Malawi Women Push for Parliamentary Positions With Help of 50:50 Program | Voice of America - English
As Malawi prepares for presidential and parliamentary elections scheduled for next year, women have embarked on a campaign for equal access to parliamentary seats. Championing the efforts are the Ministry of Women and Child Development and an umbrella body of women, the Gender Coordination Network.
Organizationssupporting the effort include OXFAM, Danish Church Aid, Action AidInternational, the United Nations Population Fund, the Canadian InternationalDevelopment Agency, the Royal Norwegian Embassy and the German Agency forTechnical Cooperation. Esnat Nawanga is theprogram officer for Gender Political Governance and Civil Society at the RoyalNorwegian Embassy. He says, "One of the priority areas of the Norwegian government is to increasethe participation of women in politics and decision-making positions, and whenthe request came for this intervention we saw that it is very important tosupport Malawi because the representation of women at decision-making level isvery low." Reen Kachere is thechairperson of the network's Permanent Committee of Women in Politics. She saysthe primary goal of the crusade is to have 50 percent or more women holdingparliamentary positions after next May's elections, "If you look at the current15 percent [of women's representation in parliament], all issues pertaining towomen are not well represented in parliament and we always lose out." Kachere says there isoverwhelming evidence in Malawi on the difference women bring to the table whenthey are in key decision-making positions. She cites the role womenparliamentarians played in passing the Prevention of Domestic Violence Bill in2006. Jane Antonyis one of the aspiring female MPs for the opposition Maravi People's Party: "Iam competing against two gentlemen. Financially I supposeI could be weaker than the men. If my friends are able to [contribute] moneyand I am not able to, [then that puts me at a] disadvantage. Also, culturally,people have to accept that I can deliver [legislative services] like any manand do things that anybody can do." Accordingto the program, the women candidates will be trained in assertiveness,advocacy, lobbying and campaigning. They will also receive $700 for start-upcampaign money and media exposure. In constituencies where there are no femalecandidates, the 50:50 campaign may work to introduce a willing woman politicianas an independent candidate. But Kacheresays not every woman who wants to run will benefit from the program: "We willnot just going to pick any other woman. In areas where they have done primariesand voted for men we are going to strategize and see which type of women we aregoing to put. And we are also saying that if political parties just put womenfor the sake of putting them we are not going to support them. We will supportwomen who will deliver. Women are going to influence change." It's not only women thatwant to see the number of women increase. Billy Banda is a prominent Malawiancivil rights activist. He says it is vital to elect women to Parliament becausethey know better than anyone how hard it can be to get basic resources likewater and firewood. Kachere says theorganization is currently holding community-based awareness forums to informtraditional and religious leaders about the advantages of voting for women. InMalawi, chiefs and heads of religious organizations are influential withincommunities and command great respect. Malawian president Bingu waMutharika has since promised to support the effort. Butskeptics say it will be very hard to have an equal number of men and women inMalawi's parliament considering the patriarchal nature of the society, which long has been to confine a woman's role to the kitchen.