Influential women who stood out in 2021

It is a new day, a new month - and a new year. As the world is excited to welcome Year-2022, we take this opportunity to celebrate the women who achieved different milestones in different positions in different parts of the world in 2021.

Wherever you are - and, no matter how big or small your feat was - just know that we appreciate you, and are very proud of you. Your achievements have inspired many and will continue to do so for many years to come.

Different media outlets, companies, institutions and organisations globally have gone out of their way to do exactly the same. Acknowledging these women, even by just a mention matters a lot. It’s in the same spirit that we at Woman magazine take this opportunity to highlight a few influential and inspiring women from around the world who made it in 2021.

President Samia Suluhu Hassan, Tanzania

In March 2021, Tanzania recorded for the first time in its history, the first female President. President Samia Suluhu Hassan was sworn-in following the death of former President John Magufuli on March 17.

During her swearing-in ceremony on March 19, 2021, President Hassan was quoted as saying; “I know there are people who have doubts and are asking: ‘can this woman be the President of the United Republic of Tanzania?’ Well, I would like to tell them that the one standing here is the President. I repeat: the one standing here is the President of the United Republic of Tanzania, who is biologically a woman.”

Her ascending to power came with lots of expectations from the public, one of them being enabling the country to achieve a 50/50 gender parity. Though we are not there yet - especially considering that not even a year has passed since ‘Mama Samia’ became Head of State, hopes are high that she will lead the country to achieving that 50/50 ratio - or even closer to it. Women representation in decision-making positions is rising - although gender experts are calling for more women appointments.

Dr Stergomena Tax, Tanzania

The former Executive Secretary of the Southern African Development Community (Sadc) made headlines in September when President Hassan appointed her Minister for Defence and National Service. She is the first woman to hold the position since the country’s independence 60 years ago.

During Dr Tax’ swearing-in ceremony, President Hassan said she had appointed her to break the taboo that the position is only suitable for men. The President went on to say that the minister’s job did not require carrying guns but that her main duty was to coordinate and manage administration and policies at the ministry.

President Hassan went on to say that another reason she appointed Dr Tax was due to her vast experience from her previous position at Sadc. “... She is aware of the security issues in the region,” noted the President.

Previously, Dr Tax had served as the Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs East African Cooperation from 2008 to 2013. Then she was appointed to the Sadc job at the 33rd Summit of Heads of State and Governments in Lilongwe, Malawi.

Halima Aden, Somali-American fashion model

The Kenya-born Ms Aden is noted for being the first woman to wear a hijab in the Miss Minnesota event in the United States of America pageant, where she was a semi-finalist. Following her participation in the pageant, Aden received national attention, and was signed on to IMG Models.

She was the first hijab-wearing model to walk international runways and to be signed on by a major agency. In June 2017, she became the first hijab-wearing model on the cover of Vogue Arabia, Allure and British Vogue.

In 2018, Aden became a Unicef ambassador. Her work is focused around Children’s Rights. In May 2019, Aden became the first model to wear the hijab and burkini in Sports Illustrated Swimsuit.

This was not the first time in her career that she broke boundaries, further diversifying the industry to be more inclusive of Muslims. Aden stated on her Instagram that her appearance in Sports Illustrated sends a message to both her community and the world that “women of all different backgrounds, looks, upbringings... can stand together and be celebrated.”

In 2020, she left her career as she realised it was incompatible with her religious faith. However, she continues to make an impact within the fashion industry and beyond.

In December 2021, she was named one of BBC’s 100 influential and inspirational women around the world.

Natasha Asghar, United Kingdom

Natasha Asghar is a Welsh Conservative Party politician who represents South Wales East in the Senedd (Welsh Parliament) since the 2021 Senedd election. She made history after becoming the first woman of colour to be elected to the Welsh Parliament since it was formed in 1999. Her father, Mohammad Asghar, represented the same constituency until his death in 2020.

She looks forward to launching a travel card which would encourage locals and tourists in Wales to use public transport and fuel economic growth. Previously she was a banker, TV presenter and a radio DJ. She has written two books.

Dr Tlaleng Mofokeng, South Africa

Dr Mofokeng is a medical doctor, and a women’s rights and sexual and reproductive health rights activist. She advocates universal health coverage, HIV care and family-planning services. Dr Mofokeng is currently the UN special rapporteur on the right to physical and mental health. She is the first woman, the first African, and one of the youngest people to hold this position.

She is also the best-selling author of ‘Dr T: A Guide to Sexual Health and Pleasure.’ She was one of the 2016 winners of the 120 Under 40 Award for young champions of family planning, from the Bill & Melinda Gates Institute for Population and Reproductive Health.

Chimamanda Adichie, Nigeria

Adichie is a Nigerian writer and feminist whose works include novels, short stories and non-fiction. Her work has been translated into more than 30 languages.

She moved to the US when she was 19 for her degree course in communication and political science. Her first novel, Purple Hibiscus, published in 2003, won the Commonwealth Writers Prize and in 2013 her novel, ‘Americanah,’ was named one of The New York Times’ top 10 books.

She recently wrote ‘Notes on Grief’ (2021), a very personal tribute to her father after his sudden death. Adichie, has written novels titled Purple Hibiscus (2003), Half of a Yellow Sun (2006), and Americanah (2013), as well as short story collection The Thing Around Your Neck (2009), and the book-length essay We Should All Be Feminists (2014). Her most recent books are Dear Ijeawele, or A Feminist Manifesto in Fifteen Suggestions (2017), Zikora (2020) and Notes on Grief (2021). In 2008, she was awarded a MacArthur Genius Grant.