A veteran Ghanaian actress and director, Akorfa Edjeani, has called for the mandatory inclusion of books by the late Professor Ama Ata Aidoo and other African writers in school curricula.
She explained that one must not have to be studying literature as an elective course in school or be in a reading club before reading literature books because readers get enlightened and their lives are enriched.
“I think that we should do more to keep her legacy and that of others like her. I think that we are not reading enough of her books. We should make it mandatory that our African writers, especially Ghanaian writers like Ama Ata Aidoo’s works are read from the primary level so that the lives of students will be enriched” she said on 3FM Community Connect hosted by Johnnie Hughes on Friday, June 2, 2023.
According to Akorfa Edjeani, the late Professor Ama Ata Aidoo wrote in simple language on themes that everyday people could easily relate to.
Her love and respect for culture as reflected in her writing style which involves quotes in the Fante language and translating into English was deliberate in preserving Ghana’s culture.
The astute Ghanaian actress praised the late Professor Ama Ata Aidoo for breaking the glass ceiling to show other women how strong they can be.
“She wrote her book about 60 years ago. For her at that time to be that bold and vocal is something we should cherish and project”
“It is something that we have to do more. It has to be a deliberate plan that we as a country will say this is the way to go, so let’s do it this way” Akorfa Edjeani admonished
The family of the renowned Ghanaian author, poet, playwright and academic, Professor Ama Ata Aidoo in a statement signed by Family head Kwamena Essandoh Aidoo announced her passing on Wednesday, May 31, 2023, at the age of 81 after a short illness.
As a renowned feminist, she portrayed and highlighted the condition of African women in her works such as; The Dilemma of a Ghost, Our Sister Killjoy and Changes to refute the perception that females are subjugated
The late Professor also served as Ghana’s education minister in the early 1980s.