dynamicafrica:

STYLE ICON: Fathia Nkrumah

The first First Lady of the newly independent Ghana, born Fathia Rizk in the Zeitoun district of Egypt’s capital city Cairo, Fathia married the anti-colonial and Pan-African hero of Ghana Osagyefo Kwame Nkrumah on New Year’s Eve in 1957, much to the dismay of her mother. 

With this union, Fathia Nkrumah was thrust into the public eye becoming an unofficial ambassador of her country, and her marriage a symbol of Pan-African unity. As such, aside from formal Western attire of the time, Mrs. Nkrumah adopted the fabric styles of her new-found home, even having a traditional kente cloth named after her - “Fathia fata Nkrumah (Fathia deserves Nrkumah)”.

At first, however, many Ghanaian citizens did not take kindly to their new leader marrying a foreigner - especially one that resembled a “white woman”. But with time, a mutual relationship developed between Fathia Nkrumah and the Ghanaian public as she took to her, at times overwhelming, roles as First Lady, wife and mother.

(source)