Ama Atta Aidoo: Renown Ghanaian Poet And Educationist Has Died At 81

• Prof Ama Atta Aidoo, a renowned Ghanaian literary champion, passed away on Wednesday at the age of 81
• She was celebrated for the frankness of her pan-Africanist discussions and support for feminism
• She was regarded as the first African woman dramatist after her first play, The Dilemma of a Ghost in 1965

One of Ghana's celebrated African writers and poets Professor Ama Atta Aidoo has died at the age of 81 years.

Her family announced in a statement that the former education minister died in the early hours of Wednesday, May 31, 2023, after a short illness.

“Funeral arrangements would be announced in due course," the statement announced further.

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Prof Ama Atta Aidoo achieve a lot

Professor Aidoo was a Ghanaian author, poet, playwright and academic whose career spanned at least 50 years.

She was born on March 23, 1942, at Abeadzi Kyiakor, near Saltpond, in the Central Region. Her literary works emphasise the paradoxical position of the modern African woman.

She received international recognition as one of the most prominent African writers of the 20th and 21st centuries.

She was regarded as the first African woman dramatist after her first play, The Dilemma of a Ghost in 1965.

One of her topmost literary awards is the Commonwealth Writers' Prize for Changes which she received in 1991.

Her Mbaasem Foundation champions the work of African women writers.

She was the education minister under the Jerry Rawlings administration.

Prof Ama Atta Aidoo was a champion of feminism

In the course of her writing career, Prof Aidoo explored the challenges, hopes and dreams of African women.

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She believes these are intricately connected to Africa’s recent history, from the time of the continent’s encounter with Europe, the ensuing trade in humans, followed by colonialism and post-colonialism.

From her earliest works to her most recent collection of short stories, Diplomatic Pounds and Other Stories, Prof Aidoo’s writings rang with a frank and direct exploration of African women’s experiences in an increasingly globalising world.

Young Ghanaian lady Johanita Kossiwa Dogbey dies in the UK at the hands of a stranger

Meanwhile, YEN.com.gh has reported in a separate story that a 31-year-old Ghanaian lady in the United Kingdom died after a stranger attacked her.

The man, identified as Mohamed Nurthat, is reported to have pounced on the lady from behind while she was walking on the street.

The police arrested the man amid investigations into the gripping incident.

Source: YEN.com.gh