At age 27, Abigail Kwartekaa Quartey shattered barriers by becoming Ghana’s first female world boxing champion and the first woman to represent Ghana internationally in boxing youtube.com+8apnews.com+8apnews.com+8. Growing up in Jamestown—a neighborhood where female boxers faced strong opposition—her own family discouraged her passion, but she persisted apnews.com+3cp24.com+3apnews.com+3.

Quartey paused in 2017 to support her family but resumed training in 2021 despite financial hurdles, eventually winning the WIBF World Super Bantamweight title by defeating Britain’s Sangeeta Birdi in November cp24.com+2apnews.com+2ksl.com+2. Her coach and a local boxing advocate praise her achievement as a landmark victory not just for her community in Jamestown but for all of Africa newsroom.ap.org+6apnews.com+6ksl.com+6.

Her triumph has inspired young women like 18‑year‑old Perpetual Okaijah, who now trains beside her and sees in Quartey proof that girls—and boys—can reach for world-class heights