The National Federation of Gold Coast Women (NFGCW), later renamed the Ghana Federation of Women, was a

women's organization This is a list of women's organizations ordered by geography. International * Alliance of Pan American Round Tables – founded 1916 to foster women's relationships throughout the Americas * Arab Feminist Union – founded 1945 * Associated Coun ...

in the

Gold Coast Gold Coast may refer to: Places Africa * Gold Coast (region), in West Africa, which was made up of the following colonies, before being established as the independent nation of Ghana: ** Portuguese Gold Coast (Portuguese, 1482–1642) ** Dutch G ...

, one of the country's first women's organizations. Established by Evelyn Amarteifio in 1953, it was dissolved in 1960 as Kwame Nkrumah pursued government control of women's organizations in Ghana.Rose Miyatsu
Tracking the history of women's welfare work in Ghana
''The Ampersand'',

Washington University in St. Louis Washington University in St. Louis (WashU or WUSTL) is a private research university with its main campus in St. Louis County, and Clayton, Missouri. Founded in 1853, the university is named after George Washington. Washington University is r ...

, 11 January 2020. Accessed 18 April 2020.

History

In 1953 Evelyn Amarteifio was inspired by the Jamaican Federation of Women to attempt a similar umbrella organization in the Gold Coast: Amarteifio consulted with other women leaders including Georgina Arden-Clarke, head of the Accra Women's Association, various women educators, those involved in the Ghana Girl Guides Association and the Accra Market Women Association. In July-August the NFGCW was established, with Mercy Ffoulkes-Crabbe as president and Fathia Nkrumah as patron. To improve the situation of women, the federation campaigned for recognition of customary marriages by the colonial government. It petitioned against discrimination in employment, marriage and inheritance. In 1957 it started a quarterly publication, called ''The Federation'' and later ''The Gold Coast Woman''. Internationalist in focus, the NFGCW built contacts through the

YWCA The Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA) is a nonprofit organization with a focus on empowerment, leadership, and rights of women, young women, and girls in more than 100 countries. The World office is currently based in Geneva, Swi ...

with non-aligned international women's organizations such as the

Associated Country Women of the World The Associated Country Women of the World (ACWW) is the largest international organization for both rural and urban women, with a membership of nine million in over 70 countries. ACWW holds a triennial conference and publishes a magazine, ''The Cou ...

, the

International Alliance of Women The International Alliance of Women (IAW; french: Alliance Internationale des Femmes, AIF) is an international non-governmental organization that works to promote women's rights and gender equality. It was historically the main international org ...

and the

Women's International League for Peace and Freedom The Women's International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF) is a non-profit non-governmental organization working "to bring together women of different political views and philosophical and religious backgrounds determined to study and make kno ...

. To keep the NFGCW politically non-partisan, Amarteifio tried to resist CPP pressure to create a single government-controlled nationalist women's group. However, in April 1960 the federation was forced to change its name to the National Council of Ghana Women. With funding from Nkrumah's government, the organization hosted a Conference of the Women of Africa and African Descent at University College in Accra in July 1960. The conference was publicized internationally, with support from St. Clair Drake, Dorothy Pizer, Era Bell Thompson,

Shirley Graham Du Bois Shirley Graham Du Bois (born Lola Shirley Graham Jr.; November 11, 1896 – March 27, 1977) was an American writer, playwright, composer, and activist for African-American causes, among others. She won the Messner and the Anisfield-Wolf prizes f ...

. Speakers included Dorothy Ferebee,

Pauli Murray Anna Pauline "Pauli" Murray (November 20, 1910 – July 1, 1985) was an American civil rights activist who became a lawyer, gender equality advocate, Episcopal priest, and author. Drawn to the ministry, in 1977 she became one of the first women ...

and

Anna Arnold Hedgeman Anna Arnold Hedgeman (July 5, 1899 – January 17, 1990) was an African-American civil rights leader, politician, educator, and writer. Under President Harry Truman, Hedgeman served as executive director of the National Council for a Permanent Fai ...

. After the conference, the government pushed to centralize women's groups. On 10 September 1960 Nkrumah officially dissolved the old federation, declaring a new government-controlled National Council of Ghana Women – replacing the NFGCW, the

Ghana Women's League Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...

and some other smaller women's groups – as the only authorized national women's organization.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:National Federation of Gold Coast Women Women's organisations based in Ghana Organizations disestablished in 1960 Organizations established in 1953 1953 establishments in Gold Coast (British colony) 1960 disestablishments in Ghana