A bust of Yaa Asantewaa, the Ashanti queen mother, warrior, and heroine, stands in front of the building that used to be the Yaa Asantewaa Museum. In 2000, Nana Konadu Agyeman-Rawlings, the then-first lady of the Republic of Ghana, supported establishing the museum; it was designed as a typical Asante royal residence from the 1900s and drew many visitors to the area. Four years later, a fire destroyed the museum and its original content. There have been plans to rebuild it, but till 2024, nothing has happened. Yaa Asantewaa (1840-1921) was a farmer and a mother when her brother, Nana Akwasi Afrane Okpase, the ruler of Ejisu (an ethnic group in present-day Ghana), nominated her as the Queen Mother of Ejisu. She was the King of Ashanti advisor, the protector of the Golden Stool (the divine throne of kings of the Ashanti people), and used her position to promote women’s rights. After her brother’s death, Asantewaa used her influence to nominate her grandson as Ruler of Ejisu. In 1896, the British exiled her grandson, the King of the Asante (Prempeh I), and other officials to Seychelles. When the British demanded the Golden Stool, the Asante government members gathered to discuss the next steps. Asantewaa advocated to rebel against British colonization and fight back for their land and rights. She assembled and led an army of 5,000 in the Yaa Asantewaa War, also known as the War of the Golden Stool. After several months of fighting, she and her closest advisors were captured and exiled to Seychelles, where she passed away in 1921. When the British allowed the Asante King to return to their land in 1924, the remains of Asantewaa were brought and buried in a royal burial in her homeland. Her dream for Asante independence came true on March 6th, 1957, when the Asante protectorate gained independence from Britain as part of Ghana. Asantewaa has been an icon of African independence struggles and is known as one of its greatest and bravest female leaders. Read more...