People Assumed Women in Ghana Wouldn’t Skate. Then One Crew Changed Everything
Image: Thomas Cristofoletti
On a hot Saturday in Accra, past a half-pipe set up in her house's front yard, Sandy Alibo is sweating over her kitchen's gas stove.…
She's preparing fried banana crumble for about half a dozen members of Skate Gal Club – an all-women skateboarding collective she co-founded in 2019 with her friend Kuukua Eshun. Sandy places each melting scoop of ice cream delicately on the side of the women's plates, as they sit around her large kitchen table, animatedly discussing Tarana Burke's #MeToo movement for survivors of sexual assault.
It's no accident that we're in Sandy's home in Accra's central Osu district – a diverse, bustling neighbourhood at the heart of Ghana's creative scene. Within these walls, she and Kuukua have created a central hub for Skate Gal, where club merchandise, from posters to fridge magnets, covers nearly every room. On a typical day, you'll find a handful of Skate Gal members gathered around her kitchen table, cementing the club's dual role.
In one sense, it's a place for women to learn board skills and kick flips, pushing back against assumptions of what a 'sport for women' can be. As she digs into her dessert, Kuukua tells me that "It's about building confidence." But seen from another angle, the club offers an open environment for members to talk about sex, work and being an African woman in a rapidly growing and changing country like this one.
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