Politics
Women are Gaining Power in African Politics
Africa now has three female heads of state, after Catherine Samba-Panza of the Central African Republic took office in January.
Though women leaders are still a rarity in African politics, activists say things are improving as women break into the “boys club” of the African presidency.
Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, or “Ma Ellen,” was the first woman to be elected president, in 2005, as the country emerged from 13 years of brutal civil war.
Joyce Banda became president of Malawi in 2012 after the sudden death of the previous president and she had been the vice president.
And now there’s President Catherine Samba-Panza in the Central African Republic, a country engaged in rebellion and sectarian violence.
Interestingly enough, each of these women has taken office during a period of crisis and transition. In fact, countries like Mali have seen their first female presidential candidates. It seems, bad times are prying the doors open.
“There’s a joke I read the other day – when everything gets messed up, the women are asked to come in and clean up,” Executive Director for the NGO Women Africa Solidarity, Oley Dibba-Wadda says.
She also added that girls and young women are getting much-needed role models.
She went on to add, “To say it is possible, I can actually be a president being a woman…These trailblazers have just opened the flood doors and it’s just going to happen. There is no thinking of going back. We can’t go back.”
