Zaida: Director, author shares her long leadership journey

What you need to know:

Zaida Mgalla is the Executive Director of Uwezo Tanzania. She has more than 25 years of working experience with national and international NGOs since 1994. Her areas of expertise are Linguistics, English Language teaching, Curriculum Development, Education Leadership and Management, Social Science Research [including citizen-led data generation on learning assessment], Gender Training and Mainstreaming, school - and community-based research and interventions on Sexual and Reproductive Health &HIV/Aids, Project Planning and Management, Participatory Training and Facilitation, Guidance and counselling, Local governance and CSO-Capacity Strengthening.
A writer and book editor who has co-authored a book on ‘Infertility in Africa.’ She has authored a number of articles in international peer-reviewed journals, research reports and working papers on HIV/Aids, Sexual and Reproductive Health, Gender and Infertility in Africa, and Education. In this interview with Salome Gregory, she shares her leadership journey with our readers.

I am blessed to have humble, hardworking and loving parents who did not discriminate their children by gender when it come to ensuring children’s right to education and other livelihood needs. I was very lucky to pass my primary education and was selected to join form one at Ashira Girls Secondary School in Kilimanjaro. My paternal uncles discouraged my father to take me to secondary school, emphasizing that primary education was enough for a girl and the next step was for me to get a husband only. Instead they encouraged him to keep his money and use it to educate his sons, who by then were very young. My father never listened to them. Instead he made sure all of his nine children both boys and girls got the best education for our future. Being the first born, I was treated like a queen. When I was selected to join Form I, my father was proud of me and promised to support my education.

This is very professional. I think it starts from the socialization stage at the family, community, in schools and finally at work place. Girls are always engaged to do many things in the family, community, church, Madrasa and in schools. Encouraging them from tender ages to take up leadership roles is key. Praise them when they perform to build their confidence that they are capable to lead. Assign them a leading role in family business. Elect them class monitors, school prefects, choir leaders. Expose women and girls to other women heroes in leadership as their role models. This will inspire them to first build the interest and confidence to take up the challenge to obtain leadership position. At work places, establish a policy that encourages them to aspire being leaders - and support them to excel. Encourage women to undertake leadership training to widen their knowledge and skills on leadership

Zaida: Director, author shares her long leadership journey

What you need to know:

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