As the year 2024 winds up, the reality of the 2025 General Elections hits harder. I believe political parties will be spending the festive season in strategic ways, ones that endear them to their constituents so as to win their vote next year.
Some will be cheering the sick in hospitals, others will provide food and other items to the needy, all to strengthen their visibility while also promoting the spirit of giving that is associated with Christmas. But as parties strategise on wooing voters, let us not forget the need to ensure that more women are on the ballot in next year’s polls.
Women leadership in policy-making is essential for advancing gender equality, social justice and economic growth. But women still hold only about 21 percent of seats in the Malawi Parliament, and the situation cannot improve without deliberate action.
One of the factors contributing to this status quo is poor access to quality education for Malawians in general, especially girls, most of whom do not go beyond secondary school. This leads to a myriad of limitations in their future—from lack of economic empowerment to lack of access to quality healthcare—which worsen cases of gender-based violence (GBV) and abuse of their rights in general.
Right now, women and girls in the country face an immense range of challenges—from inability to access food, education and employment to the threat of GBV.
I am aware that men are not spared from these challenges—from impacts of the poor economy to climate change to criminal justice reform to national security. However, when you have very few women at the table, making decisions, it is the welfare of women and girls that suffers.
Even more disconcerting is the fact that in too many places around the globe, women exercising or even seeking their basic rights is interpreted as a direct and destabilising challenge to existing power structures. The existing structures feed the message that men should wield the power and women should occupy a subordinate position in all areas of society.
This outdated, yet persistent, point of view fuels educational inequality and a host of other disparities along the lines of gender on national and international levels.
This is why we have a situation where many decisions affecting women being made on tables that are dominated by men. There are few women representatives on the tables that matter. This is especially evident in the political sphere where, regardless of a woman’s experience, education or abilities, women are still viewed as not suitable or competent.
But women and girls’ perspectives and experiences must help shape the country’s collective future. If we want to forge the best solutions for developing our country, then we must give deserving women a seat at the decision-making table.
It is disappointing that despite holding democratic elections since 1994, Malawi has never had a 50 percent representation of women in Parliament. So, despite years of notable progress in gender equality, a reality in which opportunities are not defined by gender has yet to be universally achieved. What patriarchy has done is to convince people that a strong and intelligent woman represents a problem; a disruption to the social order rather than an integral part of it.
To fully realise the potential of women’s leadership, we need political and governance reforms, including gender quotas, leadership training and other inclusive policies that ensure that women of all backgrounds, especially those in rural and communities, have a seat at the decision-making table.
Therefore, as we end the year, let us move forward decisively. Now is the time to accelerate the progress we are making towards a future that is more inclusive and sustainable, with gender equality as priority in efforts towards goals for shared prosperity for all citizens.
Let us go by former president Joyce Banda’s popular slogans during the 2014 Tripartite Elections campaign Kukhala Mzimayi Sichifukwa (being a woman should not be a barrier).
Despite the known challenges that women have faced in the country in the past year, 2024 has generally been a good year for women. More women continued to serve in key positions in the public service than before
We have women heading key offices such as the Office of the Ombudsman, Financial Intelligence Authority, the Malawi Human Rights Commission, and other corporations where they are making notable and impressive impacts. But even with these significant gains, the statistics show that we still have a long way to go to attain gender equality in Malawi.
As we approach the 2025 General Elections, let us work together to ensure concrete commitments and measurable actions that pave the way for lasting change in the area of gender equality.
