Historically, women have been unjustifiably marginalized in terms of leadership, especially in Africa. While one may say there is a shift in the narrative as the world is evolving, there are still hurdles to be crossed. In Nigeria, my country, for instance, this change in narrative is not as swift as it should be, as can be seen in other countries in Africa.
While Rwanda, South Africa, Senegal, Namibia and Mozambique have the highest percentage of women in leadership positions in Africa, according to a 2020 data from IPU-UN Women Map of Women in Politics, the Nigerian women, among whom I am chief, are still struggling to find their place in the country’s leadership circle, not because they are unqualified, but because they are seen by their male counterparts only as mothers, wives, sisters and daughters. Aside these, there is the unkind excuse that, given a leadership position, a woman would lose focus of her primary responsibility which, according to the society’s belief, is being a good home tender.
As a young Nigerian woman, I, like my fellow Nigerian women, feel vulnerable, humiliated and denigrated when it comes to the place of women in leadership. This is because, there is no rule anywhere that says a woman cannot be a leader. Since she can take care of her children till they grow to make informed decisions, what makes the society feel she cannot lead a larger population?
Indeed, there have been campaigns for the liberation of women, but in all of these, we are still behind in the race for the achievement of a society where women are allowed to fulfil their potentials. If we must achieve equality of gender, we must accept all rational laws—laws that are no respecter of gender. Given the same enabling environment, a woman, like a man, can thrive in leadership, because she is as worthy of leadership as a man. Besides, leadership that is INTERGENERATIONAL will thrive best with a woman in control. This is because, she births the future generations, making it easy for her to transfer the qualities of leadership from one generation to another.
The experiences of women in my part of the world are of marginalization, restriction and prejudice. A woman is often ruled out of securing a victory even before a race kicks off. These experiences started right from the cradle, unfortunately. In time past, for instance, there were certain meetings that a female child would not be invited to, regardless of her age, simply because she is a woman. This buttressed the assertion of the renowned author, Ngozi Adichie, when she said “they make us feel as if being born a woman, you are already guilty of an offence.”
As a marginalized woman from Nigeria, the call for INTERGENERATIONAL CO-LEADERSHIP aligns with my dream for a Nigeria where women wouldn’t be judged by their gender, but by their skills. The Nigerian woman deserve to have her input in policies and decisions that affects her.