Surprise, Surprise!

Who would've thought it? Not me, not by a long shot. It's still early days, I've still to be completely convinced, but it looks as though we've got another winner. The second in a series of Governors-General, both female, both formerly media stars, both from immigrant (visible at that!) stock. Governor General Michaelle Jean, it's taken me a long time, but I'm coming around.

Your trip to Africa which at first I took to be another round of window-dressing is turning out to be rather more than a little interesting. I do have a quibble with you, about the white man's burden in his unspeakable part in slavery, since while that abominable practise hasn't been condoned here in a very long time, (and to which you allude often) it is, unfortunately, flourishing in parts of Africa. But that's another story, and nothing ever is quite crystal clear when you're dealing with the worst excesses of human nature.

But there you were, in Mali. That very country of recent Democratic vintage, still struggling to become part of the developed world, and a long way to go. A country with a high infant mortality rate and a low life expectancy. A male-dominated Islamic country whose women are still denied the freedoms any democracy should share with both genders.

Addressing yourself to Mali's parliament you had the moral clarity and courage to bring attention to the proposed Family Code not yet enacted into legal practise which would give women the right to own property, seek divorce and share inheritance rights alongside males. You told Malians "The voice of women counts", and you were absolutely right to press the issue.

"Give women the means to participate fully in civic life and you will see a drop in illiteracy, you will see a drop in poverty, and in hunger.
"How can there be good governance without the belief in equality between men and women? I know that a few years ago, Malians developed a Family Code that calls for the full recognition of the rights of women.
"A society cannot be built on exclusion, and I congratulate you on having chosen openness and equality."

Good on you, Madam Governor General, good on you. For under two presidents thus far, the Family Code has been nothing but an unrealized promise, still not formally introduced in parliament, in fear of a backlash from traditional religion. The current administration has tried to persuade traditional Islamic groups but has been unsuccessful.

It can only help when a distinguished woman from another country, a very visible minority guest representing the highest honour a country can bestow on one of its citizens, represents the case for all women, everywhere. Thank you, Michaelle Jean.