Mzimba chiefs vow to support He4She campaign

Chiefs and other stakeholders in Mzimba District have promised to support He4She campaign which is aimed at empowering women into political positions with the help of UN Women.

The commitment to support He4She campaign was made on Thursday in Mzimba at Tovwirane Organisation where UN Women met stakeholders to sensitize them on the need to support women’s political participation.

UN Women elections and gender officer in Malawi Victor Maulidi said the key message in the He4She campaign is that men should support women in political participation and not to abuse or discourage them.

He said it was unfortunate that 90 percent of Malawian culture undermines the role of women in society.

Maulidi urged chiefs to play a greater role for women to actively participate in politics.

“Chiefs should also take part in supporting women for them to actively participate in politics and be able to work together with men,” he said.

Inkosi Kampingo Sibande said chiefs will make sure women are not undermined but encouraged to contest for parliamentary and ward councilor seats in the forthcoming elections.

“In the past, we believed that women should not be taking leading roles in society but currently we are changing; that’s why we are involved in advocacy to change people’s mindset,” Sibande said.

He4She was launched in the year 2015 in Malawi, where president of the Republic of Malawi was appointed He4She gender equity campaign global champion.