Former CEO of Ghana Export Promotion Authority, Dr. Afua Asabea Asare
In Ghanaian society, many people frown upon both men and women wearing dreadlocks for several reasons.
From claiming it is fetish to calling it dirty, these preconceived notions often blind people from seeing the bigger picture or appreciating the beauty of the hairstyle.
People with locs are sometimes stigmatised in society, whether in school, the office, or elsewhere.
One such person who has faced this is Dr. Afua Asabea Asare, the former Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Export Promotion Authority (GEPA).
In an interview with YouTuber Wode Maya, the former CEO of GEPA recounted how she lost her job because of her dreadlocks.
According to her, although the company did not explicitly state that her hairstyle was the reason for her dismissal, she was effectively frustrated out.
The former CEO of Ghana Export Promotion Authority noted that she didn’t see anything wrong with wearing dreadlocks, as many girls in the office also wore wigs.
Dr. Afua Asabea Asare explained that the reason for keeping her locs, which are 5 feet 4 inches long, is because she made a “covenant” with God in a time of need.
She said when God delivered, she felt she had to leave her hair untouched by a razor.
Clad in white with her 20-year-old natural hair that sweeps the floor, she told Wode Maya, “I don’t pay anybody to do anything. I can take care of it myself…I had a contract with God. I asked him to do something for me. If he did it, I wasn’t going to cut my hair for 20 years, and he did it, so I decided to keep my hair for 20 years, and it is now almost 20 years.”
She addded, “It wasn’t common when I was doing this. I was in corporate, and I almost lost my job, and I lost my job, and I think it was partly due to this…they couldn’t say that it was because of your hair, but they found a way of frustrating me out of the place because then, I didn’t fit in because of this kind of hair, and that is why I even intended to keep it.”
Dr. Afua Asabea Asare added, “I don’t care about anyone wearing their wigs, and if I want to wear mine too and it is my hair, I will fight it, and so I fought it.”
GEPA was established by Act 396 in 1969 as an agency of the Ministry of Trade and Industry.
It is mandated to develop and promote Ghanaian exports, as well as diversify Ghana’s export base from the traditional gold and other unprocessed minerals, cocoa beans, timber logs, and lumber.
SA/EB
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A 20 Year Old Natural African hair😍 pic.twitter.com/5nSeCQhuOM
— Wode Maya ® (@wode_maya) February 1, 2025
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