Mabel Dove Danquah (1905
''Graphic Online'' (via Modern Ghana), 13 April 2007. (Some sources mistakenly give her date of birth as 2010.) – 1984) was a Gold Coast-born ''(Now: Ghana)'' journalist,

political activist A political movement is a collective attempt by a group of people to change government policy or social values. Political movements are usually in opposition to an element of the status quo, and are often associated with a certain ideology. Some ...

, and creative writer, one of the earliest women in West Africa to work in these fields.Audrey Gadzekpo
"Dove-Danquah, Mabel (1905–84, Ghanaian journalist, short-story writer"
in Eugene Benson and L. W. Conolly (eds), ''Encyclopedia of Post-Colonial Literatures in English'' (1994), 2nd edition, Routledge, 2005, pp. 371–72. As Francis Elsbend Kofigah notes in relation to

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 literary pioneers, "before the emergence of such strong exponents of literary feminism as

Efua Sutherland Efua Theodora Sutherland (born 27 June 1924 – 2 January 1996) was a Ghanaian playwright, director, dramatist, children's author, poet, educationalist, researcher, child advocate, and cultural activist. Her works include the plays ''Foriwa' ...

and

Ama Ata Aidoo Ama Ata Aidoo (23 March 1942 — 31 May 2023) was a Ghanaian author, poet, playwright, politician, and academic. She was a Secretary for Education in Ghana from 1982 to 1983 under Jerry Rawlings's PNDC administration. Her first play, '' The Dil ...

, there was Mabel Dove Danquah, the trail-blazing feminist." She used various

pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true meaning ( orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individual's o ...

s in her writing for newspapers from the 1930s: "Marjorie Mensah" in ''The Times of West Africa''; "Dama Dumas" in the ''

African Morning Post The ''African Morning Post'' () was a daily newspaper in Accra, Gold Coast, published by City Press Ltd. Editorial and Pub. Its editor-in-chief in 1934 was Nnamdi Azikiwe, who later also founded several newspapers in Nigeria, including the ''West ...

''; "Ebun Alakija" in the ''

Nigerian Daily Times ''The Daily Times'' was a Nigerian newspaper with headquarters in Lagos. At its peak, in the 1970s, it was one of the most successful locally-owned businesses in Africa. The paper went into decline after it was purchased by the government in 1975 ...

''; and "Akosua Dzatsui" in the '' Accra Evening News''. Entering politics in the 1950s before Ghana's independence, she became the first woman to be elected a member of any African legislative assembly. She created the awareness and the need for self-governance through her works.

Education and early years

Mabel Ellen Dove 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 ...

to Eva Buckman, a businesswoman in Osu, and (Francis)

Frans Dove Frans is an Afrikaans, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, Icelandic, Norwegian, and Swedish given name, sometimes as a short form of ''François'' or ''Franciscus''. One cognate of Frans in English is ''Francis''. Given name * Frans van Aarssens (1572–164 ...

(1869–1949), a lawyer from

Sierra Leone Sierra Leone, officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered to the southeast by Liberia and by Guinea to the north. Sierra Leone's land area is . It has a tropical climate and envi ...

who was the first President of the Gold Coast Bar. With her sisters, Mabel at the age of six was taken to

Annie Walsh Memorial School The Annie Walsh Memorial School is an all-girls secondary school in Freetown, Sierra Leone. It was established in 1849 in Charlotte, a newly established village for recaptives. Notable alumni * Zainab Bangura: Foreign Minister of Sierra Leone, ...

Freetown Freetown () is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Sierra Leone. It is a major port city on the Atlantic Ocean and is located in the Western Area of the country. Freetown is Sierra Leone's major urban, economic, financial, cultural, e ...

, Sierra Leone. While at school in Freetown, she founded a cricket club. Mabel received further education in

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

at Anglican Convent in

Bury St. Edmunds Bury St Edmunds (), commonly referred to locally as ''Bury,'' is a cathedral as well as market town and civil parish in the West Suffolk district, in the county of Suffolk, England.OS Explorer map 211: Bury St. Edmunds and Stowmarket Scale: . P ...

and St. Michael's College,

Hurstpierpoint Hurstpierpoint is a village in the Mid Sussex district, in the county of West Sussex, England, southwest of Burgess Hill, and west of Hassocks railway station. It sits in the civil parish of Hurstpierpoint and Sayers Common which has an ...

, where she took a secretarial course, against the wishes of her father.Kathleen Sheldon
"Dove Danquah, Mabel (1905/1910–1984)"
''Historical Dictionary of Women in Sub-Saharan Africa'', Scarecrow Press, 2005, p. 66. She was sent back to Freetown, and while there she helped set up a women's

cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...

club, participated in the local dramatics society and read extensively, before returning at the age of 21 to the Gold Coast.Denzer
"Gender & Decolonization"
(2005), p. 218. She found employment as a shorthand-typist with

Elder Dempster Elder Dempster Lines was a UK shipping company that traded from 1932 to 2000, but had its origins in the mid-19th century. Founders Alexander Elder Alexander Elder was born in Glasgow in 1834. He was the son of David Elder, who for many ye ...

for eight years, then transferred to G. B. Olivant, before going to work as a Manager with the trading company of A. G. Leventis.

Journalism

She started writing for ''The Times of West Africa'', Ghana's first daily newspaper, which was founded and owned by Dr

J. B. Danquah Joseph Kwame Kyeretwie Boakye Danquah (18 December 1895 – 4 February 1965) was a Ghanaian politician, scholar, anglophile, lawyer and statesman. He was a politician in pre and post-colonial Ghana, which was formerly the Gold Coast. Durin ...

and strongly advocated fundamental human rights while denouncing foreign domination."Flagbearers of Ghana: Dr J. B. Danquah (1896–1965)"
''Ghana Nation'', 15 November 2011. Through the column "Ladies Corner ater Women'sby Marjorie Mensah" (1931–34), her articles won her great public popularity: "she dared women to break with form, to derive inspiration from the suffragists, to denounce imperialism, and to fight for their rights." She also won the admiration of the paper's proprietor, whom she eventually married in 1933. In 1939, she gave radio talks in support of the war effort. After ''The Times of West Africa'' ceased to function, she went on to write for the ''

'' (1935–40), the ''

'' (1936–37), the '' Accra Evening News'' (1950–1960s) and the ''

Daily Graphic ''The Daily Graphic: An Illustrated Evening Newspaper'' was the first American newspaper with daily illustrations. It was founded in New York City in 1873 by Canadian engravers George-Édouard Desbarats and William Leggo, and began publicati ...

'' (1952). When in 1951 she took on the editorship of the ''Accra Evening News'' — the paper of the

Convention People's Party The Convention People's Party (CPP) is a socialist political party in Ghana based on the ideas of the first President of Ghana, Kwame Nkrumah. The CPP was formed in June 1949 after Nkrumah broke away from the United Gold Coast Convention (UGC ...

(CPP), founded in 1948 — she was the second woman ever to edit a newspaper in Ghana. Although the appointment ended after five months because of disagreement with CPP leader

Kwame Nkrumah Francis Kwame Nkrumah (, 21 September 1909 – 27 April 1972) was a Ghanaian politician, political theorist, and revolutionary. He served as Prime Minister of the Gold Coast (British colony), Gold Coast from 1952 until 1957, when it gained ...

over editorial methods, she remained loyal to Nkrumah and the party.

Politics

Her involvement with politics started after

founded his Convention People's Party (CPP), in 1949, and she became a member of staff of the nationalist ''Accra Evening News'', joining the campaign for the end of British rule and immediate self-government for the Gold Coast. In the general election of 1954, she was committed to organising women for the CPP, and she was subsequently put up as a CPP candidate for Ga Rural constituency, which she won. Her election made her the first female member of the Legislative Assembly of the Gold Coast.

Creative writing

She was a prolific author over a period of four decades – her published collections of short stories include ''The Happenings of the Night'' (1931), ''The Adventures of the Black Girl in her Search for Mr Shaw'' (1934), ''Anticipation'' (1947), ''The Torn Veil'' (1947), ''Payment'' (1947), ''Invisible Scar'' (1966) and ''Evidence of Passion'' (1969) — until her literary career was curtailed by her blindness in 1972. Her work is anthologised in collections including

Langston Hughes James Mercer Langston Hughes (February 1, 1901 – May 22, 1967) was an American poet, social activist, novelist, playwright, and columnist from Joplin, Missouri. An early innovator of jazz poetry, Hughes is best known as a leader of the Harl ...

′ ''An African Treasury: Articles, Essays, Stories, Poems'' (1960), and

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 ...

's ''

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 ...

'' (1992). A collection of her work, ''Selected Writings of a Pioneer West African Feminist'' (edited by Stephanie Newell and

Audrey Gadzekpo Professor Audrey Sitsofe Gadzekpo is a Ghanaian media practitioner and dean of the School of Information and Communications Studies at the University of Ghana. She was formerly a Communications Consultant and Lecturer who represented women's grou ...

), was published in 2004.

Personal life

In September 1933, Dove married the political statesman and historian

and they had a son, Vladimir. However, the marriage "did not survive Danquah's prolonged absence during the period 1934–36 when he was in England as secretary of the Gold Coast delegation" and the couple divorced in the mid-1940s.

Selected bibliography

* ''The Happenings of the Night'' (1931) * ''The Adventures of the Black Girl in her Search for Mr Shaw'' (1934) * ''Anticipation'' (1947) * ''The Torn Veil'' (1947) * ''Payment'' (1947) * ''Invisible Scar'' (1966) * ''Evidence of Passion'' (1969)
''Selected Writings of a Pioneer West African Feminist''
(edited by Stephanie Newell and Audrey Gadzekpo). Nottingham: Trent Editions, 2004. .

Legacy

Dove's satire of

George Bernard Shaw George Bernard Shaw (26 July 1856 – 2 November 1950), known at his insistence as Bernard Shaw, was an Irish playwright, critic, polemicist and political activist. His influence on Western theatre, culture and politics extended from the 188 ...

's ''

The Adventures of the Black Girl in Her Search for God ''The Adventures of the Black Girl in Her Search for God (and Some Lesser Tales)'' is a book of short stories written by George Bernard Shaw, published in London by Constable and Company in 1932. The title story is a satire, satirical allegory ...

'' (1932), which she titled ''The Adventures of the Black Girl in her Search for Mr Shaw'', was included in the

British Library The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom. Based in London, it is one of the largest libraries in the world, with an estimated collection of between 170 and 200 million items from multiple countries. As a legal deposit li ...

's 2015–16 exhibition '' West Africa: Word, Symbol, Song''.Thembi Mutch
"From Timbuktu to Trinidad: British Library launches dazzling West Africa show"
''The Guardian'', 16 October 2015.

References

External links

* Kofigah, Francis Elsbend
"The Writing of Mabel Dove Danquah"
6 July 1996. A thesis submitted to the Board of Postgraduate Studies, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, in partial fulfilment of the requirement for the award of the Degree of Master of Arts in Comparative Literature, 1996. * Kwarteng, Francis
"Mabel Dove-Danquah: A Trailblazing Author, Feminist, Politician, Activist & Journalist"
GhanaWeb, 17 October 2015.
"I Have Tamed My Wife" By Mabel Dove Danquah Read By Fauziyatu Moro (Ghana)
Library Of Africa and The African Diaspora. {{DEFAULTSORT:Danquah, Mabel Dove 1905 births 1984 deaths 20th-century Ghanaian journalists 20th-century Ghanaian women journalists 20th-century Ghanaian women politicians 20th-century Ghanaian women writers Feminist writers Ghanaian feminists Ghanaian MPs 1954–1956 Journalists from Gold Coast (British colony) Politicians from Greater Accra Region Women columnists Writers from Accra