Ghana Post Issues New Stamps

GHANA Post has issued five new millennium stamps in various denominations in honour of five distinguished Ghanaian women who have made special contributions in their various fields of endeavour.

This is to recognise our women achievers of the past millennium who are great role models for the present and future generations.

The distinguished women are Nana Yaa Asantewa, the courageous queen mother of Ejisu in the Ashanti Region; Ms Rebecca Deedei Aryeetey, women’s rights activist; Mrs Annie Jiagge, an eminent judge; Mrs Efua Sutherland, a playwright and educationist and Dr Esther Ocloo, an industrialist.

This was contained in a statement issued by the head of Corporate Communication of the company, Mr K.A. Otuo-Acheampong.

The stamps are in the denominations of ?1,000, ?3,000 and ?5,000. The stamp depicting Nana Yaa Asantewa is in the denomination of ?1,000 while Mrs Annie Jiagge is on the ?2,000 stamp. Mrs Efua Sutherland is in the is depicted on the denomination ?3,000, while Mrs Esther Ocloo ?3,500 stamp, and Mrs Rebecca Deedei Aryeetey is on the ? 6,000 stamp.

Ghana Post immortalises these great heroines of our soil and of womanhood, through issuing philatelic stamps to recognise the immense contributions they have made towards the development of this country.

Nana Yaa Asantewaa exhibited outstanding courage, hitherto unknown to the women by mobilising the people of Asante to fight the British in one of the bloodiest wars ever fought on Asante soil.

Nana Yaa Asantewaa has become a symbol of courage and justice, a symbol against dictatorship, who placed the value of her people above her own values at the peril of her safety and life. She was made a prisoner of war and expelled to the Seychelles where she died.

Dr Ocloo, an industrialist, encouraged women to do all that is possible to positively enhance womanhood in all fields of endeavour. She won several international and national awards for her contributions to National Development and Excellence in Womanhood.

Mrs Efua Sutherland is recognised for her numerous contributions to the promotion of Dramatic Art Literature and for her dedication to the welfare of children. She helped her friends from “beyond the oceans” to appreciate the African culture, identity and pride.

Mrs Annie Jiaggge was the first Ghanaian woman Barrister-at-Law. She worked on various United Nations Commissions for the elimination of discrimination against women.

In 1979 she served on the Constituent Assembly. She also served on the Consultative Committee that drafted Ghana’s 1992 Constitution and was a member of the Council of State in 1993.

In 1969 she received the Grand Medal of Ghana and Gimbles International Award. The University of Ghana conferred on her an honorary degree of Law in 1974. “Her voice became a symbol of the depth of her wisdom and conviction, a unique one among her colleagues”, said Helvi Sipila-Finland.

Finally, Mrs Rebecca Deedei Aryeetey was a women’s right activist and a pioneer woman politician. She mobilised the women in the campaign for self-government and independence from British rule, and got women representation in the first Parliament.

Ghana Post therefore salutes these great daughters of the nation by adding to the honours already accorded them by issuing these philatelic stamps