Ms Sally Mahihu. PHOTO | FILE
Apart from running a law firm (Bowyer Mahihu & Co.
Advocates) for the past 32 years, Senior Counsel Sally Mahihu also
founded Seasoned Woman Forum. It is a forum where women gather with the
intention of discovering their purpose in life through being challenged,
provoked and encouraged through this journey of discovery based on
their seven seasons.
These are seasons of waiting, isolation, submission, promoting others, threshing, preparation and harvest.
Sally met JACKSON BIKO at her law firm in Lavington.
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When was the last time you were provoked intellectually. spiritually or emotionally?
(Pause]
Recently, during the elections. I am a born again Christian and all the
tribal ideologies going around grieved me. I was concerned that well
respected church leaders were speaking in different voices yet the
church is supposed to speak in one voice since we are hearing the same
one God.
What do you think is the biggest challenge that affects women in professions?
Balancing between work and family. Many women tell me that
sometimes as a woman climbs the corporate or leadership ladder she may
find that she may be partnered with a man, a husband who is not
supportive of her success and this may cause challenges in the marriage
or relationship. These are the kind of issues we address during our
seasoned woman meetings. A lot of women choose to walk in wisdom.
Firstly
by not disclosing or publicising their success or wealth and sometimes
unfortunately some women end up underplaying their role and hiding
behind the shadows to avoid standing out which means they may not end up
as influential or impactful as they should. Others reject positions and
appointments to avoid upsetting the status quo at home.
How is that resolved?
During
our women meetings, I often provoke and challenge the women to
understand and embrace the seven Ps in order to overcome the challenges
of being a professional. Namely knowing your PERSON. Who are you, what
are your gifts, talents, skills, goals dreams, aspirations and what are
your weakness and proclivities so that you choose the right spouse who
will not hinder you but together you will propel each other to your
destinies. The other P is knowing your PURPOSE that which you are
passionate about because once you know it you will not agree to forsake
it for anything, the other P, is her PLACE locating her place / sphere/
mountain/ industry of influence where she becomes a voice.
The
next P is the PEOPLE to whom you have been called to influence and
impact and the people who have been assigned to influence and impact
you. That way you will connect with the right people, the next president
is your PRINCIPLES— developing and maintaining a personal code of
ethics to guide you when making hard choices and decisions, the next is
the PROCESS aka the seasons of life that a woman must undergo in
reaching her goals, the next P is the PRICE that a woman must pay, the
pain she must undergo and the necessary sacrifices she must make to
reach her destiny.
So what if a woman
“downplays” her career at the expense of her marriage and years later it
all goes acropper? Under what circumstances would you advise a woman to
forgive her husband’s infidelity?
This is
always very personal and each woman must make her own choices and
decisions depending on her specific and unique circumstances, her values
and her priorities. I wrote an article about three years ago about
Hillary Clinton. I called it “The Hillary Clinton Calculation”.
When
Bill misbehaved, she chose to focus on the bigger goal because she
knew where she wanted to get to eventually and since she knew she would
need his influence to reach her goals and actually he did play a big
role in her political career, even though things did not work out for
her.
I am sure she had weighed her decision very
carefully and no one has a right to judge her because sometimes a woman
may make a sacrifice that may not bear the intended fruit. So I had to
write another article after she lost the presidency and explain that.
You have been married 30 years now, if you are to take another stab at marriage what would you do differently?
By
the grace of God I have a good marriage and a husband who is a precious
gift from God. What I would do differently is give as much support to
my husband in his endeavours as he has given me over the years. Because
he has sincerely been a great support to me.
Because you run Seasoned Woman, what season are you in right now?
I’m
in the season of reaping, the harvest season. When you are harvesting
what you have been sowing throughout the other seasons. I am harvesting
everything I have put into the women’s ministry, my giving to the
church, my family, my career. I sense it. I can feel it even in my
moods. I feel I am in the best season of my life. Everything is flowing
well. I have gone through the worst stages. Right now nothing can
shake me. I have such a grace to endure any manner of storm possibly
also because I am more anchored in my relationship with Christ.
I
founded the season woman forum five years ago and beyond dealing with
career and marriage we address several other aspects of a woman’s life
such as parenting health and well being, fashion and beauty, and
patriotism, among other issues.
My vision for the
Seasoned Woman’s Forum is to provoke the woman in the marketplace to
locate her sphere/mountain of influence in the society and nation so
that she can be an agent of positive transformation and a voice in that
sphere and the mission is to create a platform where women can meet
together to edify and empower one another as we face the challenges of
life in the marketplace.
At the Seasoned Woman Centre
we address the soft issues such as character which I strongly believe is
the bedrock upon which all the technical skills a women may possess is
founded on.
In short I encourage the women to embrace
the seasons of life and to allow those seasons to mould and sculpture
her into a vessel of honour, dignity and strength.
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