By Mercy Matonga:
UN Women has said the newly instituted code of conduct will help create a conducive environment for women in politics.
UN Women Country Representative Mme Latte made the remarks in Lilongwe during the signing of the Model Code of Conduct for political parties, which will ensure gender responsiveness in political processes.
Latte said it was unfortunate that women still face challenges in the political space despite several interventions to protect their rights.
“Women are still underrepresented in political parties, and many lack the ability to participate in political positions due to the challenges they face, even within political parties,” Latte said.
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On his part, Centre for Multiparty Democracy (CMD) Vice Chairperson Ben Chakhame said CMD would continue to work with the six major political parties to improve women’s participation in politics.
Among other things, the code of conduct seeks to encourage reporting and the functionality of gender-responsive mechanisms for complaints handling and redress, ensuring confidentiality and no victimisation of complainants.
“A party that subscribes to this code is bound by it. It will take decisive steps to prohibit leaders, officials, candidates and members from infringing the code. It will take all reasonable steps to discourage any type of conduct by their supporters which would, if undertaken by a party official, candidate or member, be in breach of the code; and it will not abuse the right to complain about violations of the code nor make false, frivolous or vexatious complaints,” the conduct reads.
effective action
Commenting on the matter, Malawi Congress Party publicity secretary Jessie Kabwila said women should not only be encouraged but also need to be ushered into valuable positions within parties.
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“We are talking about male supremacy as a culture, and we need effective action by addressing the current leadership appointment style. If the president is a man, the vice should be a woman to avoid scenarios where women are appointed only to lower positions,” Kabwila said.
The Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action (1995) and the Sadc Protocol on Gender and Development (2008) set a target of 50 percent representation of women in politics.
At the national level, the Gender Equality Act (2013), a pivotal piece of legislation, provides for 40/60 or 60/40 representation of either sex in public appointments and recruitments.
