Monday, March 8, 2021
  • About Us
  • ImagiNATION
  • Adverts
  • Rate Card
  • Contact Us
The Nation Online
  • Home
  • News
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Life & Style
    • Every Woman
      • Soul
      • Family
    • Religion
    • Feature
  • Society
  • Opinion
  • Sports
  • Chichewa
  • Enation
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Life & Style
    • Every Woman
      • Soul
      • Family
    • Religion
    • Feature
  • Society
  • Opinion
  • Sports
  • Chichewa
  • Enation
No Result
View All Result
No Result
View All Result
Home Life & Style EveryWoman The Big Interview

Gender equality Act flouted—commentators

by Johnny Kasalika
02/06/2019
in The Big Interview
4 min read
0
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on WhatsAppShare on LinkedinLinkedinShare via Email

Low representation of women in politics contravenes the country’s Gender Equality Act which prescribes that one gender should take no more than 60 percent of public leadership positions.

However, this law has been scorned by parties and voters alike.

RelatedHeadlines

Nyembezi Soko: Author of Building fences Not Walls

Charity Stephens: Founder and executive director of New Beginnings Malawi

M’manga: Mentoring youths for better future

Ngei kanyongolo | The Nation Online
Kanyongolo: Government should take charge of the 50:50 campaign

Malawi, since 1994, has seen poor representation of women in the national assembly and last week’s 44— a 22 percent increase— is a far-off step towards equal representation being fought for in the 193 member House.

Though 305 women contested for parliamentary positions in this year’s elections, up by eight, fluctuations have been the order with 1994 having 10 female legislatures, 16 in 1999, 27 in 2004, 43 in 2009 and 32 in 2014.

Mustafa Hussein | The Nation Online
Hussein: Legislation and quotas for women is what Malawi needs

Party politics have not been gender neutral, efforts have been made by most eminent structures to bar and disenfranchise women not just as leaders, but as voters as well.

Although the 50:50 Management Agency ensured female candidates got the vote across the board, innumerous issues continue to haunt women.

Law lecturer at Chancellor College and gender activist Ngeyi Kanyongolo says one of the issues to be looked at is whether the 50-50 campaign is good enough.

She says the campaign tries its best, but it is a project being run by donors and that political participation is a very big issue.

She observes that the ministry of gender should have taken the lead.

“The agenda we should be pushing now is for government to fund not just economic empowerment, but political empowerment for women as well.

“Law reforms that didn’t work in 2014 are immensely needed. At the rate we are going, it has become obvious that it will take us 20 years to achieve the 50 percent,”she says.

Kanyongolo says lessons need to be drawn from Rwanda, a country that has more than 60 percent representation of women in its Parliament.

May 21 for women, she says was a slight change, but not good enough when compared to the bench mark.

Political commentator Mustapha Hussein says deliberate efforts need to be carried out to increase women’s representation.

Deliberate legislation in the constitution or quotas, for instance he agrees are what are propelling substantial increase of women in notable countries such as South Africa at 42.7 percent, Senegal at 41.1percent, 46 .2 percent for Namibia and Mozambique at 39.6 percent female legislatures.

The 1994 Malawi Constitution makes no provision for quotas to ensure women’s representation in elective bodies.

But it stipulates in Article 13 subsection (a) (i) on gender equality as it calls for “full participation of women in all spheres of Malawians society on the basis of equality with men.”

Hussein says political parties should also provide support as is the case with South Africa where parties have reserved a quota for women.

Though various programmes such as the 50-50, voter mobilisation by National Institution for Civic Education (Nice), these have helped.

“There’s still work to be done to overcome cultural, economic barriers and constrains such as the legal and policy frameworks.

“If quotas were provided, it would lead to substantial increase. As it is, it seems we are moving in circles sometimes we increase sometimes we fluctuate,” says Hussein.

Previous Post

Naomi Kilekwa: The security guard turned parliamentarian

Next Post

Breaking the silence on menstruation

Related Posts

Nyembezi Soko | The Nation Online
The Big Interview

Nyembezi Soko: Author of Building fences Not Walls

February 21, 2021
char1 | The Nation Online
The Big Interview

Charity Stephens: Founder and executive director of New Beginnings Malawi

January 17, 2021
Chilungamo Mmanga 1 | The Nation Online
Editors Pick

M’manga: Mentoring youths for better future

December 13, 2020
Next Post
brains page 3 | The Nation Online

Breaking the silence on menstruation

Opinions and Columns

Search Within

Cut out the religious dogma from Covid-19 vaccines

March 7, 2021
Big Man Wamkulu

Won’t libido-boosting pills kill him?

March 7, 2021
Political Uncensored

Pulling rank…

March 7, 2021
People’s Tribunal

Ombudsman has challenged us all

March 7, 2021

Trending Stories

  • Protesting pay cut: Mathanga

    Court blocks RBM deputy governor salary cut

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • RBM sues Mulli, 4 others

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Police, DPP, ‘ignore’ court order

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Ministry plans to export 1m tonnes surplus maize

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Govt to finance 15 major projects

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Values
  • Our Philosophy
  • Editorial policy
  • Advertising Policy
  • Code of Conduct
  • Plagiarism disclaimer
  • Disclaimer
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use

© 2021 Nation Publications Limited. All Rights Reserved.

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Life & Style
    • Every Woman
      • Soul
      • Family
    • Religion
    • Feature
  • Society
  • Opinion
  • Sports
  • Chichewa
  • Enation

© 2020 Nation Publications Limited. All Rights Reserved.

This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used. Visit our Privacy and Cookie Policy.