111 Young movers and shakers The women who are re-shaping politics
Young, powerful
women all over the world are reshaping politics. These are just some of the names you
should know.
Politics is still largely considered as being a man’s playing field. Women around the world have many challenges to overcome such as social stigmas and economic setbacks, but over the last few years we’ve seen more women activists, parliamentarians and congresswoman coming forth to change the status quo. According to UN Women, only 24% of all national parliamentarians were women, as of November 2018, which is a marginal increase from 11.3% in 1995. Leading the pack last year was Rwanda, which has the largest number of women parliamentarians in the world. Social media and hashtag activism has thrown the spotlight on a younger generation of women leaders who’ve been at the forefront of mobilising many social and political movements, such as #FeesMustFall, #OCCUPYWALLSTREET, #ARABSPRING and #BLACKLIVESMATTER. Over the last decade, young women have played an integral role in these movements. Last year, the Parliamentary Monitoring Group (PMG) in South Africa published a study, ahead of Youth Day, which found that only 23 MPs fall under the category of youth (35 and younger), 18 of whom serve in the National Assembly and the remaining five in the National Council of Provinces (NCOP). This category of youth makes up 6% of Parliament – 13 of the youngest MPs are female and 10 are male. Last year, the DA, EFF and IFP had the largest number of young leaders in Parliament. Prior to the elections this year, the major parties submitted parliament candidacy lists with a higher number of young women than ever before.
There’s evidence that women’s leadership and involvement in politics improves the lives of all citizens. As women make up most of the world’s population, a meaningful change and development can only be achieved by allowing women into these spaces and into the decisionmaking process in the effort to champion gender equality and reform in various sectors. These are some of the young and robust women in the political arena whose names are worth knowing and following.
NALEDI CHIRWA (25)
Mamelodi-born Naledi Chirwa was one of the young women who played an integral role in the #FeesMustFall movement. She’s known for gender activism and fighting for free education. She got into politics when she served as the deputy president of the SRC at Tshwane North College in 2010. You’ll remember Naledi as one of the four women who staged a #RememberKhwezi silent protest in 2016 at the EIC centre, where former president Jacob Zuma was announcing the electoral results. Earlier this year, when the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) released its 100 names-long parliamentary list, it was no surprise she was listed as number 30, making her the youngest candidate to be nominated by the EFF for Parliament.
She said it: In a recent response to her entry as EFF’s youngest parliamentary candidate, Naledi was quoted as saying: “I’m putting forward the politics of young people in different lengths, because I’m not just an observer of the fallists or of the feminists or of the gender activists – I’m all those people.”
HLOMELA BUCWA (25)
Hlomela Bucwa’s active involvement in politics began in
2011 when she joined the Democratic Alliance Student Association (DASO) at the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University (NMMU). She would go on to serve as the university’s Student Representative Council (SRC), which further contributed to her political growth. Hlomela made headlines in 2016, when she was sworn in as the youngest member of Parliament in South Africa, where she currently sits on the Portfolio Committee on Higher Education and Training, and on the Committee on Multi-Party Women’s Caucus, as a member of the Democratic Alliance.
She said it: Hlomela gained wide acclaim at her 2017 inaugural speech in Parliament, when she was quoted as saying: “It’s my generation that will successfully eradicate the social ills that still prevail, because we refuse to be divided by race‚ gender and religion. Instead, we’ll be unified, because we understand we’re all fellow human beings.”
TASNEEM MOTARA (35)
Tasneem Motara describes herself as having lived in a politically active home, and she has a long history of being a political organiser – she’s worked for the African National Congress for 18 years. Joining the ANC Youth League in 2000, coupled with her keen interest in international politics, led her to join the Youth League’s International Relations Committee. After she left the ANCYL in 2013, she worked for the ANC Branch Executive Committee and was a member of the Regional Executive Committee of the ANC in Ekhurhuleni, before serving on the National Council of Provinces (NCOP). Tasneem is currently the spokesperson for the ANC in Gauteng.
She said it: In an interview with the Peoples’ Assembly, Tasneem was quoted as saying: “I believe that, as South Africans, we have a lot more to be grateful for than we need to be negative about – we just don’t realise how fortunate we are. It’s a fact that transitions and regime changes don’t often come in peace, but South Africa’s own transition came in a peaceful manner.”
BOGOLO JOY KENEWENDO (32)
Last year, Bogolo Joy Kenewendo was appointed to the Botswana Cabinet seat as the Minister of Investment, Trade and Industry, garnering much praise, both on and offline, because she was the youngest minister ever to be appointed in Botswana. Having been a member of parliament for two years prior to her appointment, she also founded Molaya Kgosi, a woman leadership and mentorship programme, which was inspired by Michelle Obama’s African Women Leadership Forum in 2011. Bogolo is a trained economist and policy analyst and graduated from the University of Botswana with a Bachelor of Arts in Economics. She also obtained a Master of Science in International Economics from the University of Sussex.
She said it: “I keep reminding people that the fact that I’m a young woman in Cabinet isn’t surprising. It’s not a new thing – many revolutions in the past were led by young leaders,” Bogolo told CNN, when asked what it feels like to be a young person serving in Botswana’s Cabinet.
KAMISSA CAMARA (36)
Kamissa Camara was elected as Mali’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, African Integration and International Communication last year. Prior to that, she was the president’s diplomatic advisor. As the country’s youngest and first female Minister of Foreign Affairs, her job involves working towards democracy, security and good governance within the region. Kamissa holds a master’s degree in International Development Economics from Pierre Mendès-France University and a master’s degree in Applied Foreign Languages and International Relations from Paris Diderot University. She also obtained a certificate of studies at the School of Politics and International Studies, and was recently selected as one of the World Economic Forum’s 2019 class of Young Global Leaders.
She said it: “What keeps me up at night is making sure the interests of Mali are protected, and that the international community understands that the issues of Mali are not necessarily focused on security. We have potential and things to offer,” Kamissa said during a recent interview with Al Jazeera, when she was asked about being the youngest member to have been selected by the Ministry.