President Samia Suluhu Hassan is the first female President of Tanzania. She was sworn in as the President upon the death of John Magufuli with whom she was the first female vice President.
Her swearing in as the president of Tanzania is especially historic if one observes how there are so few female heads of states and Presidents in the African continent.
In actual fact, at present, there are only two women across the continent who are serving as presidents and heads of states.
They are President Samia Suluhu Hassan of Tanzania and President Sahle-Work Zewde of Ethiopia. Although there have been other women who have served as presidents in Africa, these two women are the only female politicians occupying the highest positions in any African country at the moment.
For what it’s worth, it must be said that they deserve to be celebrated for the tenacity that has pushed them to the top.
That said, one has to observe that the majority of African female politicians struggle with being openly pro-women. President Suluhu of Tanzania for one, was reported to have said shortly after her swearing in as President that she still kneels for her husband when serving him food even as a highly regarded politician.
She went on to say that she does it out of “love and affection” and not because she is inferior. In addition to these, President Suluhu also said that such tradition should not be thrown out as it strengthens the family bond and ensures children are brought up with good manners.
It however calls for questioning why this statement came shortly after she was sworn in. It also calls for questioning why there are hardly cases of male presidents and politicians being interviewed of how well they wash their wives’ underwear or even how he “helps” by cleaning the home. If anything, it would be considered beneath a (male) president to be interested in the domestic ongoings of his home.
But when it is a female president or parliamentarian she is grilled on how she combines serving the people in her constituency with serving her husband’s food alone and without help from domestic staff.
When I was coming into my journey of feminism as a teenager a few years ago, I remember actively shaming not just female politicians who made statements like the one said by President Suluhu, but also statements made by powerful business women in Nigeria who never failed to mention that they were motherly and always cooked for their husbands.
Now that I am much more informed, I have come to look at these women with more empathy. Does this mean that I agree with their statements? No I don’t.
Rather, I understand that female politicians and powerful business women saying downright humiliating things, may be what is necessary to appease male political egos that are necessary to give them the resources needed to even improve the lives of women and girls.
A good example of the above point was seen in the King of Boys movie, where Eniola Salami, a very feared female politician had to kneel before a male god father who was critical to her being elected.
That scene was an acute reminder that sometimes, older women do things they do not truly desire but have to do if they are to get into the decision making rooms to better the lives of younger women who may mock them as “weak links” and “not radical enough”.
Sometimes, it may be that African female politicians tacitly avoid being too “open” about women’s rights because it may mean that women’s rights may get eroded as a way to warn them.
For instance, of recent, President Suluhu of Tanzania was praised for diverting to children with special needs, money intended for Tanzania’s independence day celebration.
I can’t help but wonder if she would have received that much praise from both men and women if that money was diverted and instead used for things like sex education and provision of sanitary pads in workplaces.
Speaking with Kintan, a writer and communications lead, she tells me that it may be that the avoidance is because these women do not understand feminism.
In her words: “One of the things I’ve noticed is that they don’t understand Feminism.
Also, they want to try to prove points that they are good “homemakers” too.
So you hear things like, “Because I’m now a governor, does not mean I don’t go back home to cook for my husband”.
She went on to say: “They got their positions with the help of the men in their lives, so it will be highly impossible to be solely pro-women – it’s defiance to the men who helped their career.
The solution can range from proper and adequate education to more feminists going into politics.”
However it must be said that some Nigerian female politicians like Mrs Bisi Adeleye-Fayemi who was the former First Lady of Ekiti State, are openly feminist and have been instrumental in creating sex offender’s registries and writing books on African feminism.
What is important is addressing the system and not how the victims choose to navigate the systems.
There needs to be more support for openly feminist women in politics and more empathy for women who shy away from feminism even as we critique their negative statements.
Angel Nduka-Nwosu is a writer, journalist and editor. She moonlights occasionally as a podcaster on As Angel Was Sayin’. Catch her on all socials @asangelwassayin.
