Preamble
The 2024 Africa Barometer on Women’s political participation (WPP) as developed by the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International Idea) indicated a one percent progress in the last three years regarding the participation of African women in politics within the continent. At this rate, it implies that it will take at least the next 76 years to attain gender parity in terms of political participation in Africa. While about 41 African countries have propositions on gender-responsive policies through quota systems for integrating women at different levels of politics, the political will for their implementation differs based on national contests. For instance, while Rwanda has a global lead in WPP with women making up an impressive 61% of its parliament, Nigeria ranks as one of the lowest responsive countries with just about 4%. Other African countries like Mozambique (43%), Senegal and South Africa (44%) are not faring badly as they move closer to gender parity in their respective parliaments. The lack of gender parity reflects that the marginalisation of women regarding participation in electoral politics remains a challenge, and basically characterised the different contexts of electoral politics across 18 African countries whose citizens went into the polls in 2024. Amidst the different challenges to gender-responsiveness in Africa, the emergence of women as the president-elect of Namibia and vice president-elect of Ghana signifies laudable wins for women in terms of political participation at the highest level of governance. As these countries enter new phases through their political transitions, the prospects of women’s occupation of the highest political offices in Africa constituted the thematic focus of the Africanist Scholars’ forum that was held on December 21, 2024; with the Namibian context as case study.
Observations
We align with the observation of the Make Every Woman Count (MEWC) organisation that not much progress has been made in the past decade in terms of female headship of States and Governments. In Africa for instance, three countries: Mauritius (Ms Agnes Bellepeau), Malawi (Ms Joyce Banda) and Central African Republic (Ms Catherine Samba) had female presidents in 2014, while only two countries Tanzania (Ms Samia Hassan) and Namibia, with the recent election of Ms Netumbo Ndaitwah, account for the only female African presidents as at the end of 2024. In total, Africa has had about 23 female heads of government since 1970 spanning 18 of the 55 nations on the continent. Suffice to state that the exclusion of women at this level of governance is a global challenge. According to UN Women, there are about 30 female Heads of State and/or Government in 29 countries; and only about 26.9% women parliamentarians as of October, 2024. If this trend continues, the projection is that it would take around 130 years to attain gender parity at the highest level of government. There have been a number of advocacies on increasing female participation in parliamentary elections to partly reverse this trend. This is because the parliament provides the best chance for ascent to the highest level of national decision-making processes, especially with the prevalent practice of parliamentary system of government on the continent. It affords women the opportunity to become Heads of State and/or Government, or cabinet members, where they can contribute meaningful to their nations’ growth and development. As the UN Women asserted, women leaders tend to facilitate the passage of legislations on critical issues such as health, education, childcare, prevention and mitigation of gender-based violence and infrastructural development.
While policy decisions on affirmative action constitute the step in the right direction, there are structural and institutional challenges as afforded by political, cultural, and religious sentiments, which undermine efforts towards the emergence of women as occupants of the highest electoral offices in their countries. These barriers include opposition by parents against the participation of girls in politics, especially due to the stereotype of the nature of politics as being dirty. The situation is often worsened in more conservative societies by the high level of illiteracy among women, as they are often socially determined to be uneducated and restricted to operating from within the homestead. These restrictions also affect access to the huge amount of capital that is needed to contest elections, while patriarchal concerns limit the support from their male counterparts either through funding or votes. Women also complain about intimidation from political opponents, which sometimes results in physical assaults. This continues to create political apathy among competent women who could make the difference in their countries’ politics. Likewise, women who identify as queer suffer from homophobic sentiments, which discourage them from pushing for elective offices.
South Africa has been exemplary in terms of female leadership; with women dominating speakership of the parliament, the second most powerful position in the country. Since the post-Apartheid era, women have accounted for 6 of the 7 Speakers, with Max Sisulu the only male Speaker between May 2009 and May 2014. In neighbouring Namibia, Ms Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah was recently elected to be the first female president in Southern Africa. She won by 57.3% of the votes during the November 27, 2024 elections; while running under the South West Africa People’s Organisation (SWAPO). This is a testament to how her tenacity from joining the opposition to the apartheid system at age 14, through her exile as a member of the independence movement, led her to become a parliamentarian, cabinet minister, deputy prime minister, vice president, and now president. She thus provides a political model for aspiring female politicians who seek to participate at the highest levels of governance by building careers in politics. Her emergence as the first female president-elect, however, is not entirely an aberration within the Namibian context; given that women constitute 55 (52.9%) of the 104 members in the outgoing parliament, and the country currently has a female Prime Minister, Ms Saara Kuugongelwa-Amadhila. These affirm the need for the reversal of patriarchal norms through structural and institutional changes that advance the quest for gender parity.
Recommendations
The diminishing influence of traditional revolutionary parties within the Southern African political landscape implies that the trust they hitherto enjoyed from the citizenry is less guaranteed with each passing generation. It is thus important that the president-elect, Ms Nandi-Ndaitwah, continues to leverage her reputation for being incorruptible to restore and maintain trust in SWAPO. An important step to achieving this will be by implementing her promise to dedicate N$85.7 billion (USD$4.9 billion) to tackle unemployment by creating 256,538 jobs during her first term. Complementing this with investments in green energy, agriculture, maritime economy and social infrastructure will also help to assuage the challenges of inequality and unemployment; as well as rebuild trust in government.
It is important that other African countries continue to consolidate the Namibian example of affirmative action by working to ensure equal representation for women at the highest level of governance and decision-making. This, among other things, entails displaying the political will to implement policies on women’s inclusion by reevaluating institutionalised cultural, political and religious norms and practices; so as to change the minds and attitudes of citizens towards women’s political participation.