- Fathia Nkrumah
Fathia Nkrumah (1932-2007; born Fathia Rizk; Arabic: فتحية رزق), was the Egyptian wife of
Kwame Nkrumah , the first President ofGhana .Fathia Nkrumah was born and brought up in Zeitoun, a district of
Cairo to aCopt ic family. She was the third daughter of a civil servant who died early and Fathia was raised by her mother single-handedly after her husband's untimely death.Early life
After completing her secondary education, she worked as a teacher in her school, Notre Dame des Apôtres. As teaching did not appeal to her, she took a job in a bank. At that stage, Kwame Nkrumah proposed to marry her. Her mother was reluctant to see another of her children marry a foreigner and quit the country, as Fathia's brother had left
Egypt with his English wife. Fathia explained that Nkrumah was an anti-colonial hero, like Nasser yet her mother refused to speak to her or bless the marriage. Nkrumah married Fathia the evening of her arrival in Ghana: New Year's Eve, 1957-1958. [ [http://www.nathanielturner.com/fathiankrumahfarewell.htm Fathia Nkrumah by her son Gamal Nkrumah] ]Leaving Ghana
Fathia Nkrumah was a very young wife and mother of three very young children when her husband was overthrown in Ghana's first successful military
coup d'état onFebruary 24 , 1966. [ [http://www.myjoyonline.com/archives/politics/200705/5223.asp Myjoyonline.com Ghana News :: Fathia Nkrumah is dead ::: Breaking News | News in Ghana | politics ] ] She had to take her children to Cairo, Egypt to be raised there while her husband went to exile.Death
Fathia died on 31 May 2007 in Badrawy Hospital in Cairo due to a stroke after a period of illness. [ [http://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/NewsArchive/artikel.php?ID=124921 Ghanaweb] ]
Her memorial mass was held in the Orthodox Cathedral Church in Cairo by Pope Shenouda III on Friday, June 1, 2007 [ [http://discussions.ghanaweb.com/viewtopic.php?t=56112&sid=454a238643bbfe3645ae69cb28807359 Discussions :: View topic - Breaking News : Fathia Nkrumah is dead ] ] and she was buried beside her husband in Ghana [ [http://www.myjoyonline.com/archives/photos/2007/4353.asp Myjoyonline.com :: Photo Gallery ::: His Grace Bishop Antonious Markos, Bishop of African Affairs of the Coptic Orthodox Church (COC) from Egypt being assisted by his members to officiate at the Burial Service. ::: Ghana Photos Online ] ] by the wish of Ghana's president
John Kufuor .ee also
*
Ghana
*Kwame Nkrumah References
External links
* [http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2000/499/profile.htm Profile by Gamal Nkrumah (September 2000)]
* [http://www.marshall.edu/akanart/kentecloth_samples.html "Fathia fata Nkrumah" kente design]
* [http://www.flickr.com/photos/24756454@N00/299810992/ Picture: Fathia with Kwame Nkrumah and W.E.B. DuBois]
* [http://www.ghanadistricts.com/ghanainpictures/?event=45&PHPSESSID=38140cbb1f59ab26196a20682a41eb3d Pictures from Fathia's funeral]Persondata
NAME= Nkrumah, Fathia
ALTERNATIVE NAMES=Rizk, Fathia
SHORT DESCRIPTION=First Ghanaian first lady and wife of Kwame Nkrumah
DATE OF BIRTH=1932
PLACE OF BIRTH=Cairo, Egypt
DATE OF DEATH=31 May 2007
PLACE OF DEATH=Cairo, Egypt
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