Malawi NGO embarks on supporting aspiring women MP’s

Malawi’s chairperson for Women in Politics and Decision Making Positions, Lyn Kachere, said on Wednesday that her organisation would support over 100 women aspiring to be candidates for members of parliament (MP’s) in the May 2009 presidential and parliamentary elections.

She told APA during an interview in Lilongwe that identification of the aspiring candidates has already started in various constituents of the country and “we are looking for quality and experienced women candidates who can articulate issues, not in a party line but at a national level.”

She added that her group would like to achieve a requirement of 50/50 women representation in decision-making positions by 2009, and gender activists are optimistic of achieving this.

Malawi failed to achieve a SADC Gender Protocol of having a 30 per cent female representation in parliament and other decision-making positions, reaching only 8 percent of women represented in Parliament in 1999 and 15 percent in 2004.