CONTENTS | ANB-BIA HOMEPAGE | WEEKLY NEWS
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Malawi |
ELECTIONS
Political parties in Malawi have now begun campaigning vigorously
for the presidential and parliamentary elections to be held next year
Although the actual date for the polls which will be conducted alongside local government elections has not yet been decided, Malawi’s women politicians are already putting their heads together to see how they can increase their numbers in the National Assembly and make their voices heard.
Since the country attained multi-party democracy following the first multi-party elections in 1994, the number of women parliamentarians and women cabinet ministers has remained low, signifying unwillingness to give women a more prominent place in decision-making positions. Malawian traditional culture which places women in a submissive position in society, is often singled out as a major barrier to their political advancement.
There are 193 seats in Parliament and only 17 are held by women. The 39-member Cabinet has only eight women ministers. The future of Malawi’s women politicians looks very bleak, as records from other sections of society, including both the private and public sectors of industry, show that not many women have been placed in senior positions in spite of women proving they are capable of holding these positions.
Leading women politicians are gearing themselves up to insist in Parliament that there must be more women Members. Also, both the ruling and opposition political parties are being urged to pave the way for the aggrieved women.
Action is needed
Faustace Chirwa is executive director of the pressure group, Women’s Lobby. She says that the opposition Malawi Congress Party (MCP) and the Alliance for Democracy (AFORD); also the ruling United Democratic Front (UDF) are being lobbied to help women Members keep their seats in parliament which are under threat from male politicians. «We know that we have quite a challenging task ahead of us because men want to dominate, and they’re very ruthless about it».
Faustace Chirwa is not alone in spearheading the fight. Loveness Gondwe is vice-chairman of another pressure group, the Women’s Caucus in Parliament. She has indicated the number of women parliamentarians will continue to dwindle if action is not taken to prevent this. Already, the parties are getting ready to elect candidates as MPs and ward councillors. «The Caucus is to form a task force to lobby national executives of all political parties in the country, to ensure that women politicians do not lose their seats and to improve their numbers in Parliament in next year’s elections,» says Gondwe.
The women’s fears were increased when Kate Kainja, a veteran woman politician ever since the one-party regime, lost her seat because of an incident which was described as «contempt of court». Prior to this, another incident evidenced the reluctance to permit women a chance. Seodi White, national coordinator of Women in Law in Southern Africa (WILSA) was nominated to the position of vice-president for the newly registered, and aggressive Mafunde party. The government threatened her with legal action arguing she had to chose between indulging in politics and working for humanitarian causes. This promising lady politician was forced to abandon her political career.
But there are some well-placed men in Malawian society who are convinced of the necessity of advancing women into influential positions. One of them is Dan Msowoya of the opposition AFORD. He says: «Women need to be motivated and that is what each party should be doing. There must be a deliberate policy in all parties to include a reasonable number of women».
The situation of Malawian women politicians confirms the findings of a survey commissioned by the British Council in eight African countries, to determine the effectiveness and inclusion of women in politics. The countries under study were Zambia, Zimbabwe, Malawi, Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, Eritrea and Ethiopia. The survey’s final report states that political parties only chose women as a last resort. Mostly, they’re not involved in day-to-day party activities except during elections when they campaign and dance for male candidates. If a woman makes a mistake, it’s frequently magnified far more than if a man makes a similar mistake. The research study speaks well of women politicians, whom it says are less corrupt than men, and respond well to their constituents’ needs.