Women, Citizenship and Governance
Friday 29th December 2006

In Today’s edition of She She She we bring our readers issues relating to women, citizenship and governance. Our reference comes from CODESRIA, a bulletin dealing with special issues about African women. Please read on:  

The 1990s heralded aspirations for governance in several African countries, some of which have made a dramatic historical U-turn. This shift was characterized by an autocratic and neo-patrimonial tendency to liberalise and democratise. However, there is still some reservation regarding the results of such changes, as there has also been regression in some countries.

Which role have women played in making democracy a basic criterion for development in Africa? In this case, we can refer to the most recent example of the rebellion in Cote d’ Ivorie.

The low impact of global governance on the national policies of some states highlights the gap in institutional capacities and the continued presence of harmful social and cultural practices. There is a set of key elements central to a change in women’s roles and participation in anchoring democracy, as citizens:

  A governance system that is more egalitarian in its content and form;

  Greater involvement of women in political processes thanks to the implementation of a conceptual framework;

>  Building women’s capacity, in order to allow them to be more active in political and democratic life, for increased empowerment;

>  Greater awareness of the ideals of democracy and good governance, through training and competence of female leaders.

However, the problematic [sic] of incorporating gender in governance must be analysed in the specific context of African countries. From the early independence period, some countries, such as Senegal, devised a policy, which some call ‘state feminism’, in order to encourage women’s participation in the development process and to improve the living conditions of populations. As written in the Beijing plus documents, ‘women’s promotion, and equality between men and women are a component of human rights; it is a pre-requisite for social justice. It is an objective that should not be considered as exclusively women-driven. It is the only way of building a sustainable, fair and developed society. Widening women’s scope of action and ensuring equality between sexes are major prerequistes to political, social, economic, cultural and ecological security for all the people.’

Such issues bring us back to other ones pertaining to governance, such as the problematic [sic] of the African state, the system of governing the citizenry and the answers brought to their needs in a developmental context, which roles should be envisaged in a gender perspective?

There is indeed an African general context to the problematic [sic] of leadership and governance.

A retrospect on demonstrations of power in African societies shows that there are two kinds of power: traditional and modern. In some matriarchal cultures, the way power is managed and transmitted shows the prominent role given to women in African societies. Indeed, there is enlightening evidence that is available, regarding women’s relationship with power, in colonial and pre-colonial Africa. We can draw useful lessons from the leadership of the ‘Mafo’, Bamileke princess, Mamy Yoko, from Sierra Leone or the ‘Sarawnia’ from Niger; Queen Pokou of Côte d’ Ivoire, the princesses and queens of Waalo, Senegal and many others, who had to manage the power given to them.

However, what African women really lack is their presence in a theoretical and conceptual debate, as well as expertise in some fields. We shall try to talk briefly on these two points, which are a major hindrance to women’s enjoyment of full citizenship.