'Misinterpreted': Tanzania's female footballers react to President's 'flat-chested' players comment

New Delhi, India

Senior football players of Tanzania's national women's team 'Twiga Stars' opened up on the controversial comments made some days ago by Tanzania's President Samia Suluhu Hassan over female footballers. 

During a press conference on Thursday (August 26), a senior player, whose identity is not known, said that the President had been misinterpreted. As quoted by CNN, the player said, "There is a statement that the president had spoken about and people interpreted it in different ways." 

Last week, Hassan faced criticism over her remarks about women footballers having "flat chests" and she also suggested that they would not be attractive candidates for marriage. 

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During a ceremony to celebrate the victory of a national men's team in a regional football championship, Samia was heard speaking in Swahili, she said, "For those who have flat chests, you might think they are men and not women." 

"And if you look at their faces you might wonder... because if you want to marry, you want someone who is attractive, a lady who has the qualities that you want," she said adding that "those qualities have disappeared".

"Today they are making us proud as a nation when they bring trophies to the country but if you look at their lives in the future, when the legs are tired from playing, when they don't have the health to play, what life will they be living?" she said. 

"The life of marriage is like a dream to them. Because even if one of you here takes them home as your wife, your mother will ask if they are a woman or a fellow man," added. 

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Players defend the President

Defending the President, the senior player said, "There is a statement that the president had spoken about and people interpreted it in different ways."

"The president's statement gave us, the players, a lot of strength and encouragement, which made us to work very hard in sports. We have not seen anything with that statement."

Adding to the same, another player stated women footballers in the country are not bothered by their physical looks.

"We are beautiful, we are wonderful like other women and we also plan to be mothers someday. The question about appearance on our side is not something that really matters to us... The game we play needs a lot of strength. We will not stop doing exercising to build our muscles and strengths in order to reach our goals," the player said.

Tanzania President criticised

Hassan is the only current serving female head of state in Africa alongside Ethiopia's President Sahle-Work Zewde, whose role is mainly ceremonial. Her comments drew strong criticism and didn't go well with the social media users as she was slammed after the video where she is speaking about women footballers went viral. 

One of the users wrote, "This woman wants to turn Tanzania into Afghanistan... Where are the rights of our women. Mama encourage our African women to excel in what they are good at."

Another user said, "isn't this equal to saying life is meaningless without marriage??"

A user wrote, "President Samia's remarks are very sad. He should apologize to all women football players in Tanzania. Where does the issue of shape and flat chests occur? The genetic state is a matter of maulana. He would say how he would help the players and how he would lift the poor state of TZ sports."

"The comment by president @SuluhuSamia on women footballers is a humiliation to all women," said Catherine Ruge, the head of the women's wing of the opposition Chadema party and a former MP. 

Maria Sarungi, the founder of the civil society group Change Tanzania, echoed that view. 

"So all those cheering a female presidency...@SuluhuSamia is denigrating female football players for having 'flat chests' and thus lacking attractive features necessary to get married. You must be proud @AWLNetwork," she tweeted, referring to the African Women Leaders Network.