When I decided to take Obaasema to the 2014 Chale Wote Street Art Festival in James Town, I must admit, I was unsure of the response. This was going to be our first outdoor appearance in Ghana; the feedback, however, was encouraging (See video here). Our visitors were drawn to and loved our “Ideal Woman Vision Board” which was a visual translation of the Obaasema concept. Click here for more details about our installation.
As part of our activities at Chale Wote, we asked people (men and women) to share their personal definition of an ideal woman. This exercise, I must clarify, was not meant to declare that an “ideal woman” had to be a particular person or fit into a certain mold. It was not meant to contribute to any societal pressure that attempted to define who or what a woman should be. Instead, it was meant to gain insight into their perceptions of who an “ideal woman” is and to analyze the various thoughts to identify parallels.
The analysis unveiled something that was quite telling: both men and women who were interviewed had very similar perceptions of an ideal woman, although each person shared something that seemed to be unique to them.
What’s important to note, I believe, is that every person whether male or female needs to find themselves and know and enjoy that true self. That self that produces light in you and reflects outwardly to impact others. Once this has been accomplished, it’s easy to live unapologetically “you” and not conform to what expectations from society.