The development of newspaper culture in the Gold Coast—today known as Ghana—was inseparable from the spread of formal education during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Education did far more than teach reading and writing; it fundamentally reshaped social structures, created new intellectual classes, and fostered habits of information consumption. As literacy expanded through mission…
Written by Mensah Adinkrah, Ph.D. Ritual murder is the killing of a person with the intention of using the victim’s blood, body, or body parts to perform rituals or prepare what is often described as “medicine” for personal gain. It is one of the most heinous crimes anyone can commit. Taking another person’s life in…
Every year, thousands of children in Ghana suffer abuse at the hands of those entrusted with their care—parents, guardians, and relatives. Reports of battered, neglected, and traumatized children frequently appear in the Ghanaian mass media, often accompanied by disturbing images and heartbreaking details. In many cases, the abuse results in severe physical injuries; in others,…
In Ghana, cigarette smoking is strongly gendered. Men smoke; women generally do not. It is relatively rare to see a woman or young girl smoking in public, and when this does occur, it often attracts social disapproval. Women and girls who smoke may be labeled as morally deviant or associated with sex work. This pattern…
Oftentimes, in Africa, people conflate respect with fear, treating them as if they are interchangeable. Yet within Akan moral language, a clear distinction is maintained between fɛreɛ (respect) and suro (fear). To say “me fɛre wo” is fundamentally different from “me suro wo.” The former connotes esteem, regard, and moral acknowledgment; the latter signals apprehension,…
Every society has norms, which are rules that guide behavior. One important norm in Ghana concerns the use of the left hand in social interactions. Traditionally in Ghana, using the left hand in social interactions can be problematic. Giving something to someone or receiving something with the left hand is considered rude or insulting. Growing…
Kwame Nkrumah is one of the foremost Pan-Africanists Africa has ever produced. He devoted his life to the political, economic, and cultural liberation of the African continent. He played a leading role in the establishment of the Organization of African Unity (OAU), now known as the African Union (AU), and actively supported liberation movements across…
The leadership of Yaa Asantewaa in the 1900 war against British colonial rule remains one of the most extraordinary and symbolically powerful episodes in African resistance history. Her decision to lead the Ashanti (Asante) in armed rebellion was not an accident of circumstance—it emerged from a complex intersection of political tradition, colonial provocation, gender roles…
A taboo is an act so deeply forbidden that it provokes moral outrage, fear, or spiritual anxiety when violated. Taboos are cultural universals: every society draws invisible lines that must not be crossed. Yet these lines are not the same everywhere. What one society condemns as unthinkable may be ordinary or morally neutral in another….
No one is born with knowledge. Human beings are born with the capacity to learn, but what they eventually know—how they speak, think, behave, believe, and interpret the world—is acquired from society. Knowledge, values, attitudes, and skills are socially produced and socially transmitted. By the time a Ghanaian child reaches the age of eighteen, that…
Newspapers occupy an important place in Ghanaian society. Long before the rise of social media and online news platforms, newspapers were the primary source of information for the public. Even today, despite digital competition, newspapers continue to serve critical social, political, educational, and cultural functions across the country. Source of News and Information At their…
Corruption remains one of the most enduring social challenges confronting Ghana. Its roots stretch back to the colonial Gold Coast era (1821–1957) and continue to influence governance, public trust, and national development today. Understanding this long history is essential to appreciating why corruption has proven so difficult to eradicate. Corruption During the Gold Coast Era…
Discarding Outdated Beliefs It is time for Africans to discard the outdated belief that boys and girls differ in abilities and potential. For too long, harmful cultural attitudes have suggested that women should play second fiddle to men. But reality proves otherwise: for everything a boy or a man can do, a girl or a…
The growth of newspaper readership in the Gold Coast—modern-day Ghana—cannot be understood without examining the critical role played by nineteenth-century mission schools. These educational institutions, established by European Christian missions, were not only centers of religious instruction but also engines of literacy, intellectual transformation, and political awareness. By producing a new class of literate Africans,…
Recent reports in the Ghanaian media have once again drawn attention to a disturbing and persistent problem: the murder, attempted murder, and lynching of women accused of practicing witchcraft. These incidents are often shocking in their brutality and tragic in their consequences. They also raise an important question: Are witchcraft accusations a problem confined to…
