If you, the men of Asanta, will not go forward, then we will. We, the women, will. — Yaa Asentawaa (image via Wikimedia Commons) Yaa Asentawaa is remembered in West Africa as a symbol of African resistance. She fended off British colonialists throughout the late 1890s and shocked Europeans with her very existence. Yaa Asentawaa's high position of respect mystified the encroaching Victorians -- a woman? in power? leading men into battle? But among the Asante people, Yaa Asentawaa's position as "Queen Mother" was highly valued. Women historically took seats, or "stools," on the tribal councils to work alongside men, even mobilizing their fellow women in times of conflict.
A Woman to Know: Yaa Asantewaa
A Woman to Know: Yaa Asantewaa
A Woman to Know: Yaa Asantewaa
If you, the men of Asanta, will not go forward, then we will. We, the women, will. — Yaa Asentawaa (image via Wikimedia Commons) Yaa Asentawaa is remembered in West Africa as a symbol of African resistance. She fended off British colonialists throughout the late 1890s and shocked Europeans with her very existence. Yaa Asentawaa's high position of respect mystified the encroaching Victorians -- a woman? in power? leading men into battle? But among the Asante people, Yaa Asentawaa's position as "Queen Mother" was highly valued. Women historically took seats, or "stools," on the tribal councils to work alongside men, even mobilizing their fellow women in times of conflict.