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To all Ghanaians and Ghanaphiles across the globe - Happy 58th Independence!!!!   In tribute to our Motherland Ghana - the first sub-Saharan African country to gain independence from colonial rule - I would like to share some thoughts from children's storyteller Tamara, whose first book was inspired by the beautiful country.  Tamara may be born and bred in the US, she may have put down some roots in Italy, but it seems that Ghana has captured her heart. In this second of three instalments, I ask Tamara how a woman from Killeen, Texas, who lives in Rome ends up basing her first book on a boy from Accra, Ghana. Mama Abena, Sista Adjowa and Kofi. The English Schoolhouse. image credit: Howell Edwards Creative MB: Ghana has a strong oral tradition with stories such as Kwaku Anansie. Do you think that this modern twist to the classic Goldilocks story helps to further that tradition?   TP: I do. Stories are the most effective way of communicating anything. It’...

A chance interview with the writer of story book 'The Ghanaian Goldilocks' got me thinking about my childhood and how a good narrative can be the catalyst for firing the imagination, encouraging a love of reading and celebrating free thinking.   The English Schoolhouse. image credit: Howell Edwards Creativ e Even though the book is primarily aimed at children, I was drawn to how US-born Ghanaphile Dr Tamara Pizzoli (who lives in Italy) turned our idea of Goldilocks on its head by depicting the classic character as a Black boy from Ghana with a golden-tipped afro.  And did I mention the book is inspired by her first-born son Noah? ....Fresh, novel and inspiring - I thought - which is why I wanted to share her thoughts with you. In the first of three instalments, I ask the mother-of-two about the importance of storytelling, her love of Ghana and what future creative projects she has up her sleeve. MisBeee: I love the way you've turned this classic on it...

Colonisation from within of the female form © MisBeee Writes There has been a slew of media stories since the start of the year fixated on the supposed potency of the female form and the responsibility women have with making their bodies less desirable to the opposite sex. The idea that a 16-year old girl groomed her married 47-year-old religious education teacher into having an affair, according to UK judge Joanna Greenberg QC , was one that stuck in my mind. It got me recalling the experience of a friend of mine whose mother directed her to wearing a dressing gown over her night dress whenever she ventured out of her room. The extra layer was supposed to act as deterrent against the licentious attacks she suffered most nights at the hands of her stepfather. It didn’t. More recently, fresh efforts by an MP in the Indonesian district of Jember to introduce the controversial 'two-finger' or virginity test to schoolgirls before they can graduate have been denoun...