From generation to generation, women have proven themselves an integral and indispensable part of leadership both locally and globally.
Nigeria has produced notable women leaders in virtually all spheres of society; in politics, education, commerce, etc. From the great Queen Amina of Zazzau (modern-day Zaria) to Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti, Margaret Ekpo, Ladi Dosei Kwali, Dora Akunyili, Okonjo-Iweala etc. – a non-exhaustive list indeed.
According to historical accounts, Amina, commonly known as the warrior queen, was the first woman to become the Sarauniya (queen) in a male-dominated society. She ruled an African kingdom for 34 years in the 1500s and expanded the territory of the Hausa people of North Africa to its largest borders in history.
She left a great legacy during her reign that has been the subject of discussion for centuries. Even till date, her legacy lives on and is a subject of discussion among social media users. Even though the discussion mostly centres around whether or not the famous queen existed, there is a lesson to learn from her story on women’s’ leadership.
The originating conversation:
In the interest of gender equality, @elrufai Can we get another Queen Amina of Zazzau?
— Hadiza Isma El-Rufai (@hadizel) September 25, 2020
Gender equality can only be seen or heard on screens and not in real life Mama na, which by now you obviously know and is so sad and unfortunate.
But I truly wish your wish could be granted, after all we do have Queen Amina of our days if only @elrufai could look a bit harder. https://t.co/r2qNKnQ0cs— Gyet Victor (@GyetV) September 26, 2020
Someone (read: a man) writes a thread claiming Queen Amina never existed without a shred of evidence and then you are asking the people calling him out to present proof to counter him? Did he present any proof in that thread? Why do we have women so much?
— ThatPortharcourtBoy Aka Obiageliaku (@ThatPHCBoy) September 26, 2020
Throughout history women are erased across the world so this doesn't surprise me anyways, not even original
— ThatPortharcourtBoy Aka Obiageliaku (@ThatPHCBoy) September 26, 2020
what's most important is developing our own historico-conciousness, based on fact. Our own narrative of our history to guide us in the present and prepare our future and sadly queen amina doesn't in my opinion have a place in that. We need scholars to do studies of the poetry of
— abba sadauki (@Sayeed_bello) September 26, 2020
Asmau bn fudi instead to show how cultured our women could be. To study the effects of education efforts. To do studies on the economic model of our empires so we can know how our ancestors viewed common economic problems, to view social welfare under the caliphate so we can
— abba sadauki (@Sayeed_bello) September 26, 2020
On a serious note yutron. You should continue to enjoy them. As a society we have common myths. These myths show the joys, hardship, lessons, losses and successes of our ancestors and they're uniquely our own. The story of queen amina should still be told to inspire our girls and
— abba sadauki (@Sayeed_bello) September 26, 2020
Queen Amina’s story points to the fact that women have a great capacity for transformational leadership.
But the big question is; how many women hold top leadership positions in our society today? It is common knowledge that women are among the most marginalised groups in society when it comes to accessing top leadership roles. And the gender gap has persisted for long.
According to 2017 United Nations (UN) report, women are under-represented in many key leadership positions, including political leadership roles in domestic politics, as well as in the educational sector. Available statistics show that out of 193 UN countries, only 11 had a woman serving as head of state while 12 had a woman as head of government (UN Women, 2017).
While the Nordic countries have come close to equal representation in parliament, with women making up 41% of their single house parliaments; other regions are still far behind, including sub-Saharan Africa with only 24% of women represented in parliament as at 2017.
Also, leadership roles in schools from primary to university levels are male-dominated; only 13% of women occupying the position of dean and 18% occupying department head or director roles. Female participation in school management committees is also low as only 30% of schools reached a benchmark of one woman attending at least two meetings, ranging from 11% in Jigawa State to 72% in Lagos State in 2016.
The above figures only represent a fraction of the low level of women representation in different spheres of society. But sadly, this reflects their representation in other sectors too, despite their contribution to nation-building and making up about 49% of Nigeria’s population.
The significant role women play in politics and nation-building cannot be overemphasized. From their contribution in the anti-colonial struggles (that led to the establishment of politically active women groups), up until Nigeria secured her independence, to the post-colonial era; women have shown great commitment to the country and have left great legacies from generation to generation. However, they are yet to reap the maximum gains from the nationalist struggles they fought with their male counterparts that resulted in Nigeria’s independence because top leadership positions in key sectors including politics are mostly reserved for the men while the women are often seen at the lower rung of the ladder.
Studies have shown that the exclusion of women in politics is a major setback for economic development because women’s groups are a strong pillar for grassroots politics and socio-economic growth. It is rather saddening that women participation in politics at the grassroots is still faced with a lot of challenges that make it difficult for them to harness available opportunities for economic development.
Women are often marginalised when it comes to occupying top leadership roles in politics and other spheres largely due to the cultural perception of women in our clime in a male-dominated society. But until gender bias is dropped to enable more women to participate in top leadership roles, we may be denying ourselves a chance for greater advancement. The Queen Amina story may be instructive in this regard.
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