海角大神

During his 37 years as Zimbabwe鈥檚 prime minister and president, Robert Mugabe ordered the massacre of thousands of political opponents, ran the country鈥檚 economy into the ground, and instilled a culture of political violence and paranoia that will likely long outlast him.

But what ultimately brought down Zimbabwe鈥檚 first post-independence leader was something far smaller and more personal than any of that.

His wife, Grace.

鈥淩obert Gabriel Mugabe鈥檚 legacy, though it was being chipped at in the end, was not being tainted by his own hand,鈥� declared the state-owned Herald newspaper the day after Mr. Mugabe鈥檚 resignation. 鈥淏ut much like Adam and Samson before him, the blame falls on his partner.鈥�

Few citizens pitied her 鈥� acerbic and nepotistic听鈥� as she tumbled from power. But for many women in Zimbabwean politics, the string of sexist insults that followed听Ms.听Mugabe down seemed to carry a wider warning.

鈥婸rotesters calling for President Mugabe鈥檚 resignation had chanted 鈥淲e don鈥檛 want prostitutes in politics鈥� and carried signs that read 鈥渓eadership is not sexually transmitted.鈥� When Grace and her husband were put under house arrest during the military coup, the generals allegedly ordered the first lady to 鈥渟tay in the kitchen.鈥�

鈥婱s. Mugabe鈥檚 original sin was that she wanted to be president.听For three years before her husband鈥檚 ouster she had thrashed aggressively toward that goal, vaulting unspoken hierarchies of age, experience, and gender. But the sexist tone of criticism against her is all too familiar for female politicians with more traditional r茅sum茅s, as well.

鈥淭he pushback against Grace is really a pushback against women in our public affairs,鈥� says听Sakhile Sifelani-Ngoma, executive director of the听Women in Politics Support Unit (WiPSU), a non-governmental organization.听鈥淭here is a deep level of misogyny that permeates politics in Zimbabwe.鈥�

Tarred with Grace's brush

And it does run deep. 鈥淲e discovered with [Grace] that women have got a lack of mind,鈥� says Darlington Tsikada, who works in a copy shop in Harare. 鈥淎fter that I don鈥檛 think a woman can be a leader in this country.鈥澨�

Mr. Tsikada is a man. But his viewpoint spans gender. 鈥淲omen are selfish, the way we think is self-centered,鈥� argues Vimbisai Matamba, a woman who sells vegetables in downtown Harare. 鈥淲e cannot have a woman for president.鈥�

Ms. Mugabe鈥檚 failure 鈥渟et a bad precedent for women leaders,鈥� says Margaret Dongo, a former member of Parliament for the ruling ZANU PF party who became a sharp critic of the government. Grace Mugabe 鈥渉as given men a platform to challenge women鈥檚 leadership,鈥� she worries. 鈥淣ow they can say every woman is like that.鈥�

鈥淚t鈥檚 really insane,鈥� says听Linda Masarira, an independent candidate for Parliament in Harare and a long-time human rights activist and trade unionist. 鈥淣o one would ever say about men, if one of them can鈥檛 lead you should never try another, but somehow with women, that鈥檚 what we are being told.鈥�

On the face of it, women play a relatively prominent role in Zimbabwean politics, filling one third of the seats in Parliament 鈥� better than the ratio in the US,听Canada, or Germany.

鈥淶imbabwe has had good policies on gender over the years听鈥� but women in our politics are still tokenized,鈥� says Ms. Masarira.

鈥淭here are challenges coming from both society and other members of Parliament around equality,鈥� says Beater Nyamupinga, the former chair of the women鈥檚 legislative caucus and a ZANU PF MP since 2008.

There were the fliers tacked on walls around her neighborhood during campaign season, for example, questioning her moral character and asking where her husband was (as a diplomat, he was frequently out of the country).

Then there is the way male legislators talk to and about women, she says. During one debate, she remembers, male legislators repeatedly referred to sex workers as 鈥渨hores.鈥�

鈥淲e had to remind them that that鈥檚 not acceptable,鈥� she says.

Sauce for the goose?

Legislators like Ms. Nyamupinga say they must maneuver carefully to avoid criticism that women aren鈥檛 fit to lead. She doesn鈥檛 campaign in bars听鈥� a popular way for many of her male colleagues to drum up youth support听鈥� because it wouldn鈥檛 be proper for a woman, and she is careful to avoid criticizing local leaders or customs when she comments on gender equity.

Grace Mugabe, on the other hand, followed none of those rules.

Mugabe鈥檚 former mistress, who met the president while his first wife was on her deathbed, Ms. Mugabe has long been a divisive figure, known for lavish international shopping trips and strange bursts of violence.

Her political style was petty and personal, which is not unusual in Zimbabwe, but which drew special criticism coming from her.

鈥淭here鈥檚 a bit of respect we expect from women to men, especially older men. She didn鈥檛 really do it,鈥� says Levison Muzengi, an accountant in Harare. 鈥淚f men are talking to men you expect some of that kind of vulgar language, but if a woman is now challenging a man with it, it becomes something else.鈥�

鈥淎lmost all our politicians say ridiculous things,鈥� says Chipo Dendere, a Zimbabwean political scientist at Amherst College in听Massachusetts.听鈥淎nd yet with the men, it鈥檚 somehow acceptable.鈥�

Though Robert and Grace Mugabe are out of the political picture, the debate about women鈥檚 role in politics is now being played out through the new president, Emmerson Mnangagwa听and his wife听Auxillia Mnangagwa.

The fact that she is a member of Parliament in her own right did not stop a bishop officiating at听President听Mnangagwa鈥檚 inauguration from praying that Auxillia would take on a 鈥渕otherly role.鈥�

鈥淭here were suddenly lots of comments about the first lady and how she should step down from her role in politics,鈥� says Ms. Sifelani-Ngoma. 鈥淚t鈥檚 blowback against Grace, absolutely, and it鈥檚 unfair and discriminatory.鈥�