Diagnosing, treating barriers to female representation the NICE way
Efforts to eliminate gender disparities and increase women representation in elected positions in Malawi have failed to pay off as evidenced by dwindling numbers of women occupying positions of leadership and decision-making.
This is despite the combined efforts and campaigns, including the 50:50 Campaign, by the government and its partners to improve and increase female representation in elected positions.
This is largely because of the strong cultural constraints and belief systems that tend to relegate women to non-political roles. According to traditional cultural beliefs, acceptable women’s roles are those in the private sphere, not public life.
Other barriers to equalizing gender equality in Malawi are limited income and education, and gender stereotypes. Furthermore, women in Malawi are socialised to be followers, not leaders.
Of course, the country registered a slight improvement in women representation in the National Assembly through the 2029 tripartite elections, which saw female candidates increase their share of parliamentary seats from 16 to 23 percent.
But this is not enough! There are several districts, such as Karonga, Salima and Neno, which do not have a female representative in parliament.
This has prompted the National Initiative for Civic Education (NICE) Public Trust to initiate a project aimed at mobilizing more women and young women to contest in the 2025 general elections.
The project, which is titled ‘Inclusive participation of women/young women in Malawi politics’ (Nthawi Yawo Project)’, is being funded by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to the tune of US$100, 000.
NICE Acting Executive Director Gray Kalindekafe said the major objective of the project is to create a more just political environment and to enhance women’s probability of being elected in the 2025 elections.
“NICE is implementing this project with the Centre for Civil Society Strengthening (CCSS). We are implementing this project in the districts of Karonga, Salima and Neno,” said Kalindekafe.
Speaking at the launch of the project in Lilongwe in December 2023, NICE District Civic Education Officer (DCEO) for Dowa, Alinafe Chikakuda, warned that laws, budgets, and policies could produce discriminatory outcomes if Malawi does not address gender disparities in key positions.
NICE District Civic Education Officer (DCEO) for Dowa, Alinafe Chikakuda, wondered why there is still low representation of women in leadership and decision-making positions despite making up over 50 percent of the population.
“Without equality in representation, the voices and perspective of women cannot be fully reflected in the work of the parliament, arguing that laws that are passed that are biased against women and the focus of any government scrutiny is less likely to focus on issues important to women,” said Chikakuda.
She added, “The presence of both male and female parliamentarians is vital in a democratic and inclusive polity. Women political participation promotes gender equality by challenging the social and political existing structures that perpetuate a culture of women’s subordination in both the private and public sphere.”
She said it was disappointing that the progression of women representation in the political arena over the past two decades of the country’s multiparty democracy has been far too slow, considering the 50-50 target campaign that Malawi has waged over the past years.
In his presentation titled ‘Mindset Change as a Catalyst for Women Participation in Elections and Politics in Malawi’, NICE Programmes Officer Chris Naphiyo highlighted culture/tradition, economic factors and political structures as some of the factors slowing women representation in positions of leadership and decision-making.
Naphiyo said it is high time Malawi broke barriers that have held women at one stage.
During the High-Level International Dialogue on Generation Equality and Women Leadership in Lilongwe in 2023, President Dr. Lazarus McCarthy Chakwera promised to ensure that more women are elected into parliament to achieve gender equality.
Chakwera said he would personally do everything he can to champion the election of women to not less than half of the seats in parliament during the next election.
He assured the world that he will stand by his promise and cited his achievements through his position as the United Nations He-For-She Campaign champion.
“We continue taking this role seriously. We have already demonstrated seriousness by making huge strides in ending institutional gender equalities in government,” he expressed.
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