet still giving life, just like her legacy. Far from Accra and the hurly-burly of politics, her impact was simple and enduring. For as long as debates about her legacy continue, the water will continue to flow, and the women she empowered will continue to stand tall. That, perhaps, is the truest measure of a life well lived.

One day, a woman will be President of this country. When that day arrives, may we not forget the tireless work that came before and how it took a woman to light that path.