Dismantling Barriers for Women Participation in Leadership in Patriarchal Societies

For many years, pastoral communities, including the Maasai, have faced the challenge of not giving women the opportunity to make decisions, such as leading and even participating in decision-making bodies. This is due to the customs, traditions, and patriarchal systems existing in the community, leading many women to lose their right to express their opinions through various decision-making bodies in the community.

On June 18, 2024, a significant and historic event was witnessed where six Maasai women were officially installed as traditional leaders of the Maasai tribe (Ingaigwanak). This is the first time since the Maasai community became known that it has accepted and recognized women as traditional leaders in their society.

The celebration event which was organized by the Mimutie organization in collaboration with the leadership of the Malaigwanani(Maasai Male leaders), took place in Loliondo - Ngorongoro District. The event brought together leaders of the Malaigwanani, representatives from the Anti-GBV Coalition, Political Parties women leaders, local leaders, journalists and community, members

This major milestone was contributed by the significant efforts conducted by the Mimutie Women's Organization in collaboration with other stakeholders through programs supported by the Women Fund, aimed at ensuring that women also have the opportunity to participate in decision-making positions in the community.

Speaking on behalf of the Ngorongoro District Commissioner, the Guest of Honor, Administrative Secretary Mr. [name], stated that the only way to help a woman is to provide her with education.

“If we educate a woman, she will recognize her rights and will not accept being oppressed or any action that denies her rights. We should focus on educating women so that they engage in various leadership positions for the empowerment of women."

The inauguration(kusimika) event was preceded by an event of recognizing the Malaigwanani for their cooperation and significant contribution to promoting and protecting women's rights in their community, resolving women's conflicts based on principles of equality without bias, and their acceptance of women leaders within their leadership system, culminating in their inaguration as leaders.

The recognition of the Malaigwanani was important due to the influence they have within the leadership system and the Maasai community. Thus, acknowledging and inaugurating these leaders was crucial to ensure the community could easily accept them.

The process of Malaigwanani to recognize and inagurate these women as leaders signifies that they have begun to understand and be motivated about the importance of protecting and respecting women's rights. It has shown their readiness to contribute to bringing about change in the patriarchal systems that have existed in these communities for a long time.

The Malaigwanani of the Maasai tribe and the Batemi (Wasonjo) tribe have agreed that women should be given leadership roles in their communities to contribute towards promoting equality and bringing development.

Today we are here to inagurate these women as traditional leaders, where we, as Malaigwanani, have agreed to elect them so that we can work together with them, and we will give them all our support." — Lengumo Parpiye, Olaigwanani.

The women who were inagurate as leaders will have the same status as Malaigwanani and will be part of the official Maasai traditional leadership. These female leaders were selected through a community nomination process after it was observed that they have the qualifications to be leaders based on the responsibilities they have been involved in within their areas."

Speaking at the ceremony, some community members said that their aim is not to reject their traditions and customs." “We do not reject our customs and traditions, but education plays a significant role in our lives. Education is everything now, so we need our customs and traditions to not be an obstacle to our education on the grounds of losing our culture and traditions."

Naisho Saipi, one of the women who was inaugurated as a leader, says: 'The Mimuitie organization provided us with education which helped us gain insight into the fact that we too deserve to be in leadership positions.'"

In the context of women's rights, this is a significant step for Maasai women and all women in Tanzania in the struggle to change attitudes and patriarchal systems that deny women their rights and opportunities to become leaders."

Furthermore, this step by the Maasai community to start recognizing women in the leadership system will boost efforts to increase women's participation in decision-making/leadership positions, which is a major agenda right now as the country prepares for local government elections and the upcoming general elections."

The appointment of these leaders will also help bring about equitable decisions on various social issues, as the presence of women's voices in leadership systems will help in providing women with various opportunities, including rights to resources, education, health, etc."