Anklet Wearing: The New Craze among Ghanaian Women

Feature By: Lawrence Yeboah Gyan

Anklet wearing has become a new form of fashion despite numerous misconceptions people have about those who add it to their sartorial flare. 

There are people who love to wear accessories to make a statement whenever they are going out, be it a formal or informal event.

Most of the time, women wearing chains and beads on their legs, on one leg, and some on both legs, have been seen as bad women who are into men. However, some start wondering what is the significance of this thing? 

First, what is an anklet?

An anklet is a piece of jewelry usually, a chain or beads or both that fashionable women ordinarily wear around their ankles as a fashion statement. They also usually come in different forms.

Historically, it is believed that the introduction of anklets started in Egypt where civilization began. However, anklets have connoted different meanings to different cultures and yes, it does mean promiscuity to some cultures ancient or contemporary times.

Another definition states that just as women wear wedding bands and engagement rings on their right or left ring finger, ankle bracelets once symbolized marital status. Historically, anklets were a gift from the groom to the bride to make their nuptials official and known to the world. In India, they were mostly worn by married women to distinguish them while the ones with dangling bells were worn by dancers. Early forms of use also trace to ancient, pre-dynastic Egypt where it was a form of class distinction — to tell rich from poor. Wives of rich men wore gold chains while the slaves, poor or plebeians wore silver, metallic, or leather anklets.

Nonetheless, most prominent Ghanaian Kings and Queens wear it to showcase wealth, beauty, and dignity. 

However, ladies who wear anklets on normal days are subjected to verbal and perceptual abuse. They are tagged as arrogant, unscrupulous, and rude. 

It was no surprise that Gloria Akuffo, a former Attorney General and Minister of Justices’ love for anklets gained Ghanaians’ attention in October 2018 when she was in parliament to move a motion for the reintroduction of the Special Prosecutor’s (SP) Bill. Photos of her dressing quickly went viral on social media and received varied reactions from Ghanaians. Some applauded her for her bold and gorgeous look while others condemned her dressing but the Minister in a subsequent interview on Joy FM with Lexis Bill explained that the particular anklet was a gift from a young lady friend of hers and as a person who loves beads, she wears it often.

Meanwhile, some women I spoke with on the streets of Sunyani, the Bono Regional capital said it was a fashion for those who wear it to follow trends, simply because they saw certain celebrities wearing it on their bearings and that they believed it was a tendency for them to wear it too. However, some people did not know its meaning ignorantly.

When a woman puts on a chain on her leg here in Ghana, it is seen as an act of prostitution, and any man who sees a woman wearing it comes to the conclusion that she is a prostitute.

Today, the meaning behind the wearing of anklets has evolved to be recognized as a symbol of promiscuity and marine worship which is fallacious in a sense. It means you’re just basing your assumption on just one part of the history of anklets which isn’t right. Queen mothers in Ghana wear ankle bracelets. Cultural dancers wear ankle bracelets to perform. Do they wear them to portray their promiscuity or allegiance to a marine god? 

If we have a problem with the wearing of ankle bracelets as a people, then we should equally have a problem with the wearing of waist beads, wrist bracelets, and necklaces. Well, when all is said and done, I think it’s up to the one who is wearing the anklet to determine what it means to you.