Yaa Asantewaa didn't flinch. The British were slowly invading and trying to take what belonged to her people. While other leaders were scrambling, she was suiting up to defend everything she knew and loved.
Asantewaa was the Queen Mother of the Ashanti, the second highest position in the kingdom. She was also the protector of the sacred Golden Stool, the soul of the Ashanti nation. When British representative Sr. Frederick Mitchell Hodgson disrespectfully sought out and sat on the Stool with no care in the world, word got back to Asantewaa.
The Queen Mother wasted no time rallying her troops, stepping outside the role she was expected to play as a woman. They rebelled against the British in a bloody war that lasted six months, killing thousands.
Asantewaa fought tooth and nail until the final hours of the war when she was captured and exiled to Seychelles. But the Golden Stool was one thing the British never got their hands on.
Like Yaa Asantewaa, we must all realize that sometimes stepping outside our roles or the expectations set for us is necessary to contribute to our liberation. Resistance isn't rigid; we have to move like anything is possible. It is.