Paper short abstract:

The place of high politics in the construction of heroes and villains favors men and de-historizes women in the process. This paper emphasizes the hyper-local realities of the disappearance of Ghanaian women from history and provides a blueprint for their memorialization as' heroes' or villains.

Paper long abstract:

Throughout history, people disappear in the process of consolidating the nation state from the past (pre-independence to independence) and the present (post-independence). A few people are remembered and cast as heroes or villains. The place of high politics cannot be over emphasized in the memorializing and the construction of heroes and villains in African countries given their complex histories. The politics of memorializing has, however, favored men in how history is recalled. We have grown accustomed to the underwhelming ways in which women are celebrated (heroes) or cast (villains). In this paper, I reflect on the problematic male-centered history of Ghana and the notable absence of women’s constituency in other national projects. I explore women’s labor and political participation in Ghana and reflect on how they remain crucial to the futures we intend to construct. I employ various monuments in honor of individuals such as schools, museums, and statues to highlight the relative weight we attach to women and men’s contribution to nation building. I argue that memorializing women underwhelmingly de-historize them making any counter-hegemonic account of their history impossible. The paper contends that, we emphasize the hyper-local realities of the disappearance of women from history whether 'heroes' or villains. It further provides a blueprint for state led memorialization or construction of individuals as heroes to include research of those who disappear despite their uncommon patriotic service, be inclusive, participatory, account for gender and undergo a collective public debate on the deserving, to affirm a collective ownership of the memorializing process.