The Executive Director of the J.J. Rawlings Foundation, Ms. Yaa Asantewaa Agyeman-Rawlings, says her mother, Nana Konadu Agyeman-Rawlings, possessed a fighting spirit that she channelled not only into the empowerment of women, but into the political, social and economic transformation of Ghanaian communities.
Ms. Agyeman-Rawlings said, her mother understood that meaningful national transformation meant empowering communities, equipping its people, awakening their power to shape their own destiny and creating a multiplier effect that impacted at national level.
“This was my mother: boots on the ground. She did not believe in championing an idea from a distance. She went where the people were. She listened, she mobilized, she organized and she acted. She always said that there was not a single community in Ghana that she had not been to,” the Executive Director stated.
“Her Legacy, therefore, belongs not only to her children or to her family. It belongs to the women whose confidence she awakened; to the communities whose horizons she expanded; to the young people who saw in her an example of courage and resilience; and to every Ghanaian whose life was touched, directly or indirectly, by her work.”
Ms. Yaa Asantewaa Agyeman-Rawlings was speaking at the Palms by Eagles Accra on Thursday September 17, 2026 at the launch of the SHEROES OF AFRICA Coffee Table Book, authored by Princess Flossy Tachie-Menson to celebrate 100 remarkable African Women whose lives, leadership, and courage have helped shaped Africa.
The second daughter of Nana Konadu Agyeman-Rawlings said when the Provisional National Defence Council (PNDC) embarked on its decentralisation programme in the mid-1980s, Nana Konadu through the 31st December Women’s Movement supported the effort by going into the communities to educate people about the value of decentralization.
“She also recognized the opportunity presented by district-level elections and encouraged many women – including some of her own organisers – to put themselves forward for election and public service,” Ms. Agyeman-Rawlings said.
The Executive Director of the J.J. Rawlings Foundation commended the Sheroes of Africa Coffee Table Book for not only preserving a memory but helping to preserve a story, a spirit and a legacy for generations yet unborn.
“We are deeply moved that Nana Konadu Agyeman-Rawlings, has been featured among these remarkable African women and that a commemorative copy is being presented in her honour. May these pages remind them that the flame she carried was never hers alone. It was a flame meant to be passed on,” she said.
Ms. Agyeman-Rawlings reminded the audience that October 23, 2026 will mark one year since Nana Konadu Agyeman-Rawlings was called by the ancestors. “Yet today reminds us that a life of purpose does not end with physical departure. It continues in the people we inspire, the communities we strengthen, the courage we awaken and the legacy we leave behind,” Ms. Agyeman-Rawlings stated.
The launch was chaired by former Malawi President, Dr. Joyce Banda, who is also the Chairperson of the Sheroes Foundation.
