Theodosia Salome Okoh designed the Ghana flag in 1957
As Ghana joins the rest of the world to celebrate International Women’s Day (IWD), it is fitting to celebrate Mrs. Theodosia Salome Okoh, the artist who designed Ghana’s iconic flag in 1957.
Born in 1922, she started her education at the Effiduase Primary School and continued to the Basel Mission Middle, Senior and Teacher Training schools in Agogo in the Ashanti Region and later proceeded to the Achimota School, where she studied fine arts.
When Ghana gained independence from Britain, there was the need for the country to have a new flag, which was advertised.
Theodosia Okoh submitted her design, which was adopted as the national flag of Ghana by the country’s first president, Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, from March 6, 1957.
Speaking in a media interview, she recounted why she chose the three colours for the flag.
“I decided on the three colors of red, gold and green because of the geography of Ghana. Ghana lies in the tropics and blessed with rich vegetation.
“The colour gold was influenced by the mineral rich nature of our lands and red commemorates those who died or worked for the country’s independence. The five-pointed lone star is symbolic of African emancipation and unity in the struggle against colonialism….,” she explained.
Beyond her love for the arts, she was also passionate about hockey and she played a critical role in the development of the sports in the country.
Theodosia Okoh was the first female chairman of the Ghana Hockey Association and later the President of the Ghana Hockey Federation for more than two decades.
It was during her tenure that Ghana first qualified for both the Hockey World Cup and the Olympic Games.
She was named ‘The Joan of Arc of Ghana hockey’ by Ohene Djan, a sports administrator, because she rose to the occasion to save Ghana hockey when men were faltering and vacillating about development of the game.
This is also the reason the National Hockey Stadium was named after her in 2004. Theodosia Okoh was also a long-time patron of the Sports Writers Association of Ghana.
She passed away in 2015, at the age of 92.
JKB/AE
Meanwhile, watch this Ghana Month special edition of People and Places as we hear the story of how the head of Kwame Nkrumah’s bronze statue was returned after 43 years, below: