• BY: Quran Moon

The first Muslim woman to head a country

Attention has turned recently to Samia Salouhi, Vice President of Tanzania, especially after his death. According to the Tanzanian constitution, the vice president is responsible for managing the country's affairs in the event of the death of the president or deterioration of his physical or mental health. In this way, she became the first veiled Muslim woman in the history of Africa to head a state. Who is Samia Salouhi? Samia Salouhi was born in January 1960 in the Zanzibar region. She studied public administration in Tanzania and then enrolled at the University of Manchester in the United Kingdom. In 1978 she married Hafez Amir, who is a retired agricultural sector official. She has four children. One of her daughters, Mwano Hafiz Amir, followed in her mother's political footsteps, and is a member of the Zanzibar House of Representatives. Zanzibar is considered a semi-autonomous region, and the percentage of Muslims in it is about 99%. Samia Salouhi earned the nickname "Mama Samia", a title that reflects respect and appreciation in Tanzanian culture. How is her political life Samia worked in politics in 2000, when she was first elected to a public office as a member of the House of Representatives in Zanzibar, with a special seat in 2000, and Samia's skill in leadership has emerged at the national level. President Zanzibar, Amani Abeid Karume, appointed her at the time as a minister. In 2014, she joined the Council of Ministers, and in the same year held the position of Deputy Chair of the Constituent Assembly that was established for the approval and drafting of the new constitution for the State of Tanzania. Samia Salouhi was elected in 2010 to the National Assembly, and she was able to achieve a landslide victory in the membership. In 2015, Samia became Vice President, and Samia won after she was re-elected to the same position last year. Her re-election was considered a major shift in the politics of Tanzania, especially as she preceded a number of prominent politicians in the "Chama Cha Mapinduzi" party, which had dominated the political scene since the independence of Tanzania in 1961. She also held the position of Minister of State in the Office of the Vice President. Samia Salouhi had a prominent role in representing Tanzania in international forums, as she represented her country at all meetings of the United Nations, the African Union, the Southern African Development Community, in addition to the East African Community held outside Tanzania. Samia Salouhi is the President of the State of Tanzania After announcing the death of the President of Tanzania, John Magufuli, on the 17th of March of this year, due to heart problems, the Tanzanian government announced the assumption of his deputy, Samia Salouhi, the presidency of the country. To become the first veiled and Muslim woman to head an African country. On March 18, Samia Salouhi was sworn in. With this, Salouhi assumes the presidency of Tanzania, located in East Africa. According to the Tanzanian constitution, Salouhi, 61, will serve as president for the remainder of Magufuli's second five-year term. It is noteworthy that Magufuli's second term began in late 2020. Thus, Salouhi will remain in power until 2025. Salouhi is currently the only woman president on the African continent. By doing so, she joins the list of leading women on the continent who have reached the pinnacle of power. Salouhi was known for her courage to take positions contrary to the views of the late President Magufuli, despite her loyalty to him. Samia Salouhi is a leader and wisdom. Member of Parliament Jinuri Makamba described her as a very capable leader.