The Big Interview

The many faces of Nasrin Pillane

A first impression of Balaka West MP Nasrin Pillane tells how she smiles and greets everyone in her way. When Cheu Mita met Pillane, who is also Deputy Minister of Gender, Child and Community Development, she was busy in the mix of organising International Women’s Day celebrations. In this interview, done a month ago, Pillane shares with us the different hats she wears as child, sister, wife, mother, MP, and deputy minister.

 

How does it feel to be the first Muslim woman to be in Cabinet?

It’s a blessing from Allah and an honour from His Excellency the President. This also presents an opportunity for me to uplift the life of the Muslim girl child. You see, most Muslim/Yao girls are married off at an early stage because of culture.

 

You are one of the legislators working worldwide to combat climate change and I hear you started to introduce energy saving stoves for women in your constituency, Balaka West. How is this working?

I am working with Concern Universal on this project. We intend to make this an income-generating project for the women, but we need to advertise them more.

 

I also hear that you are calling for a new or amended Energy Act which will be more supportive of wind, solar and mini-hydro power. How will this work and how do you plan on doing this?

Yes, you see we have abundant sunshine in my constituency and I would like for the constituents to be able to generate solar power and sell it to the Escom grid. But as the Energy Act stands now, Escom is the sole generator of power and others can only generate power for individual use.

 

Why all this interest in the environment?

I have a passion for renewable energy and tourism.

 

How did you manage to win your parliamentary seat? What was the race like?

I won by being truthful, being myself and being realistic. Also, my father was an MP in the area, so I think people had trust in our family. I was always undermined by men as I was up against 10 of them.  It was a big challenge to win. I worked very hard and gave realistic promises of what I would deliver to my people.

 

Tell me about your parents and the role they played in shaping you as a person.

I was born in Zomba, Malosa to Sweba and Abdul Pillane. My father, Abdul Pillane, is a former MP and Cabinet minister from Balaka. I believe I have the gentleness of my mother and the political will of my father. I am the 7th born in my family and I grew up in Balaka.

There is a lot of laughter in my family. We do not gossip and never judge each other. We are all the same. My mother trained us to use the best mannerisms and to be down to earth and not look down on anyone. My father always made us emulate his work.

My family gives us love. We have so much love in our family and I have learnt that when you get so much love, you are able to give so much love back.

 

What dreams did you have as a child?

I have always had great ambitions. I used to fight with my brother because of that. I dreamt about becoming a lawyer. My role model was Kapizgapizga Mhango, my father’s brother. He was a water engineer who worked for African Development Bank. He always encouraged and inspired us. My political role model is Mama Cecilia Tamanda Kadzamira. I respect that woman because she has a lot of self-discipline and dignity.

What schools did you attend and what qualifications do you hold?

I went to Balaka Primary School, Providence and then University of Leicester. I have a BA in Hospitality Management and I plan to do a Master’s in Leadership. I feel this is relevant to what I am doing now.

 

What is your take on key challenges facing Malawian women and how do you tackle them?

Poverty, education and reproductive health are some of the major challenges facing Malawian women. In my constituency, I have managed to build three health facilities and rehabilitate two so far. We have also started an irrigation scheme.  There is an area in the constituency where there’s water just flowing, we have dug two fish ponds and created a water reservoir which will be used to irrigate plots of land that have been distributed to families for cultivation. We hope we can harvest maize three times a year on those plots. With that food, we will be able to feed the constituency. My constituency is greatly affected by droughts and we were thankful when the President launched redistribution of seeds in this area.

 

Malawian women were recently at loggerheads with vendors on the issue of dressing. What is your take on this issue? What should Malawian women do to ensure that men do not take advantage of them in future?

It was a very emotional situation. The first reaction I had was shock. I kept asking the questions why? Because normally they would have given the woman a chitenje (wrapper) to cover herself up instead of undressing her.  Malawian women did the best they could have done. We stood together and fought. Now those men are scared and it will take time for them to do that again. We must continuously talk about what happened and make it a constant reminder that we can react as one.

 

What is Malawi’s theme for International Women’s Day?

It is inspiring the nation to respect women as equal partners in social political and economic development. It was derived upon based on the situation where women were undressed.

Your ministry was working on putting together a directory of influential Malawian women. How did that project go?

We are still working on compiling and verifying data, before we finally come up with the directory.

 

How do you relax? What is a perfect weekend for you?

I like to read books, watch TV, surf the Internet. For total real relaxation, I would go to the salon for a spa treat. I really love being alone at the beach with a book, something I haven’t done in a while. I have piles of books waiting for me to read them at home.

Is there anything you would like to change about your life?

I wouldn’t change it because my experiences have moulded me into what I am today.

 

Tell us about your family? How many children do you have? How did you and your husband meet?

I am married to Haroon Mia and we have three beautiful sons, Ishak, Suhayl and Amaar. We met at a family wedding in Dedza when I was 14. I playfully told him I was 18 then. We met and that was it. He would send me notes on my birthday and it wasn’t until I was 16 that we started dating. We got engaged at 18 and tied the knot at 19 in England.

 

What has been your lowest moment in life?

When I lost my brothers, my husband’s heart attack and the time my last born son Ammar was born. I was raised in a home where I was shielded and couldn’t understand the death of my brother. Then, my husband had a heart attack and we both learnt that we need to enjoy each other more and shouldn’t take anything for granted. The birth of Ammar was traumatic in that he was born premature and before we made it to the hospital at six-and-a-half months. I cried for two weeks and all I did was pray. He is 13 now and such a loving child.

 

What are some of the things that you absolutely love and cannot do without?

I cannot do without my family, they are my everything.

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