Yaa Asantewaa: A Role Model for Women in the New Millennium

Abstract

The latter part of the twentieth century witnessed an intensified debate on gender among Africanists scholars.1 This is not surprising since African societies have been (and are) rich with local and culture-specific constructions of gender that are expressed in popular representations that were (and are) often considered to be outside academic discourse. The close focus of the debate called for incorporating of women’s views into mainstream activities covering the entire spectrum of human endeavors.2 Essentially, the arguments presented favored an approach that criticized and opposed what was presumed to be the traditional male dominated trend. Based as it was on received notions of male privilege from Western foundations, scholarly representations of the traditional milieu posited that the African woman was often perceived as an underdog who bore the brunt of male-dominated policies. Therefore, new forms of leadership that took on board women’s distinctive visions to transform social, economic and political development were required to counter the predominant masculine culture that invariably perpetuated patriarchal arrangements and inhibit women’s political, social and economic empowerment. Such arguments have clearly called for the rewriting of history such that the contributions of female leaders would be documented.