Women the world over have been under-represented in leadership be it in educational administration, business and industry, and political arenas (Bass, 1990; Uraizee, 2000; Weiss, 1999). This phenomenon is often described in terms of a glass ceiling: one that women can see through but cannot go past due to cultural, organizational and other systemic discriminations based on gender stereotypes. Whereas this glass ceiling phenomenon has been adequately defined, described and understood in western contexts (Alston, 2000; Eagly & Johannesen-Schmidt, 2001; Weiss, 1999), only a fraction of studies have explored the experiences of women in the African context (Bennett, 2005a, 2005b; Chisholm, 2001). Most available explorations of women’s experiences in Africa have concentrated on explicating their social status, especially as this relates to human rights abuses, discrimination in academia and politics, and other investigations from a deficit perspective(Kamau, 1996; Mabokela, 2003; Muteshi, 1998). In following Bennett (2005a,b), I attempt to explore how women in Africa are dealing with one of their greatest challenges; HIV/AIDS by providing counter-discourse to the available deficit discourse that displays African women only in their negative experiences. I am intentionally celebrating the work and words of women leaders who have risen, as Esther did, ‘for such a time as this’ (Esther 4:14). This is not to say that the explications of women’s experiences from a deficit perspective are wrong or inappropriate, but rather to argue that they are incomplete; that is only one side of the story. Women’s experiences in the African context are full of contradictions and paradoxes as they exist between the flux created by the clash of modernity and tradition in the context of an emerging market economy and democratic state. I will illustrate this phenomenon by providing succinct descriptions of two such women leaders. But before that, the face of HIV/AIDS in Kenya where all these women are leaders is particularly severe.

Face of HIV/AIDS and the Christian Church’s Response

According to the most recent statistics available from United Nations AIDS program (UNAIDS), Sub-Sahara Africa (SSA) is the region of the globe most severely impacted by HIV/AIDS. At the end of 2004, prevalence rates had risen astronomically in many SSA countries, Kenya being one of the worst hit. In a country with about 31 Million people, the statistics stand as follows:

Kenya is also 80% Christian, which would mean that the Christian church has a responsibility to respond to the pandemic quickly, urgently and appropriately. As Njoroge (2002) observed, several issues arise when it comes to HIV/AIDS in Kenya:

In the face of such a daunting challenge, women leaders in various sectors utilize their positions to act as is appropriate within their professions and as part of their calling to respond suitably to the pandemic.

Women’s Spirited Leadership
Between Modernity and Tradition: Mrs. Nangurai amongst the Maasai of Kenya

One of the little understood yet important characteristics of the African experience is the fact that Africa exists in a state of flux between modernity and tradition (Gyekye, 1997). In this context, traditional practices are not quite extinct, and modern practices are not quite established; the two co-exist as uncomfortable bedfellows. For instance, one of the women whose story I describe comes from the Maasai community in Kenya who are a nomadic people group. In their traditional existence, the Maasai moved (and most still do) from place to place in search of pasture for their animals. With the advent of westernization, Christianity, market economy and western democracy have been introduced to the African continent and the world as a whole. For the Maasai and their nomadic lifestyle, some of the components of this westernization such as education require a more stable existence where children can go to school nine months out of the year. As a result, most Maasai children do not go to school at all, only about 1 in 3 Maasai children attain basic education. Worst hit amongst these Maasai people are the girl-children.

For many Maasai, the discovery of a market economy in which they can exchange their cattle for cash has resulted in a change in the status of women and girls. Girls have now become a commodity for exchange – a commodity that will bring in more herds of cattle which constitute a man’s measure of wealth. In the process, girls are married off at indecently immature ages as early as nine years in order to bring in those much needed herds of cattle. Yet this practice is blamed on tradition – a tradition that did not exist fifty years ago in this fashion because then girls were allowed to mature before they were circumcised and married off. Now the urgency brought about by the market economy and cash for cattle has created this rush to marry them off early, before they grow older and discover their rights through education. Mrs. Priscilla Nangurai, a headmistress of Africa Inland Church Kajiado Girls Boarding School (AIC) described such neo-cultural practices not only as they impede girls attainment of education, but also as they facilitate the spread of HIV/AIDS amongst the Maasai community. Originally, Mrs. Nangurai returned to her community as a teacher, but soon realized that her mission needed to encapsulate rescue of the Maasai girls from what she regards as cultural malpractices. In the process, she also recognized the need to include HIV/AIDS training not only for the girls at the school but their mothers and the community as well. She said that in the process of talking to the women, she realized their ignorance and sought to alleviate it:

Evidently, sleeping with town prostitutes does not constitute cultural practice; however, this is the result of the introduction of a cash economy to a people whose prior economy was, and remains the herding of cattle. But other practices according to Mrs. Nangurai are cultural norms that have been practiced for a long time such as:

The question that arises then is how successful is Mrs. Nangurai in educating her people about HIV/AIDS? She calls it a slow process because it requires cultural as well as behavioral transformations that cannot happen overnight. Since a lot of the behaviors that facilitate the scourge are cultural norms, nothing short of a moral-cultural renaissance is required. In addition, behavioral change, especially for the women if it is not supported by behavioral change amongst the men would not be possible. Talking about the ABC’s (abstinence, being faithful to one spouse and condoms) are too simplistic a solution for such a community(Booth, 2004). Women cannot say no to the men, they are likely to incur severe physical harm. As it was explained to me, violence against women amongst the Maasai is apparently normal. Mrs. Muthoni Likimani who was married to the first African/Maasai doctor in Kenya, and is an adopted Maasai, informed me that amongst the Maasai, beating up a wife is the norm, yet they would not beat their cows. Cattle are more highly valued than women! Mrs. Likimani opted to lose social status to stay alive – the physical battering was too much to bear. As such, women in the Maasai community cannot fight HIV/AIDS by that simplistic ABC formula; rather, a cultural transformation followed by behavioral changes is necessary and this is what Mrs. Nangurai has been helping to instigate. At the very least, the fact that girls can find a safe haven from their homes at the rescue center gives them the opportunity to complete their education and mature, and eventually, make better choices about their marital spouses. For many of the rescued girls, AIC is their home until they complete 4th form (equivalent to 12th grade). With the help of Mrs. Nangurai as their other mother, they are able to also proceed to higher education and avoid the perils their age mates face in the villages.


Pastoral Care and Counseling: Educating Ecclesiastical Leaders to Provide Positive Care

On another front, it has been reported that the church in Africa was slow to respond to the HIV/AIDS pandemic because of the connotation that it is a result of God’s punishment for sin. It has taken many years for the church to stop stigmatizing those struggling with the disease and to provide the necessary healing community. When women theologians in Africa realized just how badly people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) and those affected by the pandemic were treated in the churches, they embarked on a process of changing that status quo. The Circle of Concerned African
Women Theologians embarked on providing Africa with a theological response to the HIV/AIDS pandemic. In speaking to the need for a response from theological educators at a speech given during St. Paul’s Theological University in Kenya’s centennial anniversary, Professor Musa Dube observed:

The realization that HIV/AIDS is decimating Africans, both those infected and those affected then necessitated a Christian response, one that is guided by mercy rather than judgment, especially in regards to the need for healing, provision of basic necessities and watching out for the poor, orphaned and widows. It metamorphosed into a social justice issue that the church urgently needed to respond to (Micah 6:8). In response, Dr. Esther Mombo, the academic dean at St. Paul’s United Theological College decided to do something that no one else had attempted, provide a program in pastoral counseling with an emphasis on HIV/AIDS. This was in direct response to one of the Circle’s recommended plans of action for 2002-2007: To incorporate HIV/AIDS training in ministerial formation in theological institutions. The proposed program is a Master's in Christian Response to HIV/AIDS in conjunction with OCMS (Oxford Centre for Mission Studies). It could very well be the first program of its kind being offered in a theological school, and the hope is that it will help to adequately prepare the African church leaders in responding to HIV/AIDS in a Christ-like manner. In talking about Dr. Mombo’s engagement with the church’s and theological institutions response to HIV/AIDS, Nyambura Njoroge had this to say:

It is this kind of leadership by a woman theologian and leader that is necessary in adequately responding to HIV/AIDS through the churches which with the breakdown of traditional community structures, serve as the new community. For Dr. Mombo, educating Christian leaders, both men and women to serve the needs of African believers in this current era is her most important mission and calling.


Critical Spirituality in Practice

In looking at the two women leaders whose stories are presented above, one is struck by the differences in their contexts and yet their responses are somewhat similar in intent: to educate students, community members and leaders to respond aptly to the HIV/AIDS Pandemic. Whereas these are stories of two women’s responses, they are not the only ones. Others like them have arisen to meet the challenge head on. In the meantime, these two women provide illustration for what it means to have a critical spirituality – the kind of spirituality that is reflexive and that forms the starting point for values and principles that inform the leaders behavior (Dantley, 2003a, 2003b). Whereas this kind of spirituality might be expected of a leader like Dr. Mombo because she is a theologian, it is more surprising when found in Mrs. Nangurai who is not. Yet the connecting factor between the two women is that they both felt a compulsion to act dictated by their moral compass which is distinctively theistic. And theologians aren’t always critically engaged or reflexive in their practice of leadership, otherwise the church should not have been engaged in stigmatization and slowness of response to the HIV/AIDS pandemic.

Mrs. Nangurai and Dr. Mombo also espouse another perspective that Dantley (2003) referred to as ‘purpose-driven leadership’ whereby leaders who comprehend the multidimensionality of their daily challenges yet find the inner strength to constantly challenge the status quo of oppression. The purpose for both women is to respond responsibly to the challenges presented by HIV/AIDS amongst their constituents, in spite of challenges to their authority as leaders in the face of gender discrimination. That purpose-driven leadership is a by-product of their spirituality. Spirituality in this paper is defined as “that part of our lives and community through which we make meaning and understanding of our world…Spirituality is the grounding for the values and principles we espouse that inform our personal and professional behavior” (Dantley 2003, p.274). This is the kind of spirituality that goes beyond religion and mere lip service to the needs of the community, providing a critique of existing structures and an engagement with contextual realities.

Both women leaders discussed in this paper are educators, Mrs. Nangurai at the primary school level, Dr. Mombo at the university level. They are educational leaders serving as principal and academic dean of their institutions respectively. In these positions, they recognize the need to expand the curriculum to respond to the HIV/AIDS pandemic. Whereas this could not have been an easy venture for either of them, their practice of engaged pedagogy necessitated active commitment to being relevant to the needs beyond their campus walls – the needs of the wider African community served by their constituents. Once again, the practice of engaged pedagogy was a result of their critical spirituality – it is in reflecting upon the needs of the African community that they choose to be proactive and resourceful in being part of the solution to the HIV/AIDS pandemic. They have both gone above and beyond their job descriptions – they could easily have carried out educational leadership in the same old way but chose not to in spite of the challenges along the way.


Conclusions

As mentioned earlier, choosing to celebrate the women’s words and works does not mean that they haven’t faced challenges. Both of them face gender and culture based discrimination as women leaders in a patriarchal society. As educators, they are overworked and underpaid. As single parents, they struggle with juggling careers, community involvements and familial responsibilities. For Dr. Mombo who adopted three children, raising them alone is not an easy task, especially as single women face many hurdles within the African Christian community where marriage means better social status for women. Similarly, Mrs. Nangurai faces the challenge of attempting to transform her people’s deeply held norms as an insider; she has oft been asked to ‘shut up! You are only a woman. You have bad manners for daring to speak in the assembly of men!’ Yet in spite of the challenges to their authority as leaders, both women continue to serve because they find fulfillment in serving their communities and their nation. They constitute a minute yet important example of how women, the unsung heroines in the war against HIV/AIDS, rise to the mission and calling of spirited leadership in action. They illustrate the possibility that while African women leaders lives are riddled with contradictions; one cannot afford to pathologize their experiences. Rather, we can celebrate their achievements and agency in dealing with the contextual realities evident in their institutions and communities.


References

Alston, J. (2000). Missing in action: Where are the black female school superintendents? Urban Education, 35 (5), 525-531.
Bass, B. M. (1990). Bass & Stogdill's handbook of leadership: Theory, research and managerial applications (3 ed.). New York: The Free Press.
Bennett, M. D. (2005a). Africa's women: A journey of hope. Retrieved November 14, 2005, from http://www.theotherjournal.com/article.php?id=86
Bennett, M. D. (2005b, November 2-6). Bypassing the glass ceiling: Three Kenyan women leaders, Or-Have you ever heard a hen crow? Paper presented at the International Leadership Association Annual Conference, Amsterdam.
Booth, K. M. (2004). Local women, global science: Fighting AIDS in Kenya. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press.
Chisholm, L. (2001). Gender and leadership in South African educational administration. Gender and Education, 13 (4), 387-399.
Dantley, M. E. (2003a). Critical spirituality: Enhancing transformative leadership through critical theory and African American prophetic spirituality. International Journal of Leadership in Education, 6 (1), 3-17.
Dantley, M. E. (2003b). Purpose-driven leadership: The spiritual imperative to guiding schools beyond high-stakes testing and minimum proficiency. Education and Urban Society, 35 (3), 273-291.
Dube, M. W. (2003). A Vision for Mission in the 21st Century: Ways Ahead for Ecumenical Theological Education Theological Education: HIV/AIDS and Other Challenges in the New Millennium. Retrieved November 24, 2005, from http://www.thecirclecawt.org/focus_areas?mode=content&id=17293&refto=2629
Eagly, A. H., & Johannesen-Schmidt, M. C. (2001). The leadership styles of women and men. Journal of Social Issues, 57 (4), 781-797.
Gyekye, K. (1997). Tradition and modernity: philosophical reflections on the African experience. New York: Oxford University Press.
Kamau, M. N. (1996). The experiences of women academics in Kenya. Unpublished Doctoral Dissertation, University of Toronto, Toronto.
Mabokela, R. O. (2003). "Donkeys of the University": Organizational culture and its impact on South African women administrators. Higher Education, 46, 129-145.
Muteshi, J. K. (1998). " A refusal to argue with inconvinient evidence": Women, proprietorship and Kenyan law. Dialectical Anthropology, 23 (1), 55-81.
Njoroge, N. J. (2002). The Unsung Bearers of Hope in the Face of HIV/AIDS Pandemic in Africa. Retrieved November 24, 2005, from here
Uraizee, J. (2000). This is no place for woman: Nadien Gordimer, Buchi Emecheta, Nayantara Saghal, and the politics of gender. Trenton, NJ & Asmara, Eritrea: Africa World Press, Inc.
Weiss, A. E. (1999). The glass ceiling: A look at women in the workforce. Brookfield, Connecticut: Twenty-First Century Books.