From Europe to Africa, what's pushing women leaders out?
Former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher with former South Africa President Nelson Mandela (R) on the steps of No 10 Downing Street in July, 1990. Popularly known as the 'Iron Lady' , she was the first woman UK premier.
Theresa May had reached the end of her tether by May 2019 when she announced her resignation as United Kingdom (UK) Prime Minister (PM). Three times, she had failed to convince Parliament to support her Brexit deal.
When Queen Elizabeth II appointed her in July 2016, May’s name made it to the chronicles of history as the second woman UK premier after Margaret Thatcher. She is also the first woman to hold two of the Great Offices of State, namely Home Secretary and PM.
“Back in 2016, we gave the British people a choice, against all predictions other British people voted to leave the European Union…if you give people a choice you have a duty to implement what they decide. I have done my best to do that. I negotiated the terms of our exit and a new relationship with our closet neighbours that protect jobs, our security and our union,” she said when she announced her resignation.
Former Britain Prime Minister Theresa May.
From Europe to Africa, women walk on hostile political terrain.
Difficult circumstances and political intrigues are pushing them out or forcing them to resign from their political leadership positions, a trend going against the generation equality campaign led by UN Women.
The global campaign pushes for increased election or appointment of women to the executive arms of government. Even those who are holding on, are finding it too rough to deliver.
Data from UN Women indicate that as of January 2023, 34 women in 31 countries were serving as head of state and, or government.
But as of January 10, 2024, the number had declined to 28 women in 26 countries. This is worrying.
“I have done everything I can to convince MPs to back that deal. Sadly, I have not been able to do so. I tried three times. I believe it was right to persevere even when the odds against success seemed high. But it is now that it’s in the best interest of the country for a new Prime Minister to lead that effort,” Ms May said.
Last year, she released her book The Abuse of Power: Confronting Injustice in Public Life, which dives into political scandals.
Three years later, the third woman to become UK premier resigned. Liz Truss said she would not deliver on her mandate to resuscitate the country’s economy.
Britain's Prime Minister Liz Truss. She was elected by her party members and not the wider electorate.
"I came into office at a time of great economic and international instability. Families and businesses were worried about how to pay their bills, Putin's illegal war in Ukraine threatens the security of our whole continent and our country has been held back for too long by low economic growth,” she said when she resigned in October, 2022.
"I recognise though, given the situation, I cannot deliver the mandate on which I was elected by the Conservative Party.”
In New Zealand, the world lost the youngest woman head of government in January 2023, when Jacinda Ardern resigned. In 2017, she was elected PM at the age of 37.
Jacinda Ardern - the world lost the youngest woman head of government in January 2023, when she resigned.
In September 2018, she made history as the first world leader to attend the UN General Assembly along with her three-month-old daughter and partner Clarke Gayford, a move international media described as “a showcase of her balancing act.”
Four years later she said: “I’m leaving, because with such a privileged role comes responsibility. The responsibility to know when you are the right person to lead and also when you are not. I know what this job takes. And I know that I no longer have enough in the tank to do it justice. It’s that simple.”
Last January, French PM Elisabeth Borne also resigned. France24 reported that President Emmanuel Macron and his government, led by Borne, had “struggled to deal with a more turbulent parliament to pass laws since losing their absolute majority,” after Macron’s re-election in 2022.
Elisabeth was the second woman to hold the PM position after Édith Cresson.
The French presidency announced her resignation in a statement with President Macron later thanking her in an X post for her exemplary service to the nation.
Kenya too, has witnessed political intrigues to the disadvantage of women.
Nominated MP Sabina Chege during a press conference by Jubilee Parliamentary Group members in Nairobi on October 25, 2023.
Last May, Azimio la Umoja One Kenya Coalition Party, removed nominated Member of Parliament (MP) Sabina Chege from the position of National Assembly deputy minority whip and replaced her with a man, Embakasi West MP Mark Mwenje. This is after she shifted her allegiance from the coalition to the ruling Kenya Kwanza Alliance.
The burden of leadership can indeed be formidable, but for Meru Governor Kawira Mwangaza, the challenges that sought to undermine her authority have proved ineffective.
For Meru Governor Kawira Mwangaza, she has shed tears of pain and joy. Members of the County Assembly have impeached her twice, just 11 months apart, only to be saved by the Senate. She has also faced fierce opposition from local MPs and Njuri Ncheke elders, who have treated her to terrible and beyond endurance sexism.
