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Misanet.com / The Nation, 1 November - With only three weeks to go before the Local Government Elections, the battle to have a 30 percent apportioned for female candidates seems to have hit a blank wall. Emmie Chanika, executive director of Civil Liberties Committee (Cilic), a non-governmental organisation in the forefront of campaigning for better women representation, said in an interview with The Nation (a Malawian daily) that the situation on the ground was heavily tilted against women candidates. She said reports on the ground suggest that many voters, including women themselves, were aligning strongly with male candidates. But many voters said they were only interested in the candidates' capabilities. "The point is not just to vote for a woman or a man. We are looking for a person who understands the issues," said James Basikolo of Balaka.Basikolo said many female candidates were not forthcoming to stand for elections during primaries. Funded by the Danish aid cooperation Danida, Cilic had been conducting civic and voter education for the past three months, enticing voters to elect women in decision making positions and councillors. "Why should women be given things on a silver platter. That would be the same once elected; they will always wait to be told what to do," said Jacquiline Nyembezi from Zomba. "It is true that men are a bully. But look at countries in Asia where ladies are believed to be most oppressed. It is ironic that it is on the same continent that women have been elected heads of state more than has been the case elsewhere," she said. Not deterred by such thinking, Cilic started training of trainers in a workshop held in August at Lunzu Secondary School. Participants were drawn from Nsanje, Thyolo, Blantyre Rural, Mwanza, Salima, Lilongwe City, Nkhata-Bay and Mzimba District. Politicians from all political parties also attended their own workshop alongside leaders at regional level who were sensitised on promoting women into decision-making positions. Women in Malawi
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