Ghanaian animator, Karen Happuch Peprah Henneh, has disclosed how her journey as a female animator in Ghana has been so far.
She indicated the journey has been a tough one, filled with challenges she has been able to overcome and is still dealing with them, especially because of her gender.
In an exclusive interview with Mercy Bee the Ekumfi Princess on e.tv Ghana’s ‘Girl Vibes’ show, she said, “I’ve had a lot of discouragement but animation is something I fell in love with right from when I was young. As a little girl, I always used to watch animations. So, I literally think I learnt how to paint and draw from those animations, and I just knew from a very young age that this is what I wanted to do.”
She mentioned that getting into the animation industry has been a very difficult one as she’s mostly the only lady in the midst of men.
Citing an example of some challenges she has faced in the course of working as a female animator, she stated that, a friend referred her to someone for work and the perception of the employer sort of was in a poor taste.
“He didn’t know I was a female so, when he contacted me he was like please can I speak with the person who does the animation, are you his PA? I told him no I do these myself and he was shocked just because I was a lady. When he saw my work, he wasn’t expecting a lady to be behind them,” she mentioned.
She believes everyone at all can be an animator including women hence, the narrative that makes people assume women are not capable of doing what men do including animation should change which she is ready to ensure.
By: Gyamfuah Owusu-Ackom
