This archive report was first published on 24 August 2021.
On August 22, 2021, Tanzania's President Samia Suluhu Hassan sparked outrage with her comments on the nation's female footballers. Speaking at a ceremony to celebrate the victory of a national men's team in a regional football championship, Hassan described the female players as having 'flat chests' and being unsuitable for marriage.
According to a video that has gone viral on social media, Hassan said: "For those who have flat chests, you might think they are men and not women." She further stated that the players' physical appearance made them unattractive candidates for marriage, adding that "if you want to get married, you want someone who is attractive, a lady who has the qualities you want."
Her comments were widely criticized online, with Liberatus Mwang'ombe saying: "Pres @SuluhuSamia makes rude remarks on young girls’ soccer team. She affirms that their flat boobs make them unattractive & don’t stand a chance to get married. Magufuli banned pregnant girls from going to school. Samia sustains the ban & makes fun of poor girls w/ flat boobs."
Other critics, including Catherine Ruge, the head of the women's wing of the opposition Chadema party, and Maria Sarungi, the founder of civil society group Change Tanzania, echoed the view that Hassan's comments were a humiliation to all women and that all women deserve respect.
