After Jacinda Arden announced that she was resigning as the Prime Minister of New Zealand, a lot of reactions poured out from people all over the world. This is not unexpected considering how she has distinguished herself not just as a leader but particularly, as a woman in leadership.
I have read different takes but what strikes me is how some persons, presumably feminists, think she should have sought a reelection even if she didn’t feel like it.
For them, her presence signifies a new order for women leadership, and clinging to power, just like her male counterparts would have done, should have enveloped her thoughts.
While I believe this set of people has a valid point, I think in the bid to challenge patriarchy and reinforce the practicality of women leadership, women can’t afford to stifle their existence and be a shadow of themselves.
For a very long time, women have suffered untoward marginalisation and this is across all spheres of human endeavours. Despite studies showing accelerated development through gender equality and women empowerment, there’s still a significant dearth of women representation across board.
According to the World Bank, “closing agricultural gender gaps can economically empower women and support food production. In Nigeria, $2.3 billion in agricultural produce could be added by closing this gap; in Tanzania, it would lead to 80,000 more people adequately nourished each year.”
While the same underrepresentation can be seen among women in politics, it helps to better grasp why some people may be disappointed with Jacinda for taking such bold decision. Women hardly get to such highly-placed positions of power; why would she not fight harder to prove that “what a man can do, a woman can do better?”
For the most part, men have benefited immensely from a patriarchal society that entrenches power imbalance and relegates women to take the backseat. This power, has intoxicated them so much, that they flex unnecessary muscles and display bogus arrogance.
In fact, they are so power struck that they would rather cling on to power and wreak havoc in the land, even when experiencing obvious physical and mental instability. The high-handed and tongue-in-cheek approach of male leadership is abnormal; there’s nothing fancy about it.
Our femininity is such a powerful force that shouldn’t be in a tasteless competition with patriarchy. There’s strength in withdrawal, in not bowing to gender conditioning, in choosing your feminine power within, in acknowledging that you are human and not necessarily the societal’s definition of a woman.
Why aren’t we seeing Jacinda, the human being, capable of forming her independent thoughts? It’s high time we stopped matching a woman’s strength by her capability to overturn gender norms or patriarchy even at the expense of her being.
Jacinda backpedaled to show everyone, especially girls, that you don’t have to conform to fit and compete unhealthily to shine.
Rafiat Atanda, Abuja.
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