Blog #1 The American secretary who became king

Peggielene Bartels is an American secretary who has become the first female king in Ghana. She was working at the Ghanaian embassy in the US at the time and she received a call from a relative of hers that she was going to be the next king of Ghana. Her uncle was the former King of Otum Ghana and he had passed away. She currently works at the Ghana Embassy and spends a month in Otum for her holiday time. She loves being able to be king because she has executive power unlike a queen who mostly answers to the kings and takes care of the children. She lives her life now in the United States and in Ghanaian were her life is slit down the middle. In America she still performs her former job and she does everything on her own. In Ghana she is well taking care of because that is what is supposed to be done for her as the king but it makes her uncomfortable because she is used to being independent due to how she has been living her life in the United States for the past thirty years.

This is not a new phenomenon for there to be a female king in Africa even though it is a rare occurrence. Due to Ghana being a patriarchal society it is interesting to see that they have allowed a female to take such a prestigious role in their country. It is significant due to the fact that women especially in traditional cultures stick to traditional roles because that is what is expected of them. Then again her countries of birth choose her so the society she was born into wanted her as king. This shows how Ghana is changing as a nation because it has broken tradition based on gender. 

http://www.cnn.com/2013/01/31/world/africa/king-peggy-otuam-ghana/index.html?hpt=wo_t4

Chanel Martin

February 1, 2013

4:40 pm