President Dr. Lazarus Chakwera has been awarded for his commitment to uplift the lives of women in the country.
The President was the centre of acclaim by various local and international stakeholders during the opening of the High Level Dialogue on Generation Equality and Women Leadership Conference in Lilongwe.
Besides being presented with an accolade during the event, the Malawi leader was also recognized by various speakers for what his administration is doing to uplift the lives of women and girls in the country.
Former President Dr. Joyce Banda said President Chakwera is creating a conducive environment for women in the country for them to get into leadership positions and excel while at it.
One of the achievements by the President is appointing a cabinet with 41% women representation which is above the acceptable threshold by stakeholders of similar interest on gender issues. In addition, President Chakwera has appointed many women to key positions within government structure.
He has also appointed women to head 45 percent of Malawi’s foreign missions and 50 percent of the offices filled in the Judiciary.
In his remarks, President Chakwera showcased the efforts by his government to empower women and girls across communities.
“My administration passed a national budget with many interventions for advancing the cause of gender[1]equality, including the removal of value added tax from sanitary pads in our quest to make it easier for girls to stay in school during their menstrual cycle. I also launched a digital platform that profiles the achievements and qualifications of professional women in order to make it easier for employers to find qualified women to recruit to senior positions,” said he.
The President pledged his continued support to champion the election of women to no less than half of the seats in Parliament during the next election scheduled for September 2025.
President Chakwera said he continues to uphold the values to which he committed Malawi at the Paris Forum.
Some interventions related to the aforementioned commitment under Feminist Movements and Leadership are funding and supporting diverse feminist activists, organizations, funds and movements; Promotion, expansion and protection of civic space for feminist action; Organizing and mobilization, advancing and increasing the meaningful participation; Leadership and decision-making power of women and girls.
Under Economic Justice and Rights theme, the President pledged to increase women’s economic empowerment by transforming the care economy; expand decent work and employment in formal and informal economies; increase women’s access to and control over productive resources, and to promote gender-transformative economies and fiscal stimulus.
The Generation Equality Paris Forum was a convention held virtually last year and coordinated from the French capital where stakeholders resolved to make the world more just for women.
To achieve this, 40 billion dollars was pledged towards a 5-year action plan to accelerate gender equality by focusing on six thematic areas to work on: Gender-based Violence; Economic Justice & Rights; Bodily Autonomy and Sexual & Reproductive Health & Rights (SRHR); Feminist Action for Climate Justice; Technology & Innovation for Gender Equality; and Feminist Movements & Leadership
Among the high profile dignitaries at the conference are former President of Liberia Ellen Johnson Sirleaf who is also Africa’s first elected woman leader, Catherine Samba Panza former President of Central African Republic, former Vice President of Zimbabwe Joyce Mujuru and Jewel Taylor who is current Vice President of Liberia and former First Lady.
