A gender activist has advised the Malawi Congress Party (MCP) to nominate Mzimba East legislator Catherine Gotani Hara for the position of Speaker of Parliament.
The activist Innocent Hauya made the call following the May 21 elections in which 44 women were elected as Members of Parliament (MPs).
The legislators are expected to elect a Speaker later this month and the MCP’s pick will have a good chance of being elected as the party has the second highest number of parliamentarians with 55 MPs.
Hauya who is NGO-Gender Coordination Network national coordinator noted that the MCP has men in most of its top positions hence should pick a woman as Speaker of National Assembly.
“For a party that got a majority of its votes from women yet has a male president, had a male running mate, has all male vice presidents and has a male secretary general, it is imperative that it should nominate a female for the position of speaker of the national assembly,” he wrote on Facebook.
Hauya mentioned Mzimba North East MP Catherine Gotani Hara who is also MCP first deputy secretary general and Lilongwe South West MP Nancy Tembo as some of the women the party can pick.
“My friends in Congress, this is the time to rise above social norms and stand out for transformative politics and policies,” he said.
