EDITOR’S NOTE: This piece was originally published as part of the Spring 2019 magazine.
“If you thought I spoke a lot about women already, know that I am just getting started, “ said Sahle-Work Zewde in her address to the Parliament during her appointment as Ethiopia’s first female president.
Across the African continent, there’s has been a small but growing push to put women in political positions, and in the wake of the appointment of Ethiopia’s first female president, women in African politics are once again being highlighted by the international community. In the past, Africa has seen a few female presidents in her confines, most notably in Liberia with President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf. Rwanda has been a pioneer in the movement to bring women into politics in Africa. Women make up 64% of Rwanda’s parliament (as of the 2016 elections), which is the highest quota in the world. Some other African nations have followed suit and are striving to increase the number of women in public service, including Namibia, South Africa, Mozambique, Senegal, and Ethiopia. However, many other African nations such as Nigeria, with only 5% of its assembly seats occupied by women, are slow to rise and sometimes hostile towards the notion. There’s an ongoing debate about the sociopolitical and cultural circumstances that led to a push towards giving women more descriptive representation (gender quotas for instance) in the public sphere and the variations of these circumstances across the continent. Furthermore, there’s a global conversation about the impact of representation and whether the descriptive presence of underrepresented groups such as women (and other minorities) really lead to any substantive outcomes, not only in pushing the women’s rights movement forward across Africa but creating substantial social, economic and political advancements for these nations.
Women are the foundation of many African nations’ economies, undisputedly. About 80% of all small-scale farming and “informal” trading is done by women; some women solely carry the financial burden for their families. In spite of this, women across the continent find themselves in the most vulnerable positions and are often excluded from the decision-making processes not only in the political sphere but the economy as well. Women often don’t have equal access to education, healthcare, nor equal property rights which makes it more difficult for women to enter the political sphere, because while women make the money, they often don’t see the money. Many women are financially incapable of taking the steps to campaign; no one will back them and oftentimes not even their husbands. “A pathetic scenario is that most husbands are not always comfortable when their wives are actively involved in politics, so they do not give their approval,” lamented Mrs. Toluwani Oyejo (a Nigerian correspondent), “this usually discourages them from going into politics because they are scared of losing their marriage.” Nigeria’s strong patriarchal structure ensures that women would face hostile working conditions when they arrive at the National Assembly. In fact, member of the Nigerian House of Representatives, Gudaji Kazaure, stated during a speech in parliament that women would “mess up” if given the opportunity to participate in the governance.
Rwanda, however, presents a different case. After the Rwandan genocide, Rwanda’s population boomed from 5.5 million to 6 million, with females representing about 60%-70% of that population . The Rwandan genocide had the same effect that World War II had on American society, women were coming out of the domestic sphere. Women were working more and with the push by President Paul Kagame, women began to reshape the face of the Rwandan legislative body. President Kagame saw that with the loss of men and the brutality of the genocide, the country need a new beginning; Rwanda essentially began to rebrand itself. To start, in 2003, the country’s new constitution declared that that 30 percent of parliamentary seats were to be reserved for women. In addition to this, the government promised that education for girls would be widely encouraged and more opportunities would be created for women. In Ethiopia, the push towards gender quotas and giving women ministerial positions came from the prime minister Abiy Ahmed. Ahmed portrays himself as the innovative and forward thinker that Ethiopia needs. He has emphasized economic growth and social reforms. Half of his cabinet are women and he has helped appoint a female president. Sahle-Work Zewde’s appointment may prove instrumental in propelling more women’s advance into politics.
Yet, putting women on the ballot doesn’t necessarily mean any drastic changes will occur in the women’s rights movement. In fact, even the women in positions of power face tricky gender-dynamics in their own lives. For instance, despite the fact that Rwanda has the highest number of female representatives in its parliament, a study by Justine Uvuza shows that Rwandan female politicians aren’t exempt from the vulnerabilities attached to their sex. For these women, public service is more than an urge to propel their own personal political agendas; it is their social responsibility. Female politicians work for the good of Rwanda even while women across the state are in precarious domestic circumstances with little encouragement or ability to change them. Rape and domestic abuse are still facets of Rwandan society. Uvuza stated that while women have the ability to voice their opinion in parliament, they are often forced to be silent about the issues and oppression in their own home; “One [female politician] told me how her husband expected her to make sure that his shoes were polished, the water was put in the bathroom for him, his clothes were ironed,” Uvuza stated. Stories like these are common in countries like Rwanda, and often, noncompliance with pre-established gender norms comes with the threat of violence. These women are expected strong in the public sphere while serving her country yet docile in the socio-cultural sphere.
Slapping a coat of paint over broken bumper doesn’t change the fact that the bumper is broken; however, we can’t negate the power of perception. While gender quotas often look good on face, an increase in the number of women in politics doesn’t automatically grant women equal footing with their male counterparts. Increased representation doesn’t necessarily guarantee that women’s issues will be addressed; increased participation doesn’t necessarily mean that any real change will happen. This isn’t just because women may face sexism in the workplace, it’s because women are just as capable of wrongdoing as men. However, gender quotas may provide increased opportunities for women to partake in policy-making while granting them jobs in traditionally male-dominated areas. It’s an interesting conundrum and it is not limited to African countries. The entire global community faces these same issues; many “western” nations lag behind African nations in gender equality in politics and they still consider the descriptive vs substantive representation question.