The National Women’s Organiser of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Dr. Hanna Louisa Bisiw-Kotei, has paid a heartfelt tribute to the late former First Lady, Nana Konadu Agyeman-Rawlings, describing her as an “irreplaceable icon” and a woman whose leadership forever changed the role of women in Ghana.
Speaking in an emotional reflection following the news of Nana Konadu’s passing on October 23, 2025, Dr. Bisiw-Kotei said the late former First Lady stood out as one of Ghana’s most powerful voices for women’s empowerment and social transformation.
“We’ve lost an icon,” she said on Citi Eyewitness News on Friday October 24.
She added: “I have said it many times—there is no one, and I am yet to see one woman in Ghana, who has that ability to mobilise so many women. She was a woman who could serve, a woman who moved and empowered others. She was a mobiliser, an organiser—the 31st December Women’s Movement says it all.”
Dr. Bisiw-Kotei noted that through the 31st December Women’s Movement, Nana Konadu created opportunities for women across the country to gain confidence, skills, and a voice in national affairs.
“If women were able to get a voice from the onset, it is because there was one woman who stood out and pulled everybody along. She belongs to the nation and did so much across board,” she added.
Nana Konadu Agyeman-Rawlings, wife of the late former President Jerry John Rawlings, was 76 at the time of her death. As Ghana’s longest-serving First Lady, she championed women’s empowerment, education, and social justice, founding the 31st December Women’s Movement in 1982. The movement mobilised millions of women across Ghana, leading to transformative social programs in education, health, and economic empowerment.
Her political and social legacy remains deeply woven into Ghana’s development story. Dr. Bisiw-Kotei’s tribute reflects the deep sense of loss within the NDC and across the nation, as Ghanaians continue to mourn a woman whose vision and activism reshaped the narrative of women’s participation in public life.
Funeral arrangements for the late former First Lady are expected to be announced in the coming days.
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