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A British Labour Party member of parliament is in the country visiting Mzimba West constituency on an exchange programme between women MPs in the United Kingdom and East and Central Africa.
The MP, Jane Griffiths, said in an interview in Mzuzu Tuesday she is visiting the constituency in return to a visit to her constituency by Aford’s only female MP Loveness Gondwe, who visited her at Reading East constituency in west London early this year.
“I came to Malawi on a British Council exchange visit programme between British and African women MPs. But besides that I came to Malawi because I have an interest in this region having visited South Africa and Mozambique before and I wanted to help with any project, which would support and strengthen African women and help me learn from them,” said Griffiths.
She said she has been overwhelmed by the warm reception of the people in Mzimba west constituency saying that it was a great feeling to see the constituents dancing and singing for her saying it is quite different from the approach of her constituents.
Griffiths said there is need for women parliamentarians not only in Africa but the world over to be “more pushy” in their approach and always try to acquire confidence by any means so that they can be in power and help legislate laws that can never oppress women.
She said: “Women must always never forget that the men really believe that women should not be there in whatever they might do. Women must also remember to influence the support and power they have on other women in their endeavours. Women must support each other or go under. Men have supported each other for centuries.”
Griffiths said if more women can be in high decision making positions, they can change the worldwide perception that politics is a dirty game as women are better leaders than men.
British Council Malawi deputy director Vera Ng’oma in a separate interview said the exchange visits for women MPs in the UK and East and Central Africa is a result of a research the council conducted in 2001 among a cross section of people in 18 African countries. A similar research was also conducted in the UK for comparison.
Ng’oma said in response to the findings of the research, which showed that there was a mismatch of expectations between leaders and citizens about the role of a political leader 14 women MPs from seven African countries, two from each country including Malawi’s Martha Nasho have been paired with a UK woman MP.
“In a two way exchange, the British and African women MPs shadow each other at work in their constituencies, learning from each other’s experiences of working to bring about change for the people they represent,” she said.
In the next phase, the British Council in Malawi intends to send MCP’s Ntodwa Mwale of Dowa and UDF’s Alice Sumani.
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