Source: Daily Monitor
The First Ladies summit scheduled to take place in Tanzania from July 2 to 3 reminds me of the folk tales about wicked stepmothers.
The term wicked has been stamped on the forehead of some First Ladies across the continent and this sweeping generalisation has become universally accepted. This why I want to call upon the selected few who are going for this meeting in Dar es Salaam to go back home and rally as many women as possible to take on their husbands in polls for the coveted seats in the presidential palaces.
Let us go back to the summit which is expected to be attended by US First Lady Michelle Obama and is set to bring together at least eight spouses of African Heads of State who will be sharing progressive ideas.
The meeting, whose theme is Investing in Women, Strengthening Africa, will focus on the important role that First Ladies play in promoting women's education, health and economic empowerment in their countries.
The meeting will also focus on the crucial role that First Ladies play in promoting women's education, health and economic empowerment.
Other matters of interest will be entrepreneurship through training and technology, providing opportunities and improving agricultural outcomes for female farmers and life-saving collaboration to combat cervical and breast Cancer.
Education will also feature on the agenda list thus the state of literacy, access to education and teacher training as well as the need to invest in women's economic empowerment and health in general. However, these should not just remain in the boardrooms of five-star hotels but should be realised in their home countries.
Male-dominated politics
Why did I introduce the wicked stepmother theory? Well, perhaps because most mothers are known to be loving and kind while the former has a negative connotation. Many a times, First Ladies have made news for the wrong reasons like alleged murders, property grabbing, and milking State coffers dry among others. They have also been accused of doing everything within their means to ensure their husbands remain in power including using public and State funds.
Lest I forget to mention, they are at times linked to whipping their husbands' opponents into shape. Just ask the Zimbabweans. Others are known for lavish holiday and shopping trips abroad. Swaziland's citizenry can relate well with this.
Some have been accused of using their foundations to divert donor aid allocated to non-governmental organisations to their personal use.
This often overshadows what some First Ladies are doing to actively contribute to development of their countries.
So why do these women have to always take a fairer share of the blame for their husbands failures?
Some analysts argue that although they are not directly elected, they are still expected to give back to the people through serving as checks and balances to their spouses' power.
Society continues to view them through their husbands' lenses and not in their own right.
This is why I call upon African women to rise up, enter into the murky waters of politics and rise to the helm of leadership.
We are yet to see husbands being blamed for their wives' mistakes, at least not in Africa where patriarchy still reigns supreme. However, I am not going to shower them with all the praises now since some are rotten and need to take head that, "You reap what you sow".
I am looking forward to a day when more African women will become presidents; I am talking of the Joyce Bandas and Hellen Sirleaf Johnsons of this continent where presidential politics is still dominated by men. I am also looking forward to First Men Summits discussing why democracies should evolve.