Are we ready for a female dictatorial President?

Are we ready for a female dictatorial President?

By Opoka Christopher Arop

I have for a very long time held a strong belief that women just can’t lead in societies where leadership means getting your hands dirty. I have also held a conviction that to be a leader as a woman requires some tinge of beauty, some spark in dressing or figure; some cutting edge smile and a softness of sorts.

I have also shared my own delusions about the role men play in the lives of women that take up senior leadership positions, especially for the case of this reading, becoming the President of a country. Although I consider the office of the President in any country not to be the most powerful place for decision making that can impact the lives of all citizens therein, as with the bandwagon effect, I have accepted to be carried along. However, I am moving along with caution.

I have since searched for some of our most powerful women and attempted at understanding how and why they were appointed to such senior positions. I also tried to predict how far these women will rise in the leadership ladder and how dirty they are getting their hands. I also wanted to look at, if possible the relationships they have had with their husbands [failing miserably here.]

So it wasn’t surprising that in August 2013, President Salva Kiir made some headlines with his cabinet reshuffle, especially inclusion of women, far and beyond the mandatory 25% in the constitution. Nadia Arop Dudi and Josephine Napwon Cosmos took over the ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture [all women.] Rachek Nyadak Paul became deputy minister under Michael Makuei. Rebecca Joshua Okwaci was moved to Telecommunication and Postal Services as full minister.

Jemma Nunu Kumba, the Margret Thatcher of Western Equatoria was now to lead the ministry of Electricity and Dams. Catherine Juan Bennia took over the Lands and Housing ministry, with a male deputy. The vetting went well for most of the female appointments, except of course for one male appointee Telar Riing Deng, who missed the Justice ministry but retained a somewhat powerful position as Legal Advisor to the office of the President.

There are other powerful women in this country, but I can’t with any leaf of confidence push myself to think that a woman will spend the night as king at J1 any day soon. I don’t want to put myself in that awkward position where women will come for my head [if I were to say over my dead body, as Otafire responded to journalists in Uganda that “this can be arranged and its actually easier”, so yes women might get there, in say 40 years.]

Of course there are some really powerful and well respected women in this country. From academia to politics, to their contribution during the liberation struggles; to the births they have endured, and to all the sacrifices that come along with managing a home without a husband. They have all indeed endured. With all the empathy of the world, I do not think for a minute that men in this country are any close to a woman President. I know Joyce Banda is powerful and rose through the ranks. She played her political cards well. President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf of Liberia is exceptionally good at getting her hands dirty and calculating the spoils of her times well.

Lets look at the career of one American woman who has fought her way among mad men in the United States of America. Although she didn’t get to be President, she rose high enough to make decisions that no any American President has made without the consultation of a host of advisors. She rose so fast because of her close links to the oil industry, which is altogether tied at the waist with military strategic interests. She has served as Chief Executive with Chevron and in her tenure Chevron showed its generosity by remitting US$ 100m into the Swiss accounts of the Kazhakstan President in exchange for a good deal in the oil fields of Tengiz and Kashagan where Total, Exxon, Shell, Mobil all got their share in profits.

And as is the case with politics of men, you are judged by how fast you are able to convincingly break any promises you make. “Half of the population [Kazahakstan] have no access to oil revenues and a quarter have no clean water,” says journalist Arthur Shakhraszaian. Condoleza’s efforts were kind enough to drop in some extras: “In a secret report about the Balashan refinery, in case of an accident, the hydrogen sulfide would kill all the workers within 15 seconds and a toxic cloud would form over the town of Tiran in less than 15 minutes.”

This is the nature of politics and I am sorry to say that our league of extraordinary women are not cut out for this. I heard of one such brutal woman in Lakes state, who had the gull to kick a pregnant woman to the womb until she and her six month old fetus died. This woman did score some good B’s. But I would still need more of her. I would want a deeper and more wicked part of her. Then she may start nurturing some hope of throwing deathly tantrums at J1.

Again, this nonsense about a sex strike is just not the type of thing that strong, smart, intelligent women of our times should resort to. This should be a preserve of the Swaziland women and their king. This should be something of the Igbo women and the Zulu.

I was once helping with documenting a project about mentoring young girls, a project of Crisis Management Initiative in Juba. And in this project, role model women politicians and leaders would be invited to speak to the girls at different schools in Juba. I was shocked at the shortlist of women candidates. I approved some and deleted many more. I just had this bias. Especially if you were in my shoes as a journalist and witnessed a female national minister intimately frolic with someone the age of her son! You get what I am saying!

One of the women that were recommended included distinguished personalities. They spoke to the girls as caring mothers would. They spoke from the heart. They gave counsel from experience. I am tempted to mention just a few. Justice Ajonye Perpetua was a remarkable choice, just as Rebecca Joshua Okwaci was stunning. They talked to the girls about everything; from career choices, tough decisions and how to manage the influence of parents with regard to early marriage. I thought Dr. Priscillah Nyanyang couldn’t have been a more perfect role model for the girls at Comboni Secondary School. They gave examples of their own suffering! I do not know how many other role model women were added to the list, but you bet, many more were deleted.

Most women know more about other women, without the need to bring in men to stir trouble. We simply don’t have a woman in South Sudan with a good balance of empathy and gull to stand among men and be counted. But alas, Zimbabwe has fast tracked its next president. Grace Mugabe has been groomed to be just that. She has the shameless charm that is required. She is beautifully deadly. She is charismatic. Oh…before I forget; Zimbabweans say that when internet is down in the country, most likely, it is because Grace’s shopping list to South Africa is jamming the traffic.

What do you expect of your female president? As mine is still in infancy! This song by Ajonye got me thinking if this country will ever unite: “Wala la lala, wele le lele, wolo lo lolo, wulu lulu.”