Media & Journalism
Landmark
Mabel Dove Danquah
1905 – 1984
The first woman elected to a legislature in Africa
Landmark is level 2 of 4 in the Ghana Hall of Fame: a first that opened a door, or the pre-eminent figure of their generation in this country. See how the levels work.
Why they are here
Journalist, writer and feminist who won a seat in the Gold Coast legislative assembly in 1951 — the first woman elected to any legislature in Africa.
Mabel Dove Danquah was a pioneering journalist, creative writer and early feminist who used journalism to attack colonial rule and argue for self-government.
In the 1930s, when journalism was almost entirely male, she wrote the Ladies' Corner column in The Times of West Africa, urging women to break with convention and to fight for their rights. Standing for the CPP in Ga Rural in 1951, she became the first woman elected to the Gold Coast legislative assembly.
In the 1930s, when journalism was almost entirely male, she wrote the Ladies' Corner column in The Times of West Africa, urging women to break with convention and to fight for their rights. Standing for the CPP in Ga Rural in 1951, she became the first woman elected to the Gold Coast legislative assembly.
- Wikipedia — Mabel Dove Danquah
- Modern Ghana — Mabel Dove Danquah, the first woman elected in an African legislative assembly
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