At the launch of the John A. Kufour Foundation with former South Africa President Thambo Mbeki and former Germany President Hirst Kohler 
H. E. John Agyekum Kufour & Dr. Nunoo
How did this black lady prevail and break glass ceilings in the professional world at such a young age? It’s My Story sat down with her for an exclusive interview.
It’s My Story: Thank you Dr Nunoo for accepting to feature on the very first edition of the Prevailer’s magazine. Please tell us more about yourself.
Dr Nunoo: Thank you for having me as part of the first edition of your magazine. My name is Jemima Nunoo (née Agyare) and I am a woman who likes to make the most out of life. My greatest aim is to fulfill the purpose for which I was created. What I do is a consequence of who I am. I am a sociable person, I love to learn and I love to teach. I like inputting into others and seeing them grow and achieve their full potential. That’s why I wear so many hats. My formal roles all help me fulfill my role in lifting others up.
It’s My Story: Congratulations on all your achievements thus far. I would like to know, what were the very first challenges you experienced in life as a girl/lady especially growing up in the UK and how did you prevail over these? Did you experience any racism for example and how did you overcome that?
Dr Nunoo: I was born and raised in Manchester in the UK. I lived in a predominantly White neighbourhood and attended predominantly White schools. I experienced forms of racism from an early age- not the violent, angry kind of racism (where I grew up people were superficially polite) but the kind of insidious, pretentious, ‘curiosity’ kind of racism that can be soul-destroying and lower one’s self esteem. I was often questioned about my name, asked rather condescending questions about my African heritage and made to feel different and somewhat ‘othered’. For example, a teacher gave me the nickname ‘football bum’ because, like many African women, I have a round behind. The whole class (including teacher) would tease me on my ‘football bum’ and this caused me years of hang-ups with regards to my shape and body. I spent all of my pre-teen and some of my teenage years hiding my behind because I was so self-conscious. I hated the fact that I had a round bottom and wished that a had a small or flat behind because of all the teasing. Thank God for African grandmothers! When I went to Ghana to visit my grandmother while I was a teenager, she noticed that I was wearing a denim jacket to cover my behind (yes in the sweltering heat of Ghana!). She whipped it off me and told me that round behinds are a sign of beauty in Ghana and that I should stop being ashamed of what I have (she also told me how ridiculous it was to wear a denim jacket in the tropical heat of Ghana lol). I really took what my grandma said and slowly but surely, I came out of my body hang up. It also helped that my parents were no nonsense. If someone was being racist or discriminatory against me, they would not let me have a pity party. NO WAY! I was told in no uncertain terms that being a Black person in the UK comes with all these hazards so I needed to learn to suck it up, focus on my school work, excel academically and carve out a successful career- that was the only way to silence the critics and move on in life. There was no molly coddling in my household.
It’s My Story: Women tend to come across a lot of challenges in life whether as young girls in school, experiencing the failed marriage of parents etc., how did you prevail over these and would you say these experiences shaped who you became as a woman?
Dr Nunoo: The challenges we go through and how we overcome them shape us as a person. The experiences in life have made me who I am today. One of the things I try not to be is judgmental. This is because I have been on the unpleasant receiving end of the judgment of others. In your question you mention ‘failed marriage of parents’. I prefer to call it a divorce (I will not go into the reasons here) and I do think that my parents’ divorce shaped my adult life. My parents got separated and divorced when I was older (I had left home for university). I will never forget the way in which my mother, not my father, was treated by the Ghanaian community. It was as if she was automatically at fault because it’s supposed to be the woman who keeps the marriage at all costs (no matter what the man does) and that she was a failure for not doing so. The social stigma within the Ghanaian community of being a divorced woman is something that needs addressing. Many women stay in disrespectful/loveless/abusive/life-threatening marriages because they are afraid of the stigma of being a divorcée. Even though mum is too proud to admit this, I think this still has an affect on her today. However, I’m glad my mum decided to value her self-worth and end a marriage where she was devalued rather than stay in it and be miserable and disrespected- all for the sake of being called Mrs. In as much as we honour marriage I think we should not make marriage a do or die affair. We should not use it to judge a person’s character or worth. Just because a person is married doesn’t mean they are of a more noble or decent character than a single/separated/divorced person. I am an only child and got caught in the cross fire of my parents’ divorce. My father refused to look after me whilst in university and my mum wasn’t financially (or emotionally) in a place to be looking after me single-handedly. Therefore, I had to grow up very quickly. Fortunately, I’ve always been an independent person (growing up I never really liked relying on my parents) so I took it in my stride. Actually, it made me more responsible because I had to take major life decisions without much input from my parents because I did not want to burden them with my problems when I knew that they were going through so many of their own. I got through these times (which were often very tough) by having a small circle of people who I could trust to help me get through. Dr. Emilie Onyekwe was more than a sister to me during these times and my Ugochukwu family were amazing. Papa used to add my name to his prayers and, he didn’t know this at the time, but this greatly helped because he stepped in and intervened when I needed it most. My church family were also so supportive and were the hands and feet of Jesus. I can’t write down everything they did for me here but all I can say is that a good church family/ fellowship is like having a strong backbone.
One Response
What a life of inspiration! Thank you Dr. Nunoo. God bless and keep you going stronger and deeper in Him.