Getrude Mongela: The problem is still in the patriarchal system

As we continue to celebrate women this month, Tanzania, which is under the leadership of its first female president, Samia Suluhu Hassan, has a lot to celebrate as far as achievements in gender empowerment and inclusion are concerned.

The country has more women in top positions both in politics and in the corporate world. Between 2020 and 2023, Tanzania recorded an increase in female ministers and deputies, whose number rose from 21 to 30 percent, and female directors, from 19 to 26 percent.

The number of female judges has also increased from 39 to 40 percent, while the number of female MPs has gone up from 3.4 percent in 1995 to 38 percent currently.

Woman had a chat with Gertrude Mongella, 77, who is popularly known as Mama Beijing because of the role she played as the Secretary-General of the Fourth UN World Conference on Women held in Beijing, China, in 1995. Mama Mongella says despite the progress made in gender inclusion, there is still a long way to go in reforming the patriarchal system.

“The issue is not who carries our ideas, it doesn’t have to be a female president, because if we go that way, we will be going backward. It doesn’t matter how long a female president leads, if the systems are bad, we will get stuck along the way, and that’s why we must all participate in the war on obliterating careless systems.

“If you leave everything to be done by Mama (President Samia), you will not be doing her justice. I believe there are men who are supportive of women. I remember Mwalimu (the late President Julius Nyerere) being very supportive of us as women. Was he a woman?

“The presidents who came after Mwalimu advocated the education of the girl child, were they women? Our president is the leader of the nation, and fortunately, she understands all this. Implementation requires everyone, and that is the system itself.

“If we want to support her, the systems must be changed... we need to overhaul the systems altogether,” says mama Mongella.

What challenges do you see in the making of a female leader?

The foundation should start being laid at home through upbringing. Leadership is not a job you get after going to school and studying A, B, and C as we think. Leadership is a talent. If a child is raised well, you can tell that he or she is a leader just by looking at them. The way they help their siblings, the way they participate in doing things, a child with such a talent will use it anywhere, whether it is within or outside the government.

The foundation of your child’s upbringing is the result that you will see in their leadership. If you raised them to be thieves, that is exactly what they will continue doing even when they become leaders.

I am very grateful to my parents, they were members of TANU at the time. They used to scold me when I did something wrong... Maybe they were preparing me to become a leader because I was interested in politics.

So, if a child is not scolded for stealing, they will do the same as adults. If a child is not rebuked for telling lies, even if he becomes a leader, he will keep telling lies.

Were you not beaten at home for telling lies? Even with this problem of commercial sex among young girls, we used to be controlled, we used to be told not to return home after sunset.

What should be done for the girl child to achieve her leadership dreams?

The first thing is education. You must seek education for your girl child with all your might. If I had married a fishmonger, I would not have been elected President of the African Parliament. The second is upbringing. You can have a good education, but if you didn’t get a good upbringing, that could completely hinder you.

The third is health. You can’t lead if you are not healthy.

How did your leadership journey start?

My father was a leader in the TANU party. I entered the leadership field knowing that I had a contribution to make and I wanted to lead everywhere. I started by being a class monitor at Mulutunguru Primary School in Ukerewe (Mwanza Region), I don’t remember the year.

My teacher wanted me to be a leader because I led my classmates in making noise. Later, I became the leader of our dormitory.

Is it true that technological evolution has overpowered social parenting?

I don’t know as I haven’t conducted any studies. But what I can say is that parents today no longer have the time to spend with their children. This I am sure of.

There are times when all of your children are in boarding schools. We can blame housegirls, but they may have had a better upbringing than today’s parents. A housegirl is not the mother of your child, nor can she be a substitute for parental care.

We need housegirls, but I don’t expect them to replace me here in my home.

We even used to see how an alcoholic father was a bad example for children... What kind of fathers will they be? Today, a man marries this woman, leaves her, and marries another woman. What do you expect to happen when their son grows up? He will definitely have multiple lovers.

How did you balance motherhood and leadership?

I tried very hard, and my husband did not have any problems at all. You know getting married is not a joke; it’s more than a full-time job. Getting to know your husband requires you to keep your mind at home.

The problem with this generation is indiscipline; if you don’t have discipline in life, you will just mess up everything, even if you are a housewife. You must have discipline at home and at work as well.

When you return home, you have to take care of the children and your husband. But there is also a problem with men who do not respect the opportunities that their wives land. They want to take us back to where we came from.

Who is Mama Mongella?

Mama Mongella was born on September 13, 1945, on Lake Victoria’s Ukerewe Island in Mwanza Region.

She went to Mlutunguru Primary School and later to Marian Hill Secondary School before earning a degree in education from the University of Dar es Salaam in 1970. She is a mother of three children and lives with her husband.

Mama Mongella once served as minister for Land, Natural Resources, and Tourism (1985–87); minister without portfolio (1987–91); the representative of Tanzania in many international meetings in the 1980s before being appointed the Ambassador of Tanzania to India (1991).

She was also the first president of the African Union Parliament.