THE AFRICAN WOMAN

Belinda is her name, she is in her mid-thirties,tall,medium in body size, a bit light in skin tone,a reflection that African women aren't really super dark like much of what mainstream media creations would want us to believe,am not saying that the dark color of our skin isn't really good, in fact there is something about  a dark woman who is confident of her skin tone color,something powerful that makes racial discrimination crusaders retreat to their tracks.
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At thirty years, anyway you really never know how old a woman is, until you come across her misplaced identification card.She has a pretty impressive personal and career profile,i can tell that from a job tag she carries today,she is a lead consultant for some Nordic non-governmental organisation that burns the midnight oil so that we have societies where everyone gets a decent shot at life and especially girls and women for this case.

Belly,like she tells me i should call her,is not just an ordinary woman going about her life,she is rather a super confident powerful woman,a beacon of hope for a whole lot of other women and girls out there who want  a shot at life's skewed opportunities.At twenty four,she was a state legislator.She'd decided to take on men for a local state seat in a country where women twice struggled than men, to win elective posts.During campaign trail an electoral contest that had real policy issues deviated into a gender identity type of politics,the men in the ring crafted a campaign message that went deep into how women without kids and a man at home couldn't really get into what ordinary folks wanted fixed,the economic,environmental,health and leadership problems that faced the state.

In the onset of her campaigns,some big money male chauvinist donor had approached her and told  her to quite the race that she was better placed in driving key policy issues in the kitchen and that politics wanted real smart people, which apparently according to him she wasn't. This didn't really change the urge for elective politics she'd stood her ground and did what every political newbie would do,she talked to everyone who cared  to listen and had given them campaign literature that outlined her vision.

What she found rather stunning was the apparent rejection from women electorate,who'd hurl some derogatory names her way,To her this women posed what she calls a political grandstanding,they had been made to think that men made better leaders than women and as such men had to be leaders irrespective of performance track record.On the other hand she thinks men are ripe for women leadership,she actually remembers the love she got from men and how they looked at her as a source of inspiration for their daughters back  home.

Come election day she'd won with a super majority and had given her male opponents a run for their money.For once in her lifetime,the seat gave her an opportunity where she could change the image of an African woman,from a traditionally conservative woman to a modern liberal woman who'd have a pretty share of control of her life.Education provided just that ,within the first two years she'd been a legislator,she'd managed to lobby for more educational access to women and girls,a scholarship to outstanding women and girls and a women economic empowerment fund.

With the two terms she'd served as a legislator and her work now as a lead consultant in matters women empowerment,She says the African woman is now highly educated,financially independent with a job or a small business downtown,she is modern and liberal.The African woman is a business leader,a community leader,a civic leader and government leaders.She has total control over her reproductive life,she chooses the number of kids she can bear and offers them the best life possible and takes a center stage role in the political,social and economic landscape in which she lives in.