A searing post by Zimbabwean human rights defender Linda Masarira has ignited an online storm.
In the post Linda Masarira refuses to celebrate President Samia Suluhu Hassan’s women-in-power milestone amid reports of killings and political unrest.
In the post that has since gone viral, Linda Masarira declared:
“I will not clap for women leaders while men, women and children lie in the streets-dead or disappeared.”
The words struck deep in a nation still reeling from images of police clashes, political crackdowns, and the heavy silence that has followed.
Her message, part lament, part indictment, challenges what she calls “the empty worship of symbolism over substance”.
“What is the point of a woman president,” she wrote, “if her hands are soaked in the blood of her people?”
The now viral post has drawn waves of reactions, from outrage to praise, as Tanzanians and the wider world debate whether representation without reform has meaning in the face of violence.
The timing of the post is significant. Tanzania has been on edge following widespread reports of killings and mass arrests after the disputed elections.
Photos and videos shared online and on WhatsApp show security forces have used lethal force to quell dissent.
My Sister, President @SuluhuSamia, You Are Betraying the Dreams of African Women
I am a woman leader. I believe, with every fibre of my being, in the power of women to heal our nations, to lead with compassion, and to build a more inclusive and just Africa. It is precisely… pic.twitter.com/T6ukWoPFW8
— Linda Tsungirirai Masarira (@lilomatic) November 1, 2025
In this atmosphere, Masarira’s words read like an unflinching mirror held up to power.
“I will not be silenced by gender pride while humanity bleeds,” she continued.
“Do not ask me to sing for equality while the graves are fresh.”
The post calls out global feminists and international observers who, she argues, celebrate Suluhu’s ascent as a triumph of progress while ignoring the blood on the ground.
Reactions have poured in from activists, writers, and citizens across Africa.
Kenyan journalist Mercy Mutemi wrote, “This is not an attack on women’s leadership. It’s a call for accountability that transcends gender.”
Others, however, accused Masarira of betrayal, arguing that her words undermine women’s hard-won place in politics.
Still, the post’s visceral imagery has turned it into a rallying cry.
“Leadership is not a gender. It is a covenant with life,” she wrote.
For many, her refusal to endorse what she calls “gender-washed brutality” speaks to a broader disillusionment across the continent – one where symbolic victories are eclipsed by the real cost of repression.
READ ALSO: Dar es Salaam: Protests, Flames and Fury as Tanzania’s Election Rage Defies Curfew
President Samia, Africa’s only current female head of state, has built her image around reform and reconciliation.
Yet the killings, the arrests, and the mounting fear threaten to erode that legacy.
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