Abena Pokua Adompim Busia (born 1953) is a Ghanaian writer, poet, feminist, lecturer and

diplomat A diplomat (from ; romanization, romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state (polity), state, International organization, intergovernmental, or Non-governmental organization, nongovernmental institution to conduct diplomacy with one ...

. She is a daughter of the former prime minister of Ghana,

Kofi Abrefa Busia Kofi Abrefa Busia (11 July 1913 – 28 August 1978) was a Ghanaian political leader and academic who was Prime Minister of Ghana from 1969 to 1972. As a leader and prime minister, he helped to restore civilian government to the country follow ...

, and is the sister of actress Akosua Busia. Busia is an associate professor of Literature in English, and of women's and gender studies at

Rutgers University Rutgers University ( ), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a Public university, public land-grant research university consisting of three campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's C ...

. She is Ghana's ambassador to

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

, appointed in 2017, with accreditation to the other 12 republics of South America."Abena Busia"
at Women's Learning Partnership.

Early life and education

Busia was born in

Accra Accra (; or ''Gaga''; ; Ewe: Gɛ; ) is the capital and largest city of Ghana, located on the southern coast at the Gulf of Guinea, which is part of the Atlantic Ocean. As of 2021 census, the Accra Metropolitan District, , had a population of ...

, Ghana, into the Yenfri royal family in

Wenchi Wenchi is a town and the capital of Wenchi Municipal of the Bono Region in the middle-belt of Ghana. Wenchi is located at 7.73333 atitude in decimal degrees -2.1 ongitude in decimal degreesat an average elevation/altitude of 304 meters. ...

in the

Brong-Ahafo Region The Brong-Ahafo region was a region in central Ghana. Brong-Ahafo was bordered to the north by the Black Volta river and to the east by the Lake Volta, and to the south by the Ashanti, Eastern and Western regions. The capital of Brong-Ahafo ...

of Ghana, to

, one-time Ghanaian Head of State, and his wife, Naa (Morkor) Busia. She spent her childhood in Ghana as well as in the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

and

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

before relocating to

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

, where her family finally settled.Margaret Busby, ''Daughters of Africa'', London: Jonathan Cape, 1992, p. 868. Busia earned a

B.A. A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree ...

degree in English language and literature at

St Anne's College, Oxford St Anne's College is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. It was founded in 1879 and gained full college status in 1959. Originally a women's college, it has admitted men since 1979. ...

, in 1976, and a D.Phil. in

social anthropology Social anthropology is the study of patterns of behaviour in human societies and cultures. It is the dominant constituent of anthropology throughout the United Kingdom and much of Europe, where it is distinguished from cultural anthropology. In t ...

at St. Antony's College in 1984. She has been an external tutor at

Ruskin College Ruskin College, originally known as Ruskin Hall, Oxford, is a higher education institution and part of the University of West London, in Oxford, England. It is not a Colleges of the University of Oxford, college of Oxford University. Named ...

, the labour relations college affiliated to the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

, and a visiting lecturer in the Program of African and Afro-American Studies at

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

. She has also won a number of post-doctoral fellowships including an Andrew Mellon Fellowship in the English department of

Bryn Mawr College Bryn Mawr College ( ; Welsh language, Welsh: ) is a Private college, private Women's colleges in the United States, women's Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded as a ...

, and an Institute for American Cultures Fellowship at the Center for Afro-American Studies,

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the C ...

Career

Busia was co-director of the Women Writing Africa Project (which between 2002 and 2008 published the four-volume Women Writing Africa Series), as well as Professor of English at

and the Chair of the Department of Women's and Gender Studies. She has also taught at other institutions, among them

Yale Yale University is a private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, and one of the nine colonial colleges ch ...

and the

University of Ghana The University of Ghana is a public university located in Accra, Ghana. It is the oldest public university in the country. The university was founded in 1948 as the University College of the Gold Coast in the British colony of the Gold Coast ...

. She has served as president of the Association for the Study of the Worldwide African Diaspora and of the African Literature Association, and currently chairs the board of AWDF-USA, sister organization of the African Women's Development Fund (AWDF), the first pan-African foundation to support the work of

women's rights Women's rights are the rights and Entitlement (fair division), entitlements claimed for women and girls worldwide. They formed the basis for the women's rights movement in the 19th century and the feminist movements during the 20th and 21st c ...

organisations in Africa.

Writing

Busia has published widely on black women's literature, colonial discourse, and post-colonial studies. Scholarly books she has co-edited include ''Theorizing Black Feminisms: The Visionary Pragmatism of Black Women'' (1993) and ''Beyond Survival: African Literature and the Search for New Life'' (1999). In addition, she is the author of two volumes of poetry: ''Testimonies of Exile'' (1990) and ''Traces of Life'' (2008). Her work is included in such anthologies as ''

Daughters of Africa ''Daughters of Africa: An International Anthology of Words and Writings by Women of African Descent from the Ancient Egyptian to the Present'' is a compilation of orature and literature by more than 200 women from Africa and the African diaspora ...

'' (ed.

Margaret Busby Margaret Yvonne Busby, , Hon. FRSL (born 1944), also known as Nana Akua Ackon, is a Ghanaian-born publisher, editor, writer and broadcaster, resident in the UK. She was Britain's then youngest publisher as well as the first black female book p ...

, 1992).

Ghanaian diplomat

In July 2017, President Nana Akuffo-Addo named Abena Busia as Ghana's ambassador to

. She was among 22 other distinguished Ghanaians who were named to head various diplomatic Ghanaian missions in the world.

Selected bibliography

Poetry

* ''Testimonies of Exile'' — poetry, illustrated by Akosua Busia (Africa World Press, 1990; ) * ''Traces of a Life: A Collection of Elegies and Praise Poems'' (Ayebia Clarke Publishing, 2008; )

As editor

* ''Theorizing Black Feminisms: The Visionary Pragmatism of Black Women'', co-editor with Stanlie M. James (Routledge, 1993; ) * ''Beyond Survival: African Literature and the Search for New Life'', co-editor with Kofi Anyidoho and Anne Adams (Africa World Press, 1999; ) * ''Women Writing Africa: West Africa and Sahel'' (2005)

Awards and recognition

In March 2011, marking the 100th anniversary of

International Women's Day International Women's Day (IWD) is celebrated on 8 March, commemorating women's fight for equality and liberation along with the women's rights movement. International Women's Day gives focus to issues such as gender equality, reproductive righ ...

, the AWDF recognised Abena Busia as one of 50 inspirational African feminists, with a public celebration in her honour taking place in June at the National Theatre in Accra. She is co-founder and Chair of the Busia Foundation International, a non-government organisation set up in honour of

Ghana Ghana, officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It is situated along the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, and shares borders with Côte d’Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, and Togo to t ...

's former Prime Minister,

, the 40th anniversary of whose death was marked by a public memorial lecture on 28 August 2018 at the

Accra International Conference Centre The Accra International Conference Centre is an events venue in Accra, Ghana. Other venues include the Ghana Trade Fair Center and the National Theatre, but the Conference Centre is the most popular due to its size and capacity as compared to ...

."Wife Of Dr Busia, Nana Addo, Abena Busia On August 28th Memorial Lecture"
, ''Modern Ghana'', 24 August 2018.

References