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The Woman Who Designed Ghana’s National Flag |
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A veteran Ghanaian artist, Mrs Theodosia Salome Okoh (nee Asihene), has stated that the current calls on aspirants of the various political parties contesting in the 2008 general election to consider choosing women as their running mates must be critically analysed. |
She said apart from looking at the educational background of the names that were coming up, there was also the need to consider their zeal, enthusiasm and hard work.
Expressing these sentiments in an interview with the Daily Graphic as part of Ghana’s 51st Anniversary, Mrs Okoh, 85, who designed Ghana’s national flag, said women in the 1950s contributed their part by ensuring that they made their presence felt through hard work.
She mentioned one of such women as Justice Annie Jiaggie, the first female judge and founder of the Young Women Christian Association (YWCA) in Ghana.
Recounting the contributions made by some women in the country’s independence struggle, Mrs Okoh said a number of women who were mainly working for the Convention People’s Party (CPP), one of the leading political parties at that time, dedicated all their time and efforts to the party’s cause and ensured that they achieved success in whatever they did.
She said although women were playing active roles in politics today, they were not making the needed impact, since they worked towards attaining different goals for their political parties.
To her, although most women of today were educated, they were not able to develop their full potential as their roles were greatly influenced by their male counterparts.
She said Dr Nkrumah initiated programmes that contributed to the liberation of women and today, women were appointed or elected to important governmental positions, the Judiciary and the security services.
Mrs Okoh said although there were now more qualified women for important positions in government and public services than in the past, there was the need to identify those who were ready to work, especially in the political arena.
She said just after independence, women who worked in political circles were more dedicated to their work than looking for financial benefits.
Inspired by the words in the patriotic song “Yen Ara Ye Asase Ne”, composed by the late Dr Ephraim Amu”, she said she designed the Ghana flag, which had the colours red, gold and green with a black star in the middle of the gold.
With many medals to her credit for her role in Ghana’s independence struggle and sports, Mrs Okoh is also a good hockey player and is described as the “Joan of Arc” of Ghana hockey for her immense contribution to the development of the game.
As part of recognition for her services to the nation, Mrs Okoh received the Entertainment Critics and Reviewers Association of Ghana (ECRAG) Mahogany Award for designing the national flag.
She also received a Grand Medal from the state during the 40th Independence Day celebration of the country in 1997 and received the Art Critics and Reviewers Association of Ghana (ACRAG) award for designing the national flag. In 2004 she received an award from the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports for her role in building a national hockey pitch.
Source: Daily Graphic
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