Feminist Knowledge | Politics

Gender and Political Empowerment: a Conversation with Tanzanian Political Veteran Bibi Titi
by Ruth Meena

Introduction

In this paper, we are going to meet Bibi Titi, a Tanzanian woman political veteran during the nationalist era, who entered "politics" by accident, made politics a career, but forced to set a divorce as she failed to balance her traditional role as a wife and a politician. She became a 'power force' due to her mobilisational skills during the struggle for independence, was rewarded a junior ministerial position upon independence, but four years later, accused of treason, tried and jailed, had her property confiscated and her only daughter ruthlessly thrown out of her home. She was pardoned seven years later and lived a semi destitute life, without friends and without recognition. Three decades later, she was declared a "Uhuru Heroine"! This paper is going to make extensive reference to notes from an interview conducted by the author in 1988 with Bibi Titi to illustrate the gendered terrain of the 'politics of empowerment'.

Her life in politics, epitomises how masculinity permeates, defines and set standards for male dominated leadership making it difficult for the women who '' intrudes' in this male domain with an independent mind to survive the challenges reproduced by the system. In this paper, we are going to use Bibi Titi's story to interrogate the very concept of 'politics' power' and disempowerment'. As we walk through herstory, we shall try to understand how she redefined politics, how she gained, lost and reclaimed power, as she struggled to come to terms with the contradictions inherent in the male defined political arena.

Introducing Bibi Titi

In 1988 my colleague and I visited Bibi Titi for an interview. She took us by suprise when she started interviewing us! Although age had consumed quite an amount of her physical energy, she remained mentally sound and politically articulate (Asha-Rose Migiiro and Ruth Meena: 1988).

When we introduced ourselves, Biti Titi immediately challenged us as to why it had taken us so long to realise that there were Tanzanian women, including herself, who had played a significant role in the making of Tanzania's political history. She also asked us why Tanzanian women intellectuals were not fully involved in the women's movement then. Many of her colleagues, she emphasised, had already passed away due to age, and their contribution in the nationalist struggle remained unrecorded. This interrogation was 'Powerful' and with humility we sat for hours as she narrated her political experiences. She took us through her photo albums, and shared with us some of her personal experiences.

She was born in 1926 in Dar es Salaam to a Matumbi Muslim family. As a Muslim, she had to read the Koran to develop her faith. Reading of the Koran was the only form of formal education to which the majority of Muslim girls were exposed during the colonial period in Tanzania. However, Bibi Titi took only one year to read the Koran, while other children of her age took up to four years. Her brilliance impressed one of her uncles, who decide to support her formal education for four years. Although she considered four year of formal education as having been very inadequate, it nevertheless provided her with basic literary skills upon which she managed to expand her knowledge base.

Being a girl, and a Muslim girl for that matter, was already a barrier towards formal education, as well as a limit towards formal employment or any other career which might have needed formally constructed educational achievements. Formal education during the colonial period was utilised to further divide people along race, ethnicity, and gender. Colonial education was an education for disempowerment as it prepared individual agents to protect colonial interests. But unlike other instruments which ultimately lead to disempowerment, education is a double-edged weapon. On the one hand, education can be used as an instrument to control people's minds, through teaching submission, through subject stereotyping, through classroom interactions which promote submission, and through curriculum content which does not promote independent thinking. And yet, once the gates of literacy are opened to an individual, they create openings for the individual to challenge the very system that creates these individuals. This is what colonial education did not only for Bibi Titi, but for the majority of those who received it. A few emerged as prominent activists who started challenging the colonising elements of the educational system of the time.

Interestingly, all the women who were politically engaged during the early years of nationalist struggles were women who had very limited formal education (Susan Geiger: 1997). It was only after independence that this lack of formal education became a critical issue particularly for women and less so for men, as a criterion for being elected into the official 'power hierarchy'.

Where were Women Intellectuals in the Women's Movement?

A dictionary definition of intellectual is "using or having or showing the "power" of thought, reason and producing explanations or ideas". This is a masculinist way of separating the world into subjects and objects, knower and those who do not know. Where were women's intellectuals in the Women's Movement in Tanzania?

By the mid 1980s, women who had formal schooling were already engaged in questioning the social exclusion of women from formal schooling, as well as raising more fundamental questions which demanded the removal of barriers that hindered women from using their power to reason, to understand and to know. They were engaged in a discourse which demanded freedom for all people to be a source of the knowledge being used for their development, freedom to be a knower, freedom of the mind, and freedom to be allowed to contribute to the reasoning that guides development thinking. It is this type of engagement that lead to the formation of research and documentation groups, women professional associations such as The Women Research and Documentation Programme, the IDS Women Research and Documentation, Women in Education, as well as Women in Science, to mention but a few.

The University based women were still grappling with the contradictions which university education offered. The University constituted an authoritarian institution which was also male dominated. It was and continues to be guided by meritocracy ideologies that failed to capture the richness of the existing body of knowledge and experiences which could have transformed the world in totality and our small world in particular. Entering the university was like climbing a thorny hill. Those who made it to the top of the pyramid were so bitter that they desired to create more hills, and more mountains with more nails so that they could legitimate the monopoly of knowledge.

The male dominated struggle for 'intellectual freedom' had revolved around a struggle between those who controlled the country's resources (materially) and those who controlled the thinking and the minds of the ruled. It is this contradiction that had lead some university based women to explore and forge alliances with the women and men outside the academy as well as in the villages through a variety of participatory approaches that made it possible for both to discover 'the power to learn" from each other. This was done through documenting life histories, through analyses of their contexts, and through struggles that challenged the patriarcal order.

When Bibi Titi's questioned the role of intellectuals in the women's movement, she was probably referring to their involvement in the officially recognised women's organisation which was by then, the ruling party's women's wing popularly refereed to as UWT or
"Umoja wa Wanawake wa Tanzania." Indeed, UWT leadership and to an extent its membership, did not attract women who had reached the apex of the formal schooling for a variety of reasons. First, the attempt to put all women in one box was quietly being resisted by some women as they sought to form alternative forms of organising which were still acceptable to the official demands of association during this period.

Tanzanian women organised in diverse forms raising multiple questions ranging from bread and butter, to issues of constitutional rights, electoral rights and general women rights issues. Indeed, by mid 1990s, 80% of all the existing civil society organisations were those either led by women, or organised around women and feminist agendas. Most of these organisations benefited from the leadership of those few women who had either gained formal schooling or those who had gained practical skills through grass roots political activities. As we sought to document our history, Bibi Titi was the one name which consistently came up, yet it was no where in the 'history books', hence our visit.

Bibi Titi the Politician

"I became a politician by accident, not by design" said Bibi Titi . In this context she was using the concept of politics in its narrow way, engaging in what was constructed as formal public sphere. But, was Bibi Titi a politician by accident? Bibi Titi was a leader of one of the most famous cultural dancing troupes which entertained urban Africa. In re-ordering the political space, the colonialists constructed cultural troupes as non political, and hence were not subjected to the same restrictions as other associations which were deemed 'political' and dangerous. Bibi Titi and the other cultural leaders, demystified this construction by converting the cultural dancing troupes into 'political forums' when formal political organising was banned by the colonial government. In this way, Bibi Titi was already a politician before she joined formally constructed politics.

Her Engagement in Nationalist Politics

She was first introduced to Dr. Julius Kambarage Nyerere in 1954, by the driver of a family cab, and later by a brother-in -law who seemed to have been following Nyerere's party activities. Although on paper she was the 16th member of the nationalist party, and therefore one of the founder members of the Tanganyika African Nationalist Union (TANU), her membership card had been brought to her by her brother-in-law. It is of interest to note that a brother in law was convincing her to join 'politics' by being a member of a political party which was then an opposition party to the colonial regime. It seems therefore that membership to a political party was not based on exclusionary gender or other practices. Initially, Bibi Titi resisted, she took time to study and understand the party, and while it took time to convince her, once convinced, she never regretted it.

The pressure, from her brother-in-law and friends, seems to have been irresistible and she decided to attend Nyerere's first public meeting in Dar es Salaam. She was impressed by Nyerere's speech, but realised that the Swahili-speaking population of Dar es Salaam would not take Nyerere seriously as his Swahili was not fluent. She advised him to learn Swahili as soon as possible which he duly did. This is how he managed to get support form a wide spectrum of the population. Bibi advised Nyerere to learn the people's language in order to speak to them and speak with them and speak for them.

When Bibi Titi was invited to join the party, she was already a feminist politician. She was leading a large cultural dancing troupe. It was through these troupes that dancers or artist would protest against certain behaviours or mistreatment. Alternatively, they danced to affirm a position, to support a motion, or commend activities. This was political! Through singing and acting, they were able to "influence" and bring change". In a way, cultural troupes constituted opinion makers, as they shaped ideas, redefined them and also constructed them. Indeed, they were political and powerful! They would use body language to mimic, to ridicule, to protest and or to affirm! In some instances, this was a more powerful method of communication than the spoken word. This cultural space protected dancers or gave them some sort of immunity as nobody would be taken to court for engaging the state through music. In this context, dancers and particularly women dancers, did command a lot of power to influence the behaviour of community members, from top level leaders to their fellow women. In some cases, such power was used to censor women who did not conform to acceptable social cultural constructions. But in other cases, they also used the same method to 'discipline' men who abused their powers. And in some instances, they used satire to challenge a status quo which undermined their dignity in the community. It is because of this realisation of the role of cultural troupes in political activism and particularly the realisation of the women leaders' ability to mobilise people through the cultural troupes that the early nationalist leaders and party members sought to use this talent in the struggles for independence. Indeed, women's knowledge mattered, it was considered relevant, and appropriate during the struggle for independence.

From our point of view, Bibi Titi was not therefore a politician by accident. She was already engaged in local politics, as a leader of powerful dancing troupes which influenced political behavior in their community. This was appreciated by the male friends and relatives who wanted to make use of Bibi Titi as a political asset.

Transition from Cultural Leader to a Prominent Political Leader

The TANU women's section was established as part of a "face -saving move" (Uhuru Supplement: Dec. 1 1991) A British Labour Party representative, Mr. John Hatch, had visited Tanganyika in support of Nyerere's political activities. Incidentally, Mr. Hatch wanted to know whether TANU had women leaders. In response to Hatch's challenge, the then members of the TANU central committee decided to approach Bibi's husband to "persuade" him to allow Bibi Titi to meet Mr Hatch and to be a member of TANU's central committee (Uhuru Supplement op.cit).

It is interesting here to see how the men responded quickly to the challenge from the British Labour Party leader. They wanted some credibility, that they were "also involving women in party leadership". But they could not name Bibi Titi a political leader without 'permission' from her husband! The decision to incorporate her into leadership positions had to be endorsed by her husband. Had the roles been reversed, there would have been no need to seek permission from the wife, to Meet a British Labour Party Leader, or seek permission to have him in the central committee. This was a signal of the prevailing attitudes in the party concerning women's role in leadership positions in the party.

Involvement of Bibi Titi in formal politics, from just a member to a leadership cadre, was expected to affect her role in the domestic sphere. It was necessary to seek endorsement from her spouse who was then presumed to be the ' head of the household' because TANU was not interested in challenging the patriarchal authority of households. This was already building into the recruitment process of party leadership some disempowering elements. As a matter of fact, it was introducing into the party politics, principles of exclusion of women, particularly married women, from leadership positions.

Although initial permission was granted, Bibi Titi's husband did not know the long-term implications of her involvement in politics. At a later stage, she had to choose between marriage and politics. She chose the latter. "I was married to politics," said Bibi proudly."After engaging in politics, it was not possible for me to keep a husband in the traditional way".

This reminded us of Plato's thinking when he was writing his first "Republic" on the role of women as guardians in the Greek City States. He had proposed that women of the guardian class could hold public offices on conditions that private property, including 'private wives' was to be abolished. According to Plato, women of the guardian class had same capacity to govern, but the institution of marriage in its form, was a constraint to both women and men, but more so to women. At the time, this proposition was considered too radical for his time. In his Second Republic, Plato assigned women a minor role in the governance, particularly roles related to their traditional roles in nurturing, caring and reproduction of the society.

Bibi Titi might not have been the only victim who suffered a broken family due to her engagement in politics. Both men and women who engage in political careers or other public activities face problems of maintaining their traditional family obligations. When a man enters a demanding career which affects his responsibilities of his conjugal family, the public gives its blessing. After all, a man's private life is not supposed to be part of the public concern. For women however, once they enter the public sphere, their private life becomes the subject of scrutiny. The public will frown when a woman fails to reconcile her traditional role and public activities. Hence, it's women who have to make choices between a traditional family and a public career. In the majority of cases they are forced to choose the former, an aspect which partly explains the absence of women from top decision making positions. The differential expectations from the society on the roles of women and men in the households with or without public office, has some disempowering effects on women who attempt to balance roles - this in a context where time and energy is limited.

Did She Impact Politics?

When Bibi Titi joined 'formal' politics, as with many other women, her immediate desire was not to change the content of politics from a gender or feminist perspective. She joined the men's club, seeking 'political independence' which was not interrogated from all angles except the 'nationalist' perspective. The famous quotation from Nkwame Nkrumah, the then first president of Ghana, captures this very dramatically "Seek ye first the political kingdom and the rest will be granted". Translated literally, it meant, lets demand 'political power' - loosely defined to mean control of the coercive instruments of the state first, the army, the judiciary, executive and some form of legislative body.

A postmortem of Bibi Titi's life after independence does suggest however that she was not just fighting for 'power transfer' to nationalist leaders. She indeed had a vision of the type of political system and ordering she was expecting. Throughout the interviews with her, she insisted that 'they' meaning the political leaders had agreed to a democratic arrangement in decision-making processes, and when this was not respected, she resigned from leadership and as a result, landed in jail.

Bibi Titi central role was that of recruiting and mobilising both men and women into TANU membership. She fearlessly travelled throughout the country to campaign for TANU and to raise funds. To defile the stereotypical role of women in the public sphere as had been constructed by colonialists and affirmed by interpretation of religion, Bibi sought the company of other women in mobilising and fund raising. According to Geiger, this strategy of engaging other women in activities which were predominantly controlled by men, made involvement of women less controversial and more acceptable (Susan Geiger: 1997).

One of the tactics which Bibi and other women used to counteract colonial government bans on public meetings was using cultural dance troupe. The colonial government never suspected political activities to have been carried out through the cultural dance troupes. Since colonial government did not provided sufficient recreational facilities, it left the Africans with their "traditional dances" as a form of entertainment. The cultural troupes provided the Africans with a political forum. Through these cultural dance troupes, Tanganyika's men and women were recruited into TANU's political activities. At this juncture, the male leaders of the party did not oppose such women who took charge in mobilizing support for the party, they recognized their "power" and made use of this power to get support and recruitment of members as well as fund raising for the party.

In recognition of her mobilisational ability, TANU sent Bibi to Zanzibar to campaign for the Afro Shiraz Party (ASP), and also to Kenya to campaign for KANU (Uhuru Supplement: op. Cit.) She was thus both a nationalist and a Pan-Africanist. This went beyond the traditional female role in formal politics. Bibi Titi organised rallies, mobilised for party support, fund raised for the party, and travelled extensively throughout the country during the struggle for independence. She was indeed politically engaged.

Bibi Titi stands for many other women in the ex colonies who performed 'political activities' that earned parties some support in terms of material support and in numbers. Women protested carrying passes in South Africa, women protested unfair taxation in some parts of Tanzania, and women secretly hid the liberation fighters in Angola and Zimbabwe. In some other instances, they provided leadership to the struggles. In Zimbabwe, Nehanda the Spirit Medium provided moral and spiritual leadership to the movement, and indeed, women were 'political and powerful' during the whole struggle for independence throughout the ex colonial countries. In Tanzania such women included among others, women such as: Tatu binti Mzee,Mtumwa Kitete, Chiku bint Kisusa, Halima binti Hamis and Mwanvita bint Feruzi, bint Maftaha and Tabu binti Waziri, to mention but a few. These were pioneers not only for the women's movement, but for the nationalist movement that lead to the victory that celebrated "power transfer".

The presence of women in TANU politics as activists and leaders was already changing the shape of nationalist politics. The women transformed cultural troupes to political forums, this was a creative way of de constructing politics. Their ability to mobilize and recruit large numbers of members, and fund raising for the party again challenged the colonial and patriarchy systems which were based on ideologies of exclusion. It challenged the gendered politics and gender role in formal politics. Women experiences counted and mattered, and their knowledge base was recognised as being relevant to the struggle for independence then.

Nationalist Victory and Gender Power

When power was transferred to the nationalist government, the picture changed. Women's experience was no longer relevant to the post colonial struggles against neo-colonialism, imperialism and in management of the state apparatus. In a discussion with Bibi Titi, she ironically said " I started smelling fish" when the first cabinet was founded. The highest post granted to us women was that of under secretary to the cabinet, which was equivalent to junior ministerial position. When we asked Mwalimu, he said to us, "where are those women with experience?" But quietly we wondered where those men with experience to run the state are?

With independence, there was a re-definition of 'qualities' for leadership, based on a masculine definition of politics, experience, knowledge and leadership qualities. In Tanzania and indeed in the majority of post colonial states, "standard" qualifications would have been impossible to institute due to the unevenness of colonial impact which had divided the people along race, ethnic groups, religious sects, social classes, and regional disparities, as well as along gender lines. While attempts to ' balance' these other differences were made, the gender divide did not seem to have bothered the leadership immediately. What is amazing is that this legacy continues today after four decades of independence. We are still searching for women with experience in leadership positions! How long is this search going to take us? We shall continue to wonder.

During the struggle for independence, male-lead political parties recognised the experience which women had in mobilising social support for the nationalist struggle. Women's experience and knowledge counted and mattered. Their power to influence was also appreciated. With power transfer, this experience was no longer relevant, and their knowledge was no longer counting in the post-colonial struggles as well as in the management of the state machineries. A few women like Bibi Titi were however rewarded in a token manner by either being allocated some junior ministerial positions or those positions which were not politically strategic, such as social welfare, ministries of health, culture youth, sports, women and children. Tokenism has been used by male dominated regimes to maintain a status quo, as it portrays a false image of supporting the equality movement. This has a disempowering effect as it divides the women's and other equality movements.

Bibi Titi and the Abortive Coup

Bibi Titi was implicated in an abortive coup d'etat of the late 1960s, tried and sentenced to life imprisonment. She was later pardoned by President Nyerere after serving imprisonment for several years. While in prison, her two houses were nationalised and her property mercilessly removed from the house which she was occupying. Her political career dramatically ended after the prison sentence, and her role in the political history faded away.

Her life in prison was one of those areas which she did not want to share with us. She denied having had an interest in overthrowing Nyerere's government, but admits to having been unhappy with Nyerere's style of leadership, which tended to be more and more authoritarian as years passed. She knew Nyerere as a man who listened and who respected other peoples viewpoints before independence. In 1967 however, Nyerere tabled the famous Arusha Declaration to the relevant party dramatically without sufficient consultation. "As a matter of principle, I was not opposed to the ideas of the Arusha Declaration", said Bibi Titi,. " I was mainly challenging the undemocratic manner in which it was being imposed upon us" and questioned some aspects of the Declaration". Before independence, she further emphasised, the party had vowed to build a democratic political culture. "I strongly felt that we were deviating from that culture. This is what made me resign from both party membership and from leadership positions."

She felt that she was unfortunately implicated in the coup because of her previous connections with Oscar Kambona, an architect of the abortive coup. According to Bibi Titi, Kambona had been a close political ally. She claims further that her position was never influenced by Oscar Kambona's political ambition. "you should know," she emphasised. "though I am a woman, I am a Matumbi by origin". Who are the Matumbi's? This is a famous ethnic group which organised to challenge the colonial occupation through a military action, famously known as " Maji Maji. The Maji Maji war of resistance, swept the whole of the south and south-eastern part of the country, under the leadership of the famous Kinjikitile, a woman who provided the fighters with moral and spiritual leadership. This historical incident has been a source of pride to the Matumbi people for their courage, determination and the power displayed during the struggle. The Matumbi will fight for their freedom and dignity. They'd rather die as a slave then a rich captive! This spirit had no gender divide.

It is this sense of pride which made Bibi Titi protest publicly against the manner the Arusha Declaration was introduced by Nyerere. Prior to her resignations, Bibi was strongly advised by her closest colleagues and friends on the possible implications of her decision. According to her, Oscar Kambona advised her to run away from the country. She found this a big joke, "How could I have run away from Nyerere?" she wondered. " I was ready for jail during the colonial period, I did not fear the colonial brutal prisons, and how could I have feared Nyerere, the man I had been working with in the struggle for the liberation of this country?" In a stereotypical manner, running away is a 'womanly' character, the men are expected to be strong, and stand the challenges ahead, even if its death. Legitimately, women should run away from troubles, and save the children from the dangers and threats of life. This time, it was not the case with Bibi Titi. While Kambona ran away to protect his own life and that of his immediate family, Bibi Titi waited to confront the situation. She was indeed defiling what is constructed as feminine qualities. This is a demonstration of power within.

Her spouse also threatened to abandon her if she did not change her mind and go back to politics. She also found this a big joke. She had to remind him that he was not the first to abandon her as a result of her political activism, and probably not the last. Bibi Titi was prepared for the consequences of her decision. She ended up in prison after the trial and was hence overpowered by the external coercive forces of power!

How her Political Career Ended

Upon her release, Bibi Titi led a life of isolation. Her spouse had abandoned her during the trial, her political associates disowned her, and most of her friends deserted her. The media had done damage to her character, during trial period and while in prison. She could not freely interact with her friends and many of her colleagues were very cautious in dealing with her. She jokingly remarked: " One would have thought that I contracted an infectious disease". The prison did not seem to have destroyed her internal power as she continued to question. This time however, she had no audience, and it was a disempowering experience, probably so more than prison.

Thus, Bibi Titi, who considered herself to have become a politician by accident, was also forced to retire from politics without friends, without property and without recognition of her previous role. She was also forced into a life of destitution. She decided to quietly fight for the two houses she had owned prior to imprisonment. She claimed to have purchased one of the houses after selling some of her gold jewellery and insisted that when she joined TANU, she did have property. She had used her family resources to support TANU. It was because of her economic power that she was able to support the nationalist party, and also have time to engage in party politics during that period. When the Arusha Declaration challenged her legitimacy to own two houses and use one for increasing her economic power, she did not see the logic. She boldly questioned this political logic, but the form of politics within her party had changed into exclusionary politics, which dictated decisions without consultation.

Economic Power and Politics

Bibi Titi ran a small business and, like other Swahili women, had a collection of jewellery. This was a form of security in case a marriage breaks down. Upon divorce, the jewellery could be converted into cash or real property. Bibi decided to sell hers and purchase a good house. The other house was purchased after her appointment as a junior minster. Her income, she claimed, more than tripled. "While colleagues (men), whose income tripled had decided to marry more women and drink more beer, with my one child to take care of, I had no other way of spending my money other than by investing it" Because of her good income, she was able to get collateral for a bank loan. She thus purchased the second house with a loan from the Karimjee Insurance Company. The two houses were however nationalised while she was serving in prison.

Bibi Titi was of the view that nationalisation of her house was out of malice and had nothing to do with the Arusha Declaration. While one could understand the logic behind nationalising the house she had been renting, there was no reason for the nationalisation of the second house, which she occupied. Her only daughter was brutally driven out of her mother's house and all her belongings taken to her small house in Temeke. This is part of 'macho' politics. Who cared for a daughter of a woman who had done so much for the struggle but who later 'betrayed' the establishment? And who was this woman who dared question the Chief Executive of the State, Commander In Chief of the Armed forces? But was Bibi titi alone? How many of her male colleagues were happy with the Arusha Declaration? Why did they disown it later after Mwalimu stepped down from formal politics? Who among the veteran politicians has remained true to the spirit of the Arusha Declaration? But they all sang same song 'Ndio Baba'! (meaning "yes your lordship") , when behind him they accumulated wealth or desired to do so contrary to the principles of the Declaration. This is typical of a patriarcal political culture. It is characterised by politics of patronage, nepotism and hypocrisy. It is sustained by "power over" and a few individuals who have power within, have no room to survive in formal politics, as they will dare to challenge, they will question, and will demand accountability. This is what Bibi Titi stood for!

Reclaiming Power

She first challenged the president to return to her the legally acquired property which his government had confiscated, and challenged him for having distorted the history of this country since he earned individual credit for the collective efforts during the struggle to liberate the country from colonialism.

When Nyerere was about to retire, Bibi sought an audience with him. She reminded him of the struggles they went through together and that he was now retiring as an honourable politician. Bibi reminded him that while her role had been completely wiped out of history, she had further been condemned to misery and poverty (Pension yangu nini nini Mwalimu?) She wanted to know from Nyerere what her pension was and made her point very loud and clear. She was demanding her two houses back. (This was a demonstration of power within). Nyerere promised to return one of the houses and the second one he left to the new president to settle. President Mwinyi decided to also return the second house.

Bibi Titi moved into one of her houses in Upanga, which is basically a middle-class area where she stayed until her death. The other house was transferred to her daughter.

Turing Down a Proposal to Write a Joint history with President Nyerere

Bibi Titi had informed us that the first President of the United Republic of Tanzania, Mwalimu Julius Nyerere, visited her home when he was about to retire, and asked her to write a joint history of the nationalist struggle. (Aka, wewe mwalimu umekubali kubadilishwa Kwa historia ya nchi yetu sasa unataka tufanye nini Mimi Na wewe sasa hivi?). She refused and reminded Nyerere that he had already encouraged the distortion of Tanzanian history by permitting individuals to eliminate the role which women played (including her own) in Tanzania's political history. She therefore doubted Nyerere's motive as she felt that, as a president and as an honest academician, Nyerere could have salvaged the situation when he was heading the country. According to Bibi Titi, Nyerere earned individual credit for the collective efforts of the freedom fighters in the history of Tanzania. Bibi Titi wondered whether young Tanzanians knew who truly fought for the freedom of their country and whether they knew why those people, particularly women were ready to endure so many difficulties for the freedom of the country (Uhuru supplement: December 1: 1991). According to her, the president smiled and said to her " Bibi Titi, "hujabadilika" meaning, " Bibi Titi you have not changed".

From Traitor to Uhuru Heroine?

In 1991, when Tanzania was celebrating 30 years of independence. Bibi Titi appeared in the ruling party's paper as "A Heroine of Uhuru Struggle". It is of interest to note that the story on Bibi Titi covered by the Uhuru Supplement, did not touch or even mention the fact that she was once accused and condemned for treason.

There was a growing interest from different circles within Tanzania to make Bibi Titi visible. This interest is based on a diversity of interests, which are yet to be explored. When Tanzania was celebrating its 30 years of independence, Bibi Titi was interviewed by reporters from both government and party newspapers as well as the Tanzania Broadcasting Corporation, which is government owned. The Uhuru Supplement declared her " Heroine of Uhuru Struggle". Some of the leaders of the multi-party movements also flocked into Bibi's home to solicit her views, and perhaps support. According to Bibi, she has been dismissing them with contempt. "These were the failures" she claimed. She was very emphatic on the need to preserve the peace and unity, which Tanzania has acquired. Ironically, she was more supportive of the ruling party despite the ordeal she had undergone during her political career. She also claimed to have held Nyerere in high regard.

What lessons for the Women and Feminist Movement?

The very first questions which Bibi Titi posed to us during our first encounter provide us with a few lessons. Where were you? Why is women's contribution in the nationalist struggle not visible. What is the role of intellectuals in the women's movement? Who has the right to document our own experiences? Who gets credit for our achievements? And who gets accused for failures? Are our children aware of our struggles? And who is going to inform them and how?

The first lesson we get from Bibi Titi is the need to document our experiences for our own use and for the future generation. This very project which has lead to the writing of this manuscript is a response to some of the challenges. This manuscript is about sharing our own experiences of 10 years of feminist activism. As we reflect on our past, we are also giving vision to a future that is going to be defined and re-defined by our children and grandchildren for generations to come. We claim no monopoly on the totality of experience, but we acknowledge that we have something to share and offer.

Who gets the credit for the successes of the movement? And who carries the blame for the failures and challenges? Who should document? With what mandate? These questions are inter related.

The best authors of the women's and feminist struggles are the women and feminist who have engaged in the struggles or those who have been impacted by the struggles, as well as those whose have gone through similar struggles and are able to identify with our struggle. The principle embedded in this manuscript and learnt from Bibi Titi's life is the principle of collective ownership of success and failure of the struggles we go through. The celebrations of the 10 years of activism recognises that success, failures, and challenges of activism are a result of collective struggles and none of us ought to monopolise credit or carry the burden of the failures and challenges we have had to grapple with during the ten years of activism. While FemAct, for instance symbolises this collectivity, it does not constitute the totality of the movement. The authors of this manuscript appreciate and acknowledge the many collective efforts by grassroots struggles, individual women and men, who have either directly supported the efforts, or who have protested in diverse forms or those who have made sacrifices but have never been visible in any of our written word. We pay tribute to the unsung heroines of the struggle!

References

1. Asha-Rose Migiiro and Ruth Meena (1988). Wanawake Katika Siasa Na Uongozi Wa Taifa. Mkuki Wa Nyota, Dar es Salaam.

2. Susan Geiger (1997). TANU Women: Gender and Culture in the Making of Tanganyika Nationalism, 1955-1965 - Social history of Africa. Heinemann, Portsmouth, NH James Currey, Oxford E.A.E.P, Nairobi and Mkuki Na Nyota, Dar es Salaam.

3. Georgia Duerst-Lahti and Rita Mae Kelly (eds), (1995). Gender Power, Leadership, and Governance. Michigan University Press.

4. Mary Hartman (ed), (1999). Talking Leadership Conversation with Powerful Women: Rutgers University Press.