In a statement by her family, she died after a short illness, BBC reports.

The family also requested privacy to allow members to mourn her passing.

The late Aidoo in her lifetime received several literary honours and awards, among which is the 1992 Commonwealth Writers Prize for Change.

She commended and illustrated the plight of African women in works like Changes, Our Sister Killjoy, and The Dilemma of a Ghost.

She was Secretary for Education in Ghana from 1982 to 1983 under the Jerry Rawlings’ PNDC administration.

In 2000, Aidoo established the Mbaasem Foundation to promote and support the work of African women writers.

Her plays include – The Dilemma of a Ghost, produced at Legon in 1964, Pittsburgh in 1988, Anowa was published in 1971 and produced at the Gate Theatre in London in 1991.