Frazer’s foray into politics began in 2001, when she was appointed by the George Bush Administration to serve as the Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for African Affairs at the National Security Council. This was after her six years as a  lecturer and Assistant Professor at the Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, U.S. As Special Assistant, Frazer played critical roles in providing solutions to the diverse problems in Southern Africa. She developed strategies that guided U.S in combating poverty and hunger in Zimbabwe, managing conflicts in the war-torn Liberia, and fighting the increasing trend of HIV/AIDs in the region for 3 years.

These contributions earned her a spot in 2004 as Ambassador of U.S to South Africa, where she scaled the country’s operations in South Africa. She only served a year in this office, but her achievements were remarkable. Frazer struck a bilateral agreement with the government of South African for the African Contingency Operations Training Assistant program (ACOTA), an initiative that facilitated peace in the region. Her ability to steer Bush’s leadership positively, culminated in her selection as the United States Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs in 2005. Passionately, Frazer delivered on the job, designing the roadmap to boost Africa’s security architecture. Her policies helped to manage the then existing crises in Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Congo DR. Through her conflict-mediation skills, she was instrumental to resolving the post-electoral violence that engulfed Kenya in 2007.

A Distinguished Public Service Professor at Carnegie Mellon University’s Heinz College and Department of Social and Decision Sciences, whose leadership in African peace and security, and renowned policies have fostered friendly relations among states, Jendayi Frazer is our woman of the week.

Sources

BlackPast. Jendayi E. Frazer. https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/jendayi-e-frazer-1961/

Berggruen Institute. Jendayi Frazer, Biography. https://www.berggruen.org/people/jendayi-frazer/

The White House. President George W. Bush: Ask the White House. http://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/government/frazer-bio.html/

All GOV: Everything Our Government Really Does. http://www.allgov.com/officials/frazer-jendayi?officialid=28461

Samoura’s diplomatic acumen was first brought to fore in 1995 when she joined the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) as the Country Director in Djibouti and Cameroon, and later transferred to the organization’s headquarters in Rome, Italy. In this role, she had stellar achievements, developing formidable mechanisms in the management of emergencies in crises infested areas such as Sierra-Leone, Liberia, Kosovo, Nicaragua and East Timor.

The remarkable impacts she made won her recognition from the former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon, who based on the recommendation of John Holmes, the Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, appointed her as the Deputy Humanitarian Coordinator for Eastern Chad in 2007. Based in Abéché, a Chadian town that borders the conflict-ridden Darfur, Samoura was proactive in her job providing guidance to about seven United Nations agencies and 40 non-governmental organizations (NGOs) with an international outlook. Through her coordination, some of the 180,000 displaced Chadians were sheltered and had their hopes restored for new lives. This was the last position she served before her recent appointment to the management of FIFA.

In 2018, she was listed by BBC as one of the ‘100 most influential and inspirational women in the 21^st Century.  For her elegant contributions towards humanitarian assistance in Africa and the international level and her leadership attributes in the world of men, Fatma Samoura is our woman of the week.

Sources:

BBC (2018). BBC 100 Women 2018: Who is on the list? https://www.bbc.com/news/world-46225037/. Accessed on 9 September 2019.

Forbes (2018). https://www.forbes.com/pictures/5aabea644bbe6f0fa82880d6/no-1-fatma-samba-diouf-sa/#4d533d9d3c26 Accessed on 9 September 2019.

AIPS. Testing times ahead at FIFA as Samoura makes an official start. African Internationale de la Presse Sportive. http://www.aipsmedia.com/index.html?page=artdetail&oldart=18972 Accessed on 9 September 2019.

Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka is the Executive Director of UN Women. She has formerly served as Deputy President of South Africa from 2005 to 2008 where she managed programmes targeted at combatting poverty and ensuring that the benefits of a growing economy reach the poor, particularly women. Mlambo-Ngcuka was actively involved in the struggle to end apartheid in South Africa.

Prior to her appointment as Deputy President, Mlambo-Ngcuka served as Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry (DTI) of South Africa from 1996-1999; Minister of Arts, Culture, Science and Technology from February to April 2004; Minister of Minerals and Energy from 1999-2005. In 1994 when South Africa had its first democratic government, she became a Member of Parliament and Chairperson of the Public Service and Administration Portfolio Committee, a position she voluntarily gave up in 1996.

She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Social Science and Education (BA) from the National University of Lesotho (1980) and a Master’s of Philosophy in Educational Planning and Policy from the University of Cape Town (2003). She studied Gender Policy and Planning Development at the Planning Unit of the University College of London, and in 2013, she obtained a PhD in education and technology from the University of Warwick. In 2014, she was awarded an honorary doctorate from Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University.

Mlambo-Ngcuka began her career as a teacher and has gained international experience as a coordinator at the World YWCA in Geneva, where she established a global programme for young women. She founded Umlambo Foundation, an organisation that focuses on leadership and education. She is a longtime champion of women’s rights and is affiliated with several organisations working to promote education, women’s empowerment and gender equality.

In July 2013, she was appointed Executive Director of the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and Empowerment of Women (UN Women) by United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and sworn into office as Executive Director of UN Women in August 2013. She brought to this position, a wealth of experience and expertise which she had garnered from a career devoted to human rights issues as well as equality and social justice.

In her letter to girls on International Day of The Girl Child 2018, Mlambo-Ngcuka had said:

“We are working to shift the burden of shame to those who commit the abuse, and to stop the stigmatization and silencing of the survivor. Survivors must be at the centre of any response; and their experiences must be listened to and acted on to end the culture of impunity.”

In April 2019, Mlambo-Ngcuka received the Cannes LionHeart Award, an honorary award given to individuals or organisations that have ‘harnessed their position to make a significant and positive difference to the world around us, with particular reference to those who work with brands and the advertising community’. The award was given in recognition of the work she had done in championing and advocating for women and women’s rights, human rights, and social justice throughout the world, as well as her leadership of The Unstereotype Alliance, an initiative that brings industry leaders together, setting aside competition and uniting for a common cause. The initiative was convened by UN Women to address gender bias.

For a woman to reach the peak of her career may be very difficult in our world today, but Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka’s career life has proven that this is possible despite obstacles that women face in climbing different ladders in their careers. We celebrate Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka; she is our Woman of the Week.

Sources:

“A letter to girls from Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, UN Under Secretary-General and Executive Director of UN Women, on International Day of the Girl Child.” UN Women, Wed. 14 August 2019, https://www.unwomen.org/en/news/stories/2018/10/statement-ed-phumzile-day-of-the-girl

“Executive Director Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka.” UN Women, Thur. 11 July 2019, http://www.unwomen.org/en/about-us/directorate/executive-director/ed-bio

“Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka.” African Leadership Academy, Thur. 11 July 2019, http://www.africanleadershipacademy.org/staffulty/global-advisory-council/phumzile-mlambo-ngcuka-2/

“Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka receives prestigious women’s rights award.” IOL, Thur. 11 July 2019, https://www.iol.co.za/news/politics/phumzile-mlambo-ngcuka-receives-prestigious-womens-rights-award-22189343

“Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka.” Wikipedia, Thur. 11 July 2019, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phumzile_Mlambo-Ngcuka

“Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka.” World Bank Live, Thur. 11 July 2019, https://live.worldbank.org/experts/phumzile-mlambo-ngcuka