Power to the women! Simba kumadzimai!

As women’s month comes to a close I decided to dedicate my last August blog post to a subject which is very close to my heart. I am a black African woman who is committed to the fight for gender justice and one of my goals is to promote women’s political participation. Politics drives our economies and social realities thus the lack of equal participation in this arena will continue to stifle development and the quest for gender equality.

My female inspiration this year is none other than Fadumo Dayib, the first woman to run for Somalian presidency. She is an African woman like me and many others out there. Furthermore, her life story is relatable to my own since she has been a serial migrant and champion for gender equality for many years. Over and above all Fadumo is a contemporary female political inspiration. Enough about Hilary Clinton running for US presidency. Let us talk about Fadumo’s presidential candidacy. In an interview with okayafrica.com Dayib indicated that she is running for presidency because if she continues living outside Somalia “hoping that somebody will drop from the sky with magical solutions for Somalia, that day would never arrive”.

I left Zimbabwe in 2009 owing to multiple push factors that were linked to the country’s economic fragility and political instability. Since then I have resided in Lesotho, South Africa and Swaziland- a serial migrant basically. Owing to the hype around the #thisflag movement which Pastor Evan Mawarire and masses of Zimbabwean citizens have been defending I started thinking a lot about my role in Zimbabwe’s political future. The #thisflag movement represents Zimbabwean nationals’ grievances towards their government’s mismanagement of state funds and resources as well as the government’s failure to deliver on the post-independence economic promises it made to citizens. However, the movement is flawed in the sense that no one wants to spearhead the process of political transformation by putting their name out there as a political candidate representing this fresh social/political movement especially when it comes to the 2018 presidential elections.

Fadumo believes that she is the solution to the problems back home. She says:

“I knew one day I would go back. I was hoping that we would get a leader who would unite the Somalis around a common theme, who would stabilize the country, and allow us to come back… I’ve understood and realized that the puzzle I’m actually waiting for is me, that I am the key. I am the change that I’m looking for. I needed to step forward and say no, we cannot rely on other people to come and save us. If we have the motivation, we have the belief then we should go and do it.”

I stand in solidary with #thisflag and I am a victim of the political and economic crisis back home. I have always hoped that some kind of messiah president will emerge as the next Zimbabwean leader and take over from the government that has failed to deliver on multiple promises. But what if I am the key? Should I keep on waiting while the unproductive regime flourishes? Do I go back home and work to find a way to create a new Zimbabwe? If so, when should I go and what resources do I need? These questions are not meant for me alone. These are questions that daughters of the Zimbabwean soil who are residing in foreign lands like me should also ask themselves. These are questions which many Africans who have left their homelands need to ask themselves. These are also questions that those that stayed at home could ask themselves. What are we waiting for?

Fadumo Dayib was fortunate enough to get the opportunity to live, study and work in Finland. She holds several degrees in public health and an MPA in Public Policy Management and Leadership from Harvard University. Currently she is a doctoral candidate at the University of Helsinki. With the multiple skills and education she has gained away from home she has not become apathetic about the situation which forced her out of Somalia over two decades ago. Fadumo’s story challenges many African migrants who have fled conflict zones, struggling economies and troubled political spaces to think about their role in effecting change back home.

After reading about Fadumo Dayib I hope that you understand my obsession with this African woman who is taking initiative, challenging gender power dynamics and has stopped wishing for someone else to save her nation. Fadumo’s ultimate goal is to help rebuild post-conflict Somalia through informed political leadership and to spark social change in partnership with women and youth movements. She also believes that “A country, nation or community that seeks to subjugate half of its population will never prosper.”

Like Fadumo Dayib, Women and Men of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA) and many more female-led movements let us take the lead and fight for political, social and economic prosperity.

In the spirit of feminism and African womanity I say to you:

Happy Women’s Month!

Happy Women’s every day!

Power to the women, Simba kumadzimai!

• (simba kumadzimai is a Shona phrase which means “power to the women”)
• Read more about Fadumo Dayib https://fqdayib.com/