50:50 Campaign penetrates Mzimba, Nkhata Bay
Voice of Livingstonia (VoL) Radio Station has reached out to seven constituencies and 14 wards in Mzimba and Nkhata Bay with roadshows in a campaign to put women in elective positions.
During a roadshow at the weekend in Mzimba North constituency, VoL project officer Franklin Mumba said the radio station has so far paraded 11 parliamentary aspirants and 40 aspiring councillors from various parties in the two districts.
He said the parades seek to encourage Malawians to vote for women in the forthcoming elections.
“We are sensitising the community to the importance of putting women in political positions. We are also lobbying traditional leaders to deconstruct social and cultural norms that infringe on women’s rights,” said Mumba.
Mzimba North parliamentary candidate Catherine Mzumara said discrimination is the major challenge she faces as a woman.
“Some people think a woman is less capable than a man. They think that women are not performers. But people need to be given a chance and be judged based on capabilities and not on sex,” she said.
The radio station, which is a department under the Church of Central African Presbyterian (CCAP) Synod of Livingstonia, is implementing the 50:50 Campaign with K14 million funding from the Royal Norwegian Embassy through ActionAid Malawi.
