By Agatha kadzinje

Blantyre, September 20, Mana: Ministry of Gender, Community Development and Social Welfare has emphasized the need for capable young women and the youth to participate in the 2025 tripartite elections, as they are the future of the nation.

The ministry’s Public Relations Officer, Pauline Kaude, told Malawi News Agency (MANA) in an interview on Friday, that the ministry launched the Political Empowerment of Women Strategy which has activities encouraging participation of the youth, women and persons with disabilities in the upcoming election.

The strategy will be distributed in district councils.

“The initiative will help the youth, both male and females, to have an opportunity to participate in various positions in the coming elections without any difficulty,” Kaude said.

Kaude explained that youth and women in Malawi face social and cultural barriers to participating in politics, with financial challenges being the major factor restricting the involvement.

She disclosed that government, through the Political Empowerment of Women Program, coordinates all stakeholders involved in activities through Technical Working Group meeting.

Kaude added that the ministry supports development partners by engaging them on 40:60 gender quotas as provided in the Gender Equality Act through monitoring of political empowerment activities.

She stressed the need to raise awareness about the challenges young women and youth in general face in participating in politics.

“That is why stakeholders like OXFAM and Centre for Civil Society Strengthening have pledged to assist women contesting for Member of Parliament (MP) and Councilors position with payment of nomination fees. In the same vein, NGOs or CSOs will provide trainings and mentorship to aspiring women because funds from donors are channeled to NGOs or CSOs,” Kaude said.  

A young aspiring MP in Lilongwe, who recently graduated from University of Malawi, Sheila Goodwell, said in an interview that she is motivated by the challenges her people are facing but lacks financial support for the campaign.

“I believe the problems in my area requires my attention as a leader. My people need someone with a strong passion for change. However, this is not easy for me because I need a lot of finances to properly campaign,” she said.

A 2022 report, The Status of Youth Participation in Political Parties in Malawi, by Green Forum together with Centre for Young Leaders in Africa, showed many youths fail to participate in politics due to lack of funding and prevalence of traditional structures.