Hannah Kudjoe

Hannah Kudjoe (December 1918 – 9 March 1986), née Hannah Dadson, was a prominent activist for Ghanaian independence in the 1940s and 1950s. She was one of the first high-profile female nationalists in the movement[2], and was the National Propaganda Secretary for the Convention People's Party. She was also an active philanthropist and worked to improve women's lives in Northern Ghana.[3]

Hannah Kudjoe
Picture of Hannah Kudjoe with unnamed great-niece, taken by her nephew, Peter Dadson.[1]
Born
Hannah Dadson

December 1918
Died9 March 1986
NationalityGhananian

Early life

Born in Busua, in the Western Region of the Gold Coast (now Ghana) in December 1918, Kudjoe was the youngest of 10 children. After finishing school, she became a popular dressmaker in Tarkwa, where she married J. C. Kudjoe.[4] He was a manager of a gold mine near Tarkwa.[5] The marriage did not last, and she began living with her brother, E. K. Dadson, a prominent United Gold Coast Convention (UGCC) activist. She was inspired to enter into politics when Kwame Nkrumah stayed at their house in June 1947 and convinced her of the importance of women in politics.[3]

Political career

After meeting with Nkrumah, Kudjoe began raising support for the UGCC. In March 1948, when the Big Six of the party were arrested, she raised money and led a campaign for their release. She was very involved in the Committee on Youth Organization within the UGCC and followed them when they split from the UGCC to form the CPP, and was the only woman present when the decision to split was made.[3][6] Kudjoe was heavily involved with Positive Action, a campaign of mass civil disobedience that eventually led to the end of colonial rule, and she inspired massive support for the CPP through this campaign.[3] She then became National Propaganda Secretary for the CPP and was an extremely effective organizer, mobilizing many people, including women, to join the CPP.[6]

After independence was won, Kudjoe founded the All-African Women's League in 1957, which later became the Ghana Women's League. She also worked to establish day nurseries and nursery schools throughout the country, and recruited workers and teachers and provided amenities for these establishments.[4] She also championed an anti-nudity campaign in Northern Ghana.[7] This included the free distribution of clothing donated from other countries.[8] She taught women hygiene practices, such as how to boil water to bathe children.[6] She undertook this work largely independently of the new government, leading to disapproval from the government, who minimized her role.[3] She also helped distribute food in times of famine, and encouraged women to farm to grow their own food.[9]

Death

Hannah Kudjoe died on 9 March 1986.[10] Her obituary published on 8 May 1986 ends: "She was a priceless gem who in no small measure contributed to the political emancipation of Ghana from the clutches of imperialism. The vacuum created by her demise in spiritual terms though temporary, will be difficult to fill." Her funeral took place at the Calvary Methodist Church in Accra on 6 July 1986.[3]

References
  1. Allman 2004, p. 159.
  2. "The disappearing of Hannah Kudjoe nationalism, feminism, and the tyrannies of history (Library resource)". European Institute for Gender Equality. Retrieved 2019-04-13.
  3. Allman 2009.
  4. Ghana Culture 2015.
  5. Owusu-Ansah 2014, p. 107.
  6. Little 1973, p. 210.
  7. Little, Kenneth (1973). African Women in Towns: An Aspect of Africa's Social Revolution. CUP Archive. ISBN 9780521098199.
  8. Allman 2004, p. 152.
  9. Allman 2004, p. 156.
  10. Allman 2004, p. 157.

Sources
  • Allman, Jean, ed. (2004). Fashioning Africa: Power and the Politics of Dress. Indiana University Press. ISBN 9780253111043. Retrieved 15 January 2016.
  • Allman, Jean (2009). "The Disappearing of Hannah Kudjoe". Journal of Women's History. 21 (3): 13–35.
  • Little, Kenneth (1973). African Women in Towns: An Aspect of Africa's Social Revolution. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
  • Owusu-Ansah, David (2014). Historical Dictionary of Ghana. Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 9780810875005. Retrieved 15 January 2016.
  • "Hannah Cudjoe". www.ghanaculture.gov.gh. Archived from the original on 1 December 2017. Retrieved 29 November 2015.
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