Africa-Press – Malawi. The Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace (CCJP) has expressed disappointment with the lack of progress in the attainment of the 50:50 women representation in positions of leadership.
CCJP Project Officer in the Archdiocese of Blantyre, Louisa Kwapata, disclosed that women continue facing challenges to get into decision making positions despite efforts by various players.
Kwapata made the remarks when she unveiled the ‘Enhancing the Participation of Women in the 2025 Malawi General Elections’ project in Neno district which is being funded by different development partners through the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to the tune of US$100, 000.
CCJP Blantyre is implementing the project in seven districts of Blantyre, Mulanje, Chiradzulu, Thyolo, Phalombe, Neno and Mwanza
Kwapata said it was sad that efforts to attain a 50:50 representation in the political segment and other circles have not yet yielded the desired results.
“This calls for more action by relevant stakeholders to achieve fair women representation. This is why CCJP initiated this project to prepare women and lobby support from various players ahead of the 2025 tripartite elections,” she explained.
Kwapata challenged women to take advantage of their numerical strength in the society to register and vote for fellow women in the next elections, stressing that full and equitable participation of women in politics is essential to building and sustaining strong and vibrant democracy.
She said by empowering women to participate fully in politics, Malawi stands to cultivate societies that are more equitable as well as sustainable.
“Women can contribute in raising issues that others overlook, to support ideas that others oppose, and to seek an end to abuses that others accept. Thus, the main goal of this project is to enhance the participation of women in the 2025 General Election through civic education and increased engagement in participatory processes.
“It also aims at increasing the knowledge of civic rights and responsibilities among women, to empower women to actively participate in the electoral process and to foster an inclusive and diverse political environment,” narrated Kwapata.
Director for Planning and Development (DPD) for Neno, Martin Pindankono, commended CCJP for taking steps to seal gaps in the gender equality drive.
Currently, there are only 44 female members of Parliament out of 193 lawmakers, representing 23 percent while only 15 percent of the councillors are women.
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