Dr Mutharika signs SADC gender protocol

By Our Reporter

Malawi President Ngwazi Dr Bingu Wa Mutharika on Monday reaffirmed his determination to empower women in all spheres of the country’s development.

He was speaking at Sanjika Palace in the commercial city, Blantyre when he signed the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) Protocol on Gender and Development.

Present at the signing ceremony were heads of some local non-governmental and civil society organizations, cabinet ministers, senior government officials and a delegation from the SADC secretariat.

Addressing the gathering after signing the protocol, Dr Mutharika said he had for decades advocated for the empowerment of women. To prove his point, he said he was instrumental in the formation of the National Association of Business Women in Malawi (NABW) and similar organizations in the SADC region.

“It’s an issue I have followed for a long time,” said Dr Mutharika, expressing joy on signing the protocol. He said Malawi would be among the first countries to ratify and implement it.

The SADC Protocol on Gender and Development was first signed on August 17 by 11 countries at the organization’s 28th summit in South Africa.

Malawi’s signature brings to 13 the number of countries that have signed the protocol which addresses a wide range of issues affecting women pertaining to development.

Dr Mutharika said during the past five years he has been in power, he had tired to put women in key positions in various places of work, including government, statutory organizations, and at ambassadorial level.

He said a woman was capable of performing as long as “she is told what she is going to do and how she will be assessed.” He said no one should be judged without being given a job description.

Since the population of women in SADC was higher than that of men, and a time when the region was moving from poverty to prosperity, there was need to increase the role of women in all areas of development, he said.

Dr Mutharika, however, said gender balance should match with quality and appealed to women to be focused and know what they wanted.

“We really need to look at quality,” he said. “Be clear of what you want. It [the 50-50 campaign] should not just be a slogan.”

He said in the case of Malawi, the country was moving form poverty to prosperity and “we know what role women can play.”

In his speech, Dr Mutharika also deplored gender violence, and appealed to SADC countries to tackle the issue in earnest. He said it was not only Malawi, but the whole SADC region that had not contained gender violence.

He said unless an environment was created in which women could be resourceful without being inhibited and were innovative, gender balance will not be achieved because many women “will simply shy away.”

Earlier, Head of SADC Gender Unit, Mathiba Madibela, who witnessed the signing ceremony on behalf of SADC Executive Secretary, thanked Ngwazi Dr Bingu wa Mutharika for signing the protocol, saying the ceremony was a special day in SADC.

Madibela said the signing of the protocol demonstrated Malawi’s renewed commitment to achieve gender equality and make a difference in the lives of women in Malawi.

In her remarks, Minister of Gender, Children and Community Development Patricia Kaliati paid tribute to the State President for promoting gender equality in the country. She said because of his support, there were more women parliamentarians than before, and many others were holding important posts.

There are now a total of 42 women legislators from across the political divide, the greatest number so far that the House which has 192 seats has ever had-Malawi Digest.