Ama Ata Aidoo, in full Christina Ama Ata Aidoo, (born March 23, 1942, Abeadzi Kyiakor,

near Saltpond, Gold Coast [now Ghana]), Ghanaian writer whose work, written in English,
emphasized the paradoxical position of the modern African woman.

Aidoo began to write seriously while an honours student at the University of Ghana (B.A.,
1964). She won early recognition with a problem play, The Dilemma of a Ghost (1965), in
which a Ghanaian student returning home brings his African American wife into the
traditional culture and the extended family that he now finds restrictive. Their dilemma reflects
Aidoo’s characteristic concern with the “been-to” (African educated abroad), voiced again in
her semiautobiographical experimental first novel, Our Sister Killjoy; or, Reflections from a
Black-Eyed Squint (1966). Aidoo herself won a fellowship to Stanford University in California,
returned to teach at Cape Coast, Ghana (1970–82), and subsequently accepted various
visiting professorships in the United States and Kenya.

In No Sweetness Here (1970), a collection of short stories, Aidoo exercised the oral element
of storytelling, writing tales that are meant to be read aloud. These stories and Anowa (1970),
another problem play, are concerned with Western influences on the role of women and on
the individual in a communal society. Aidoo rejected the argument that Western education
emancipates African women. She further exposed exploitation of women who, as
unacknowledged heads of households when war or unemployment leaves them husbandless,
must support their children alone. In 1982–83 she served as Ghana’s minister of education.
Aidoo published little between 1970 and 1985, when Someone Talking to Sometime, a
collection of poetry, appeared. Her later titles include The Eagle and the Chickens (1986; a
collection of children’s stories), Birds and Other Poems (1987), the novel Changes: A Love
Story (1991), An Angry Letter in January and Other Poems (1992), The Girl Who Can and
Other Stories (1997), and Diplomatic Pounds and Other Stories (2012).

In “The Girl Who Can”, the irrepressible Ama Ata Aidoo looks at the roles and rules, and the
games people find themselves playing, often unwillingly. She analyses African women's
struggle to find their rightful place in society. Her stories raise issues of choice and conflict,
teasing about the issues with disarming frankness. How do people behave in cross-cultural
relationships? In the modern world, where a plastic label identifies us, what is our identity?
Will African women be in the driving seat in the twenty-first century? With the zest and humour,
Aidoo raises these questions and provides some challenging answers.

In this collection of short stories, Aidoo elevates the mundane in women's lives to an
intellectual level in an attempt at challenging patriarchal structures and dominance in African
society. Written from a child's perspective, Aidoo subverts the traditional beliefs and
assumptions about the child's voice. Her inimitable sense of style and eloquence, explores
love, marriage and relationships with all the issues they throw up for the contemporary African
woman. In doing so, she manages to capture the very essence of womanhood.

Summary: “The Girl Who Can”

Adjoa is seven years age, and she lives in Hasodzi which is a big village in Ghana. She thinks
that she has only one problem that she has thing legs. Her grandmother, Nana, does not like
that. She think that women should have legs that have meat on them, have good calves and
are strong to be able to have children. Furthermore, Adjoa does not also have the proper
language to speak. When she says something, her grandmother laughs until tears run down
her cheeks. If someone comes, she tells him/her about Adjoa and laughs again. Adjoa never
knows why they laugh. Back to her main problem, legs, her mother and grandmother always
discuss about them. Nana complains about Adjoa’s legs because they are very thin. However,
Adjoa’s mother, Kaya, does not like that. Adjoa wishes to see legs of any women, but it is not
easy in her village. She sees her friends’ legs, and she thinks that they look like her legs.
Another thing that Nana does not like is school because she thinks that it is waste time.
However, Kaya disagrees with her, and she wants Adjoa to learn. In addition, teachers choose
Adjoa to join the district games. Adjoa tells her mother and grandmother about the game and
they are very happy. Moreover, during the week before the race, Nana has washing Adjoa’s
school uniform herself. Adjoa joins the race and wins. She also wins the cup for the best all-
round junior athlete. Nana is very pleased, and she carries the gleaming cup on her back. She
shows Kaya the cup and returns it to the headmaster. Then she carries Adjoa on her knee
and says: “saa, thin legs can also be useful…thin legs can also be useful”.

Analysis of “The Girl Who Can”

In “The Girl Who Can” by Ama Ata Aidoo we have the theme of conflict, innocence, freedom,
insecurity, connection and pride. Taken from her collection of the same name the story is
narrated in the first person by a young seven year old girl and after reading the story the reader
realises that Aidoo may be exploring the theme of conflict. Nana and Maami argue about two
things. The narrator’s skinny legs and the narrator’s father. It is as though Nana is in
disagreement with Maami when it comes to both issues. She does not consider that the
narrator will have the ability to have children as her legs will not support the hips that Nana
believes are needed for a woman to carry a child. This may be important as in many ways
Nana may not only be criticizing the narrator but she might also be criticizing Maami and
blaming her for the fact that the narrator has such skinny legs. As to Nana’s judgement on the
narrator’s father the reader can only assume that again Nan is criticizing Maami for her choice
of husband. Which may leave some readers to suggest that there is a conflict between both
Nana and Maami with Nana always getting the upper hand possibly due to the insecurities
that Maami may feel due to the criticism she gets from Nana.
It is also interesting that the narrator herself does not feel insecure about how her legs look
rather she is more inquisitive as to whether or not she will be able to have children. Even
though she has yet to fully grow and is only seven years of age. The narrator’s curiosity may
be important as it suggests that the narrator is still somewhat innocent. As one would expect
a seven year old child to be. It is also noticeable that at times the narrator says things which
are deemed inappropriate by Nana. Again this may suggest that the narrator is innocent and
is merely trying to understand the world around her. It is also interesting that the narrator is so
modest about her achievements when it comes to running. It is as though her abilities in
running are normal for the narrator. She doesn’t counteract anything Nana says about her legs
by telling Nana that she has legs that are suitable for running and that she is proud of herself.
If anything the narrator again acts modestly. It is both Nana and Maami who consider what
the narrator has done to be an achievement and something in which they are proud of the
narrator.
The narrator’s running also connects her with Nana. Who walks to school with the narrator
and carries the winning cup home on her back. From going to criticizing the narrator (and
Maami) Nana is full of pride. It is as though the narrator has fulfilled her potential without the
hindrance of Nana’s traditional beliefs when it comes to the quality of a girl or woman’s legs.
If anything the narrator’s abilities when it comes to running free the narrator from the traditional
outlook that Nana has when it comes to the abilities of a woman to give birth. This might be
important as Aidoo may be suggesting that the narrator may not necessarily carry on the
traditions that Nana has lived her life by. With freedom comes choices and the narrator may
choose later on in life to take a different path to Nana and Maami. She is after all physically
different in Nana’s eyes so it would not be too much to suggest that mentally the narrator might
also be different to Nana and Maami.
What is also interesting about the story is the fact that the only real freedom that the narrator
has comes with her running and as mentioned the narrator is modest about her abilities. She
does not consider herself to be more important than others. Just because she keeps winning
races. If anything the narrator has an ability which the reader is left hoping is nurtured by Nana
and Maami. That both women continue to be proud of the narrator’s achievements and that
they might accept that the narrator’s life may turn out differently to how their life has turned
out. It is as though the narrator has not only freedom and choices but she may be independent
too. Even if she is still a very young girl. Despite all the criticism that is thrown in the narrator’s
direction none of it sticks to the narrator. She may very well continue her life focusing on her
running and the fact that she has the long, skinny legs of a runner. Something that is beneficial
to the narrator and as such leaves the reader left with a sense of optimism for the narrator’s
future. The narrator has choices that Nana and Maami may never have had.
Ama Ata Aidoo's “The Girl Who Can”
The narrator of the story is named Adjua. She is seven years old and characterized with thin
long legs. her grandmother Nana and her mother Miami seems to be concerned about her
long legs because she may not able to carry children in the future. The narrator, first, depicts
her environment focusing on her grandmother then she informs us about the conversations
between her mom and Nana. Indeed these conversations are mostly about her legs or about
her father. The narrator Adjua exposes both of the external conflict and the internal ones. In
her internal conflict, she usually discusses the external issues and wonders about them. The
events of the story reach the climax when Adjua win one of the school’s races. At this turning
Point, Nana’s attitude Alters positively toward Adjua. She begins to realize that her long thin
legs are of use after all.
The Notion of Feminism
The author is a feminist and the notion of feminism in the story is very obvious. The author
asserts the importance of self-expression through the narrator. Moreover, Aidoo manifests the
practices of society through the character of Nana. Nana criticizes the protagonist a lot and
does not let her speak her mind. Whenever Adjua tries to speak to her, nana laughs at her or
asks her to never say that again. In effects, her grandmother also embodies society’s typical
expectation of the Female. She always complains that her thin legs won’t help her to carry a
child. Her grandmother also does not support her education, which is something very common
in third world societies. Actually, the major feminist theme in this narration is the fact that the
protagonist destroyed all of this criticism and changed Nana’s point of view and proved that
she can!
Ama Ata Aidoo's “The Girl Who Can”
Three dominant old women stereotypes are recognizable in the works of Ama Ata
Aidoo, prompting a kind of categorization. The first category consists of a self-seeking and
critical old woman who uses her experiences and knowledge to exploit her child and
grandchild. In this mode is cast Maame Amoakona of Darko’s The Housemaid. The second
one is made up of a old woman who functions (either knowingly or unknowingly) as a
prophet. The old woman here is wise, kind and experience and she uses her intuitive
knowledge, experience and introspective analysis of issues to caution, explicate and liberate
her people. In this mode also is cast Naa Yomo of Faceless.
The third category includes an old woman who functions notoriously as an agent of
patriarchy. She is neither materialistic nor exploitative but, as an agent of patriarchy,
she insists on adherence to those cultural expectations that limit the woman’s identity only to
her child-bearing abilities. This old woman is very knowledgeable in the cultural expectations
of her community and her calculating claims maps up a strategy directed towards ensuring
total fulfillment of those cultural expectations that limits the woman’s potentials in other fields.
In this third category is cast Nana in Ama Ata Aidoo’s “The Girl Who Can”.

“The Girl Who Can”

The dilemma of old women in patriarchal societies is one of the major preoccupation
in the first phase of literature emerging about the African woman in the works of the
early luminaries of African male as well as female artists (e.g. Ama Ata Aidoo’s Anowa and
Dilemma of a Ghost; Efua Sutherland’s Marriage of Anansewaa; Ayi Kwei Armah’s
Fragments; and Wole Soyinka’s Death and the King’s Horseman). Since she is expected to
take over whenever tensed situation arises and exercise control, she invariably slips into the
patriarchal order - an order which speaks of old women only in honour of cultural stipulations
inimical to women’s interest like widowhood rites, female circumcision and insistence on
automatic maternity for all women. In Ama Ata Aidoo’s “The Girl Who Can”, it is Nana’s
insistence on strict adherence to the community’s expectations and values which creates
ripples in the irreconcilable pool of this three-generational household. In most cases, the old
woman, perceived by the younger generation and the community as the wise guardian of
tradition, gets caught between the image of the heroine and the anti-heroine since she is
labeled as an agent of patriarchy. In the words of Oduyoye (131), “patriarchy exists wherever
one finds systematic and normative inequalities and subordination”. This, for us, implies that
patriarchy is given full reign in any system where males are elevated albeit unfairly above
women. It is, therefore, our contention that old women are losing their value as repositories
of wisdom since some of them knowingly or unknowingly become agents of patriarchy.
Also the story of “The Girl Who Can” reveals that the mother, Kaya, and the
grandmother, Nana, represent two diametrically opposed forces. We note, however, urge
particular focus on the dual representation of the aged, specifically old women. Kaya bemoans
her illiteracy status and thinks she is in a kind of metaphorical darkness since she had not had
the benefit of western education. However, Nana thinks otherwise. She does not only think
that school is a waste of time. She actually convinces herself that school is only important for
females whose physique makes them deficient for child-bearing and nurturing. Indeed, school
assumes a greater space in this story and generates a lot of conflict between Nana and Kaya
on the one hand and Nana and Adjoa, Nana’s granddaughter, on the other hand. The child
narrator comments, “Nana thought it would be a waste, as Nana would say, ‘Maybe with
legs like hers she might as well go to school.’(11)”. The importance of female education
has assumed the position of a discourse in most of Aidoo’s works. In “The Girl Who Can”,
in particular, we underscore the fact that the choice of the girl-child as a narrator reveals
Aidoo’s interest in choosing a voice that differs from that of the old woman, Nana, who
has tied her apron-strings to the traditional limitations imposed on women. Indeed, from
this angle, we realize that Nana’s view of female identity formation is restricted to motherhood;
i.e. the ability to give birth.
Furthermore, Nana exhibits that she is an agent of patriarchy as patriarchy even uses
the child bearing potentials of women as an excuse to turn women into perpetual
nurturers. Following Irigaray (1987: 97), we observe that our societies presuppose that the
mother nurses the child for free before and after giving birth and that she remains the nurse
of men and society. This observation proves right the patriarchal use of childbirth as a weapon
to subjugate women and limit their potentials in other fields, suggesting that their only
preoccupation is child-bearing and nurturing. Irigaray’s observation we have noted here also
points to the patriarchal limitations set on women with children. That childbirth is used as a
weapon to limit women’s progress is also attested to by Oduyoye (10) when she says “The
livingness of the daughters of Anowa, is limited to their biology”. The effectiveness in the
use of the word “limited” is seen since it communicates that in those societies where the
woman’s value is seen only in her childbearing ability, she is not opportune to participate in
any endeavour leading to national development. If such women are not able to shake off the
patriarchal chains then, obviously, they cannot enter into the public sphere and contribute
their quota to national development. It is important therefore to note that, Adjoa, though
younger, is able to act in a way to show her grandmother that the female body is not only
limited to child-bearing. Her comparative analyses of the prized cup carried (symbolically on
the back by Nana) with the way mothers carry babies is very striking. Nana herself, by
carrying the cup on her back, shows that there are varied ways through which females can
carve out dignified images for themselves apart from child-birth. Here, we experience the
radical change in Nana as she acquiesces “Thin legs can be useful…they can run.
Thin legs can run…then who knows?” (13). Aidoo’s intention in interspersing the
narrative with dialogue is to show that the ever-changing nature of culture which, though firmly
grounded in tradition, can change to reflect the needs and sensitivities of the times. Although
Kaya (the daughter) does not share her mother’s limited view of the female body, she dares
not contradict her domineering and indomitable mother since Nana will quickly silence her by
waxing eloquence on the irresponsible nature of Kaya’s husband and father of Adjoa.
Adjoa however shares in her mother’s pain as she relates, ‘I knew from her voice that my
mother was weeping. Not that it would have stopped Nana even if she had heard it.’ (9). Adjoa
does a near-laser analysis of Nana’s attitude, which reveals her grandmother’s behavior
as a calculating strategy to oppose divergent views and inflict emotional torture on her victims
as she did to her mother. Through Nana’s complaints about Adjoa’s legs, which go a
long way to further explain emotional torture, Aidoo voices the limitations that arise when the
female body is valued only for its reproductive potential. Oduyoye (10) asserts this by
positing that “the livingness of the daughters of Anowa is limited to their biology.”
“The Girl Who Can”, however, ends on a positive note; Adjoa’s legs which, according
to Nana, are too thin to support hips that will carry babies become the single most important
part which transports her to victory in the Junior Athletics competition. Ironically and as a
reflection of the dual representation of old women, it is this same Nana who symbolically
carries the cup on her back to show off to her neighbours before returning it to the headmaster.
Thin legs she now acquiesces, hitherto considered inappropriate for carrying babies, bring
in a prize. Appropriately, Adjoa’s victory is a lesson for the grandmother; it teaches this
calculating old woman that the female’s potential should not only be limited to biology; i.e.
reproduction. The female body, in this story, takes on a greater value. By explicating Nana’s
treatment of her spindly legs and the change in Nana’s attitude when these same legs brought
in a cup, Adjoa has portrayed that old women are even capable of adjustment. In this particular
case, the adjustment is the realization that women are not only child-bearers; they can achieve
recognition in other fields as well. The old woman who was hitherto portrayed as an agent of
patriarchy is now being showcased as a repository of wisdom in that in admitting that thin legs
can be useful, she did not limit the legs to running alone. She even added “…and who knows”,
which speaks of abundant opportunities waiting to be exploited by females who refuse to allow
childbirth alone dictate their worth.

INTRINSIC ELEMENT ANALYSIS: CHARACTERIZATION OF ADJOA IN “THE GIRL WHO

CAN” BY AMA ATA AIDOO

1. Introduction
“The Girl Who Can” is a short story written by Ama Ata Aidoo. It tells about a girl who
has to be able to fulfill the expectation of her family and society. The story brings the role and
the struggle of women in Africa. This struggle includes the struggle of African women to find a
rightful place in society and how to be accepted in the society with all imperfection in
themselves. The author uses the social background of a society which the majority of its
people think that a woman will be ‘useful’ if she has a ‘normal’ and ‘same’ body as the others.
4. Biography of Ama Ata Aidoo
Christina Ama Aidoo, well-known as Ama Ata Aidoo, is a Ghanaian writer. She was
born into a royal Fanti family in Ghana on 23rd of March, 1942. She had wanted to be a poet
when she was in Wesley Girls’ Highschool in Cape Coast. She studied there from 1961 to
 1964, and then continued her study in University of Ghana in Legon in 1964. Her first published
play entitled “as authentically African as possible” in 1966, which actually had been staged in
1965, made her recieved the name of the first African woman dramatist. In 1982 she was
appointed minister of education in Ghana, making her the first woman to hold that position.
5. Summary of the Story
The story goes from the point of view of Adjoa, a seven years old girl from Ghana. She
was born with spindy legs that are too long for a woman, and too thin to be at any use—at
least that is what her grandmother, Nana, always thinks about Adjoa’s legs. Adjoa has to suffer
more than the other Ghanaian women because of her imperfect feet. But with that
imperfection, she proves to people around her that she still can achieve something great.
6. Discussion
There are four characteristics of Adjoa based on her psychological state:
1. Thinker
“And my problem is that at this seven years of age, there are things I can think in my head,
but which, maybe, I do not have the proper language to speak them out with.” (“The Girl Who
Can”: 87)
Many monologues of Adjoa which show that she is a thinker, whether thinking of her feet
problem, how Nana treats her and else. In her age, Adjoa has shown that she is different from
the other children, not in the physical state but in psychological or mental state. However, she
still has limit in conveying or speaking up her mind because she is confuse on how the adults
know and accept her opinions.
· 2. Analytical Girl
“And that, I think, is a very serious problem because it is always difficult to decise whether to
keep quite and not say any of the things that come into my head, or say them and get laughed
at. Not that it is easy to get any grown-up to listen to you, even when you decide to take the
risk and say something serious to them.” (“The Girl Who Can”: 87)
From the monologue above, we know that Adjoa always remembers what the reaction
she will recieve if she says something to the adults. From all reactions she ever recieved, she
can make a conclusion, and it indicates that Adjoa is an analytical girl.
· 3. High-sensed Girl
“And always at that point, I knew that point, I knew from her voice that my mother was weeping
inside.” (“The Girl Who Can”: 88-89)
It is beacuse Adjoa is a thinker and an analytical girl, her sense, her awareness toward
what around her is higher than the other children. It makes her know her mother’s feeling.
· 4. Not Very Communicative
This characteristic is built in Adjoa because there is a fear in herself. There is a such of
trauma in her which is created by words that Nana ever said to her and by people who laughed
at her imperfection. She decides to speak up through her action, her achievement.

“Except that I was afraid of saying that sort of thing aloud.’ (“The Girl Who Can”: 92)
“It’s much better this way. To have acted it out tho show them, although I could not have
planned it.” (“The Girl Who Can”: 92)
7. Conclusion
Adjoa is a kindly and amazing little girl with an inspiring character based on the way
she thinks and proves her ability without being burdened by her imperfect body. In conclusion,
Adjoa is created by Ama Ata Aidoo with a great characterization that can spread positive vibe
to people around her.