To commemorate the first anniversary of Nana Konadu Agyeman-Rawlings’ passing, former First Lady and Founder of the non-governmental organization (NGO) the 31st December Women’s Movement, a Memorial Mass will be held at the Holy Spirit Cathedral, Adabraka, on Friday, October 23, 2026.
The family spokesperson said the Mass would start at precisely 10 am and conclude by midday.
White or black and white are the clothing options.
Last year, the former First Lady passed away on October 23.
She was a leading champion of poverty alleviation, grass-roots development, gender issues, and women’s empowerment while serving as First Lady from 1981 to 2001.
Legacy
Mrs. Agyeman-Rawlings urged Ghanaian women to participate in the politics of managing their communities during the 1980s when the district assemblies were founded and throughout her political activism, opening the way for the large number of women we see in active politics, industry, and leadership positions today.
Local communities, foreign organizations, the donor community, and their own initiatives helped Ghana’s December 31 Women’s Movement build over a thousand early childhood development centers.
These centres for early childhood development have significantly helped lower Ghana’s poverty cycle by providing rural and urban low-income areas with equitable access to preschool education.
Profound is her inheritance. She was in charge of regional peace initiatives with First Ladies in West Africa and Africa, playing a key part at the United Nations World Conference on Women in Beijing in 1995.
Her persistent endeavor to uphold the rights of women and children in Ghana resulted in the passage of PNDC Laws 111, 112, 113, 114, 115, and Article 28(1) of the Constitution of the Republic of Ghana, which is also reflected in the Children’s Act 1998 (Act 560), which is noteworthy.
Political activity
Ghana’s return to democratic government in 1992 also gave her the distinction of being not only the first First Lady but also the mother of the Fourth Republic, and she continued to use that position to promote women’s empowerment.
Moreover, the late former First Lady was instrumental in forming the National Democratic Congress (NDC), running and being elected a Vice-Chairperson in 2010.
In 2011, she ran for the party’s flagbearership once more, but she was defeated.
In 2012, she established the National Democratic Party (NDP) and made history as the first woman in Ghana to run for president as an NDP candidate in the 2016 presidential elections.
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