As the 60-day official campaign gets underway, Women’s Manifesto Movement (WMM) is establishing a monitoring and accountability framework to candidates’ accountable to their promises on women’s empowerment.
Women’s Legal Resource Centre (Wolrec) executive director Maggie Kathewera-Banda said in an interview the framework would include a public scorecard to track candidates’ commitments, periodic reviews and follow-up engagements after the elections.
Kathewera-Banda. | Nation
“Through partnerships with the media and civil society, we will ensure these promises remain in the public eye beyond the elections,” she said.
This comes a few days after the movement also announced plans to engage all presidential aspirants to commit to addressing systemic gender inequities before and after the September 16 2025 General Election.
Kathewera-Banda said the movement was expecting political parties and candidates to commit to policies that promote women’s full participation in politics and decision-making, protection from gender-based violence including intimate partner violence, economic empowerment through access to land, finance and markets, improved access to quality health and education services, and gender-responsive budgeting.
“Our call to action is simple but urgent: Center women in this election. We call on political parties to adopt the Women’s Manifesto as a blueprint for inclusive development. We urge the media to give space to women’s voices and issues. We challenge voters to demand accountability.
“And we call on donors and civil society to support women’s participation and protection throughout the process. The time for symbolic inclusion is over, what we demand now is transformative change,” she said.
Political scientist Nandin Patel while applauding the lobby groups for the initiative said beyond campaign promises political parties and candidates need to detail their commitments on women empowerment.
She said: “They need to explain what efforts they have in place to ensure that they empower women… If that cannot be done then inclusivity will only remain on paper.”
Wolrec is one of the organisations leading the movement alongside Oxfam in Malawi, UN Women, NGO-Gender Coordination Network and other stakeholders.
Developed through an extensive participatory process, the WMM is a collective platform of diverse women’s rights organisations, activists, and advocates across Malawi committed to advancing gender equality and women’s empowerment.
It stands as a bold declaration of Malawian Women’s unwavering commitment to gender equality, justice and the full realisation of their rights.
The 2025-2030 Manifesto integrates intersectional gender perspectives, addressing the unique struggles faced by women across diverse social and economic contexts.
