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A Girls Who Can
A Girls Who Can
"We are victims of our history and our present. They place too many obstacles in the
way of love. And we cannot enjoy even our differences in peace." (Our Sister Killjoy)
This quote perfectly exemplifies Aidoo's literary landscape which carries the desert of the
harsh history of Africa on its back and the oasis sprung from the heart of this desert, the
modern African woman who is an infinitely complex and multidimensional character
projecting a ray of hope for the redemption and glory of all African nations.
Ama Ata Aidoo is one of the precursors in ushering the feminist movement in African
literature. Aidoo in an interview candidly states that "as an Akan, Fante woman, I grew up
in a society where there was not much discrimination against girls. That is why I could
be a writer and nobody could tell me writing was a man's job". She expresses her fear
that Ghanaian women haven't properly utilised the freedom they inherited and that it leaves
the space open for men to move in to colonise them. Aidoo is a staunch feminist who believes
that men should be feminists too.
Aidoo very much came from a gender liberal household that did not put express pressure on
her to learn how to cook, clean or do things considered “a woman's duty." Aidoo recognises
the importance of both women and their education in shaping the future of Ghana and all of
Africa.
The Girl Who Can by Ama Ata Aidoo is a short story about an African little girl who lives in
a traditional society. Adjoa, the central character fights against female’s right in the society
she lives in because she has imperfect physic. Her grandmother and her neighbours keep
underestimating her although her mom supports her because her mom doesn’t want her to
regret her past like her mother does.