By Agnes Ansah

It was on one of the lanes at the Kwame Nkrumah Circle, Accra. I had accidentally bumped into a young lady whose outfit marched her acoustic make ups and that of her stiletto shoes. As I turned to say sorry, my tongue felt as though it had been tied to my lower jaw. Perhaps of sighting her packed into her handbag: sanitary p*d, sanitizer, makeup kits, dress, panties among others.

While I stood watching her pack those items into her bag, one question kept my head itching as if I had received the blows Ayittey Powerless, sorry, Powers endured. The question as to why the Ghanaian woman carries her ‘world’ with her?

I guess you might have also asked why our women after spending close to an hour before the dressing mirror-to look a little like a mermaid-would still carry her beauty kit with her. Well, join me as I take a tour through my Nkrumah Circle Cinderella’s handbag in finding out why (?).

After interviewing some of my colleagues, I received both impressing and weird answers. The pad being one of the items in the Lady’s bag, for instance, is said to be a shield against welcome or unwelcomed ‘kotoko players.’ “You know one might be taken aback to see the bl**d flow when you had expected it a day later. So for me, I always carry one in my bag.

Prevention they say it’s better than cure,” Pamela, (21), tells me as she picks her long sleek hair that laid in between her breasts and had it thrown behind her thin neck.

On the keeping of a sanitizer, some ladies say it is to cleanse their hands after eating or visiting the ladies. Well, a good hygienic practice but does that mean men don’t eat or visit the gents? Or the men carry them in their pockets? Where are the gents? Another item I saw my bumped-into-lady picked into her bag was the makeup kit. When asked why they (women) put that in their bags when they have already given the face a touch of beauty in the house, Gloria, (25), had this to say; “In order to re-make up.” And it’s so amazing where ladies sometimes re-make up; in taxis and trotro, after visiting the ladies and by so doing comb their hairs while unwanted particles fall on prospective passengers.

The final item that I would like to talk about is a dress accompanied by a thread and needle. Wondering why thread and needle? But what do you expect after putting a dress in your bag? It might get thorn somehow so better add a thread and needle. So, again, I ask what exactly do ladies use a second dress in their bags for? Where will you be going that you would need another dress and even panties? For instance, a lady going to work puts another attire in her bag but why would she need to change her uniform when she only spends 7 or 8 working hours at the work place? The items in the handbag, for some women, are uncountable. Shoes and mirror among others.

Is the Ghanaian woman living a mysterious life or is she just trying to stay on point? Would the Ghanaian man ever carry with him perfume, singlet, boxer short, and the like to live an impressive life? Continue the discussion in your cars, under that tree, offices and at the market places.

The writer is a student-journalist at the Ghana Institute of Journalism.

Email: agnesamaansah@gmail.com