Political Analyst and Senior Lecturer at the University of Cape Coast, Dr. Jonathan Asante Otchere has described the former First Lady of the Republic of Ghana. Mrs. Nana Konadu Agyeman-Rawlings, as a pioneer of women’s development and empowerment, moments after she passed on.
News of her passing was broadcast through various media outlets on Thursday, October 23, 2025.
Many Ghanaians, including Dr. Otchere, have expressed the unexpectedness of the incident and have seized the moment to bring to our memory some of her contributions to development, especially in relation to women’s development in Ghana and across the world.
“What ought to be said about her is the fact that she was a trailblazer in women’s emancipation and empowerment in this country. And I remember Beijing 95, where it all started. And I think that her role in the life of her late husband, I mean, is just remarkable.”
Dr. Jonathan Asante Otchere, political analyst and senior lecturer, University of Cape Coast
At the 1995 Beijing Women’s Conference, the late former First Lady, then the First Lady of the Republic of Ghana, championed and advocated for women’s empowerment, emphasizing the education of the girl child, the protection of women’s rights, gender equality, among others.
Dr. Otchere also praised the late former first lady’s organizational capabilities, emphasizing that she was instrumental to some of the political successes chalked up by her husband, the late former president Flt. Lt. Jerry John Rawlings.
“You will have to appreciate the fact that when it comes to organization, she was probably next to no one. And if you really want to know how and why the late president, His Excellency Flt. Lt. Jerry John Rawlings, won handsomely in the 1992 and 1996 elections, a lot of that credit will have to be given to, you know, the late Nana Konadu Agyeman-Rawlings.”
Dr. Jonathan Asante Otchere, political analyst and senior lecturer, University of Cape Coast
Dr. Otchere also noted her numerous contributions to women’s empowerment through her leadership of the 31st December Women’s Movement through education, healthcare, and economic opportunities.
“She set up this 31st December Women’s Movement, and that in itself created a lot of micro, you know, jobs and the gari processing factory, setting up, you know, 31st daycare centers, you know, creches here and there, as a way of creating an enabling environment, you know, for women’s folk.”
Dr. Jonathan Asante Otchere, political analyst and Senior Lecturer, University of Cape Coast
Dr. Otchere added that she made significant contributions to women’s participation in civil society, regretting the unfortunateness of her passing at this time.
He further added that she may have had her downside when she wanted to lead the NDC at some point and eventually decided to form her own party; however, he emphasized that “this is not the time” to talk about it.
He further credited her for her silence on partisan politics since the death of her husband, the late former president H.E. Flt Lt Jerry John Rawlings. Emphasizing that it is “an honor that she gave her husband.”
“I think that, you know, apart from the fact that she fell off in terms of her relation with the NDC and so on and so forth, that should be behind, you know, the curtains, and the right thing ought to be done. And I think that when we talk of a woman supporting her husband to succeed, I think that she is par excellence.”
Dr. Jonathan Asante Otchere, political analyst and senior lecturer, University of Cape Coast
He further emphasized that even though she parted ways with the National Democratic Congress (NDC), she still respected the party, stating that the “NDC should take up the responsibility of being with her in this hard moment or being with her family.”
Dr. Otchere emphasized that her legacies still live on, noting that the advocacy for “women empowerment, women’s sustainability, women’s economic empowerment, women in education, girl-child education, and all these things are antecedent to the foundation that she laid.”
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