Celebration of Life - Ama Ata Aidoo (23 March 1942 – 31 May 2023) was Black feminist author, poet, playwright

Ama Ata Aidoo (23 March 1942 – 31 May 2023) was  Black feminist author, poet, playwright, former Minister of Education from Ghana whose works explore the effects of sexism and colonialism on the African continent, particularly on women. Aidoo was born as Christina Ama Aidoo in a small village in central Ghana in 1942. As the daughter of a chief of the Fanti tribe, Aidoo was raised with the traditions, folklore and rituals of her tribe and was given the opportunity to pursue an education (which was rare for African women at the time). 'We’d sit down and he’d just tell us stories', she recalls, 'once I became aware of myself, it occurred to me that I should add to the world’s stories'.

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So she wrote. And her creative writing career spanned seven decades from colonial Ghana through the era of independence to present day Africa. Her portraits of African women draw from within the culture, rather than from outside or by African men, and remain honest about the complexities involved. Many of her protagonists are women who defy the stereotypical women’s roles of their time.

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In 2000, she founded the Mbaasem Foundation, a non-governmental organisation based in Ghana with a mission to support the development and sustainability of African women writers and their artistic output. A trailblazer for African women on the continent, she continues to inspire and help shape Black women storytellers every day." - VOICES