NewAfricanWoman Issue 35 - Flipbook - Page 20
NAW Interview
sues that don’t need to be tribalised. We’ll
say, ‘You know, it’s these Kikuyu men who
like to beat’; it’s these Zulu men who are
patriarchal; Its these Yoruba men who
are unfaithful;’ These ethnic or regional
caricatures are not helpful as it diverts our
attention from root causes. Women are
being killed in the leafiest suburbs and in
the most remote villages. Women are being beaten in public and private. Women
and children are being abused and we
have a responsibility to drastically reduce
the prevalence of this abuse by holding
anyone who perpetrates it held accountable and taking measures to identify
and divert potential perpetrators as the
signs are usually there. We have perhaps
enabled a permissive attitude towards
abuse against women and children and
it is important that society starts to share
a common understanding that abusing
women or children is wrong and wont be
tolerated. Part of this is holding anyone
who is guilty of Gender Based violence
accountable as there are too many powerful people in our communities who escape
responsibility. It could be a police officer,
it could be a traditional leader, it could be
a high-powered businessman, it could be
a top politician, whoever it is, they must
be held accountable. Even though it is
less prevalent, there are also women who
abuse men and this too must be treated
with the same contempt as the more
prevalent abuse of women. If we have a
system that is blind to who the perpetrator is, we may be able to overcome this
tribal and regional discussion and realise
that abuse is perpetrated by all types of
men from different ethnic groupings and
seeing GBV for the destructive social condition it is and not isolate and attribute it
to particular groupings of people.
You come with a very strong and
admirable background as a very successful businesswoman. Not to dwell
on the negatives, but in Africa, there
is always the role of the First Lady is
perceived as non-influential in terms
of influencing policy for example,
and that it’s a very underwhelming role, or sometimes spoken very
negatively about. What is the role of
the First Lady from the point of how
you are experiencing it?
I think the first lady’s role in influencing
policy should be underwhelming as that
is not her business. A First Lady is not
elected. She is not a political office bearer.
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A First Lady’s function is multi-dimensional but it’s not a political role.
Another misconception about first
ladies is that they are primarily decorative.
I’ll challenge you as a journalist to go and
do some homework on the backgrounds
on most of the African first ladies. The
President of the Organization of African
First Ladies is the Ghanaian First Lady
has a masters degree in governance and
leadership, the Ethiopian First Lady has
two Masters degrees. If you go through
more profiles, you will find trained lawyers, medical doctors, engineers and First
Ladies who may not have educational
qualifications but who have and continue
to play a meaningful role both before and
after becoming a First Lady.
Why do you think their stories are
never told? From the media perspective, I personally find access to
first ladies almost impossible and
bureaucratic. It would be great if the
New African Woman magazine could
feature one first lady to get to know,
in every issue. Why are you absent in
the media?
First Ladies are, and should be, sensitive
around media access and the risks around
it. I think it’s a great idea to feature a First
Lady in each New African Woman Magazine as your readers will be pleasantly surprised at how constructive many African
First Ladies are in their countries and on
the continent. (pauses) That’s my husband
peeping in. (She waves to President Hage
Geingob who is in the next room)
You are on record stating in that the
title of First Lady itself “rattles you”
Tokenism is EXPENSIVE.
To put a woman in a position she doesn’t
deserve is not only expensive to the individual, but it’s also expensive to the
rest of the women who are
actually really capable.