With Ghanaian Vice President Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang and Namibia’s President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah assuming the highest governmental positions in their respective countries, it seems the tide is finally turning towards more women across Africa holding politically powerful roles.
Other sub-Saharan African prime ministers include Togo’s Victoire Tomegah Dogbe, Namibia’s Saara Kuugongelwa-Amadhila, Uganda’s Robinah Nabbanja, and the Democratic Republic of Congo’s Judith Suminwa.
president and prime minister are both women, and this is notable given that previously the five most commonly held portfolios by women Cabinet Ministers were Women and Gender Equality, Family and Children Affairs, Social Inclusion and Development, Social Protection and Social Security, and Indigenous and Minority Affairs.
Rwanda leading the movement
According to the United Nations’ Women division, only six countries in the world have 50% or more women in their single or lower houses of parliament, Other countries on this list include Cuba, Nicaragua, Andorra, Mexico, New Zealand, and the United Arab Emirates.
progress was spurred by special measures, starting with the 2003 Constitution that set a 30% quota for women in elected positions. Political parties also adopted their own voluntary quotas for women candidates on party lists.
“Almost crazy” to run
But there are still serious obstacles. In many countries, women face
Kenyan political analyst Nerima Wako-Ojiwa told DW that in her country the steep financial capital needed to run an election campaign, and social stigma attached to becoming a career politician, discourages many women from running for political office.
“We see a lot of men who enter politics are businessmen, and they run their own businesses or they will have their friends support their campaign,” she further said.
She adds that women have faced being disowned by family, and many face both online and physical harassment.
“The impression that politics has, is that you have to be some type of woman, almost crazy, and almost in a sense, iron tough to be able to vie,” she told DW.
“Women were not trusted to be in the highest position of governing the country. So one of the challenges is for people who still have that perspective of no women in higher positions,” Rose Reuben, the executive director for the Tanzania Media Women’s Association told DW.
Mixed picture for women’s representation in politics
The World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Report 2023 indicates that Rwanda, along with other Sub-Saharan African countries like Namibia and South Africa, has closed more than 70% of the overall gender gap. This places them ahead of regions like Southern Asia and the Middle East and North Africa.
Meanwhile, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Mali, and Chad are the lowest-performing countries, with scores below 62%.
Despite some achievements across Africa, the UN Women division states that at the current pace, “gender equality in the highest positions of power will not be achieved for another 130 years” and more still needs to be done to involve women in government.
A Tanzanian showdown
President Samia Suluhu Hassan hopes to lead Tanzania again as the Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) candidate in October’s general elections. This time, two women will face off against each other. Dorothy Semu will represent the Alliance for Change and Transparency (ACT) Wazalendo.
Reuben sees this is as milestone.
“Women have vied for this position, but most of them were coming from opposition parties. This is the first time that CCM has a woman who is going to this position, so it is a milestone,” she told DW.
The 65-year-old leader became president after John Magufuli’s death in 2021. Suluhu’s tenure began with optimism, pledging to reverse many of Magufuli’s controversial policies.
However, she drew criticism during last year’s local election for frequent arrests, abductions, and killings of opposition politicians.
According to Reuben, the CCM has evaluated and monitored Samia Suluhu Hassan’s leadership, and believes she is the CCM’s best chance of retaining the presidency.
Challenges with Ghana’s electoral system
In West Africa, Ghana’s candidate-centered electoral system has been criticized as “woman unfriendly.” However, the country finally signed the Affirmative Action Bill into law in 2024 before its December elections, aiming to increase female political representation to 30% by 2030. The gender equality bill had been in the making for nearly 30 years.
Many analysts and activists believe the law is long overdue as women held fewer positions in decision-making bodies.
Mavis Zupork Dome, a research analyst at the Ghana Center for Democratic Development, told DW the bill provides legal backing for enforcing women’s participation in political space, political life, decision-making, and governance.
President John Dramani Mahama has appointed 42 ministers, with only 7 of them being women, sparking mixed reactions. But the election of the country’s first female Vice President, Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang, could bring hope for future changes.
Dome believes this is a big milestone for Ghana because “it indicates that we are making some progress” opens the door “for more women to get into the political space.”
Especially since over the years, Dome notes Ghana has made little headway when it comes to female participation in governance, electoral representation and parliament. This is despite a recent Afrobarometer surveyshowing that over 70% of Ghanaians believe women should have the same opportunities as men to be elected into political office, and women should enjoy equal rights.
To encourage women to run in constituencies, Dome says political parties need to be “intentional about women being their candidates” and there also needs to be a “political will” to make space for women.
Edited by: Cai Nebe
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