Karonga women asked to support each other in tripartite polls

Kali

Women in Karonga have been called upon to give each other full support ahead of the May 20 tripartite polls if female candidates are to emerge victorious in the election.

Heri Shora of Karonga Women’s Forum made the remarks on Thursday in an interview where she pointed out that for a long time women have failed to make strides in politics because they lacked backing from fellow females. 

“Government and other stakeholders have in the past decade or so been advocating for women’s participation in leadership including politics but the irony is on why men outsmart ladies and yet demographically women are in majority, perhaps we have not supported each other well enough,” wondered Shora.

Shora condemned the pull-down syndrome among women which according to her has contributed to the downfall of numerous successful women in various sectors of the society.

“It is high time Malawian women stopped looking at the woman next door as a competitor rather we should embrace the spirit of oneness by shunning nuisance tendencies such as backbiting and pulling each other down, that is   the only way Malawi can get anything closer to achieving the 50-50 gender threshold for decision making positions,” she added.

“This year’s election is very crucial for us because voting for three seats gives women the chance to cushion for the deficit that the country has had in terms of women’s political leadership for a long time, so I am appealing to women across the country to vote for females who have gathered the courage and are contesting for various political positions in their respective areas,” Shora advised.

However, only five women from Karonga have been validly nominated to contest in the parliamentary and local elections even though the figures at national level reveal that over 500 women have been nominated for the May 20 tripartite polls.

Chairperson for NGO- Gender Coordination Network Emma Kaliya recently told the media that the figures are impressive because they have shot up as compared to the 2009 general election and that she expected most of the women to win the election.