Century of the woman

How can one tell that the 21st century is going to be the century of the woman? This is not measured by the possibility that Hillary Clinton may be the first female president in US history, come election of 2016. This feat has already been achieved by other female leaders in other countries, though the election of Hillary Clinton would top them all because of the outsized impact of US leadership in world politics.

The election of Margaret Thatcher as the first female Prime Minister of Britain was huge albeit that we have had female prime ministers from unexpected regions and religions of the world in the Middle East and Asia and from Hindu and Muslim countries, regions and religions of the world which the West regards as oppressive to women. We have had female prime ministers in Israel, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and the Philippines before the outbreak of this century.

You can tell that this will be the century for the woman, amongst others, because the US could at last be dragged screaming and protesting to do what the rest of the world has already done. This country claims to be the example to the world; it claims to be ahead in terms of women's rights and so on. Yet it has never elected a female president. Africa has had women presidents. South America has had female presidents. Rwanda has had close to fifty percent of ministerial posts held by women and so on.

You can tell that this is shaping up to be the century of the woman when Alberta, Canada, can elect the first female premier, not from the Conservative Party that had dominated that most conservative province of Canada, or even from the Liberal Party, but from the New Democratic Party (NDP). The Albertans skipped electing a liberal and went all the way to electing a leftist and female at that for the first time in the history of that province. This is a telltale sign that this is the century of the woman.

This is a century of the woman when you can have at the same time in history, female chief Justices in Zambia, Canada, Israel, Nigeria, and Ghana. Female justices in the Supreme Courts of Zambia, Canada, the USA, South Africa and elsewhere are more than one in each jurisdiction and that is significant. The Chief Prosecutor at the International Criminal Court (ICC) is female and African. The Chief Prosecutor in the US is female and African-American. The Chiefs of Police, Anti-Corruption, Drug Enforcement and Auditor-General in Zambia are all female.

The head of the African Union is female. The Prime Minister of Jamaica is female. Brazil and Chile have female presidents, as does Germany. The Vice-President of Zambia is female. The newly elected Prime Minister of Canada on October 19, 2015 has stated that he will appoint a lot of female ministers. Female ministers abound in South Africa and Rwanda and elsewhere. This paradigm has never been seen in world history. This is a maze of female power. And it is hoped that it will make a difference in the enhancement and enforcement of justice. A long time ago, the first female justice of the Supreme a court of Canada asked this question, "Will female judges make a difference"? This question has to be extended to all avenues of leadership in which women now dominate or are present. The 21st Century will answer this question.

There is female power everywhere including the bedroom. This indeed is the Century of the Woman.

Dr. Munyonzwe Hamalengwa is a lawyer in Canada.

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