Richard Chirombo Exclusives: Features

Counting the cost of political gender activism between naps

RICHARD CHIROMBO

Politics is a house of many mansions; a single house, several mansions.

The mansions are the many priorities pressed upon both the single house that is Central Government, and those who pursue the political route to Sanjika Palace or the New State House.

People seldom know, at first hand, what lies within the walls of those many independent, inter-connected mansions, let alone about the most favoured mansion (priority) in a world where priorities have begun to live within other priorities. Is it sustainable social-economic emancipation, respect for human rights, improved foreign relations, water and sanitation, education, health, energy, press freedom, natural resources and environmental management affairs, or gender?

Only when one gets into the individual mansions, or is briefed by those privy to the situation, does the picture become more apparent. This chance, though, is often unavailable prompting people with special interests, civil society organisations, Non-Governmental Organisations, development partners, among others, to begin shouting on top of their voices.

If you cannot get in, physically, your words can. They permeate boundaries and break silences. The house grappling under the weight of the mansions then turns into a house of noise and chaos, as each one of the ‘loudmouths’ outside craves for a chance to be heard. It is called advocacy.

Advocacy is premised on the fact that political leaders, in particular, are not merely a part of a transmission belt turning the wishes of citizens into plausible programmes of action; they possess initiatives of their own, which often push civil society initiatives away from the priority tray. The second reason is that, once elected, the leaders begin to live in cubic houses that offer no view of the outside world. They begin to live in closed and artificial worlds, far away from the hustle and bustle of common life.

Then, there is always the fear- imagined or real- that those in authority have a short memory span and may not initiate people-centred programmes if not compelled by special interest groups. After all, some policies appear to be the outcome of domestic and international forces over which neither citizens nor leaders have much control.

“That is where civil society organisations and other interest groups come in. The country cannot do without these organisations because they enlighten government on what is in the best interest of people. We are partners in development,” says Undule Mwakasungula, chairperson for Human Rights Consultative Committee (HRCC).

When not representing HRCC, Mwakasungula holds the banner of the Centre for Human Rights and Rehabilitation (HRCC), an organization started by brains that, had it not been for the re-advent of multiparty democracy in 1994, after the tragic accident that was the 1964 State of Emergency, would have been laid to waste in exile.

But back home they returned, and became part of those early waves pushing against the shore of impunity, disrespect for human rights and fundamental freedoms, and other blocks standing in the way of good governance.

Mwakasungula remembers those early days, when the most overriding voice was that crying for the respect for human rights. It was a general cry because human rights are general.

That could be the reason why issues like gender never appeared as priority areas during the 1994 Presidential and Parliamentary Elections. They never appeared as ‘real’ issues because Malawian women were just waking up from an era of deep slumber where they were largely used as objects, flowery objects of political gratification.

Yet, after Malawi’s second turn of elections in 1999, some strange, audible voice begun to rise above the other voices, bringing more noise to the single house with many mansions. It was the voice of gender equality- a biased voice because it advocated for greater women participation in politics and public life.

Where were the men? They were the ‘oppressors’ whose time to be discarded had arrived. The campaign reached a crescendo in 2004, when women, backed by regional protocols, started demanding benchmarks in a quest to improve their, and national, well-being.

A 30 per cent Southern African Development Community (Sadc) protocol on women empowerment set the pace, a goal political analysts criticized for being too ambitious to be real. And Malawi’s political legs gave way somewhere between the start and finish line, typical of a baby who is about to take its only third step in life.

The first step (1994 elections) was a feel of how things should work; the second, 1999 elections, an assignment aimed at gauging whether the student is getting the gist of the lessons; and the third, the Presidential and Parliamentary elections of 2004, a revision exercise for a novice still learning how to throw guarded steps.

However, it was gender activists’ bloated ambition and arrogance- almost total disregard for Malawi’s cultural stereotypes on women participation in public life and politics- during the May 19, 2009 elections that captivated public attention. The 50-50 Campaign on women participation in politics came as a bang, demanding that men spare half of every public cake they cut through for women.

The goal was faulted for being too general to achieve specific results; too present-oriented to register clear long-term impact. It was like digging a shallow grave on the sands of Lake Malawi, fully aware that soil erosion and heavy rains may wash it away.

The heavy rains and soil erosion could be the many pressing needs awaiting government’s attention. The public healthcare service delivery system is still reeling from the effects of brain drain and poor perks; education is another area demanding government’s attention, what with revelations that some 4000 primary schools lack toilets, among others. Just how sure are gender activists that women empowerment issues will still be in government’s priority tray come the 2014 elections?

That is the sheer folly of it all. However, Noel Msiska, Association for Progressive Women’s (APW) acting executive director chooses to differ with those who accuse women empowerment activists and groups of being poor drivers, drivers who run far much ahead of the vehicle they were supposed to drive. Just such a vehicle will not move.

“All these efforts- goals, campaigns, protocols, instruments, conventions and tools- on women empowerment have begun to bear fruit. People have quickly come to embrace the element of women empowerment, something that has started tilting the balance in favour of women, both in public and private spheres. Of course, we still have a long way to go to achieve full balance,” said Msiska.

APW is one of the organisations that have contributed greatly towards women empowerment. Although ‘progressive’ women abound in every sense of human activity, the organization’s zeal has been more pronounced in fighting for the cause of Malawian women taking part in politics and decision-making bodies. Reen Kachere, APW’s founding director, just walked the talk during last year’s elections, beating seasoned politician and People’s Progressive Movement president Mark Katsonga Phiri on the race to Parliament.

She now acts as Minister for the Elderly and People with Disabilities, a development Msiska said had already started changing people’s perceptions about women capabilities in Neno.

“The balance of power is never static; it changes with the times,” said Msika.

Nothing strange in that. After all, democracy is there to help people achieve a balance in all aspects of life. This is because the world we live in is not a moral world: it is a world of more power or less power, of more goods or less goods, of greater security or lesser security, women empowerment or women marginalization- a world in which people are always striving to achieve a balance.

Only that, in this balancing equation, everything seems to be taking a direct relation with politics. So many things begin or end with politics, including our power to effect political choices. That is where women want to be now- the baking pot of sustainable, social-economic development.

In the reckoning, the fault lies not in the instruments used to promote women participation, but in the way they (instruments) have been employed and the end to which they have been directed.

Malawian women empowerment and gender activists have tried all this, quips Faustace Chirwa, executive director for National Women’s Lobby Group (Nawolg). But something seems amiss, and this is affecting sustainability of women empowerment efforts, she says.

“After national elections, most women empowerment organisations go into hibernation. This is partly because of lack of long-term strategic planning and in part due to dependency on donors. This raises sustainability questions, and may impact negatively on long-term women participation in public life, politics and general decision making positions,” said Chirwa.

Chirwa also points a finger of blame at special interest groups’ tendency of being too much event-driven. The event, mostly, is the national elections campaign, after which the NGOs simply hibernate only to resurface a year or two before elections.

“This is frustrating women empowerment efforts. In fact, there is need for pragmatic plans of action, plans that outlive national elections’ euphoria,” said Chirwa.

Lack of resources, she enthused, could be behind all this. Activists should now begin to focus on Zero budget-implication programmes in between elections to make the best out of people’s votes.

The Zero budget implication areas include granting media interviews, writing opinion pieces on various issues pertaining to women empowerment, building close relationships with organisations sharing similar objectives, and working closely with community volunteers, and have proven successful in the case of Nawolg.

Chirwa is not speaking from a vacuum. Her organization has been in existence since 1995. As Malawi’s democracy comes off age, so does Nawolg.

In 1998, the organization played a key role in the election of women Councilors. With funding from the Swedish International Development Agency (Sida), Nawolg criss-crossed the country with one message: Councils need Women! It received its just desserts as a considerable number of women made it to various assemblies, apart from campaigning for the cause of women during Malawi’s various elections.

That is enough to create lasting memories. Not with Chirwa: When women make it to Parliament, she becomes worried about the future. It is the way women behave when elected that makes her restless.

“You will find that women politicians disappear as quickly as they appeared onto the political scene, and this is worrisome. The main problem lies in the fact that there is no clear feedback strategy for women elected into various public positions. There is need to establish a clear strategy; a strategy that carters for donors, constituents, special interest groups (civil society organisations and NGOs), among others,” said Chirwa.

So, apart from NGOs going into hibernation after national elections, elected women also dig their own graves by not providing feedback to other stakeholders. That way, we could have avoided the catastrophe that befell women during last year’s Parliamentary elections, when almost an entire generation of women politicians went with the political tide.

Legislators like Patricia Kaliati, Anna Kachikho are some of the notable survivors. But there were also the likes of United Democratic Front’s Lilian Patel (Chairperson for Women Caucus in Parliament), Malawi Congress Party’s Nancy Tembo, Esther Chilenje-Nkhoma- they all went with the May 19, 2009 political winds, and little is heard of then now.

They are formidable women who graced the political scene; they are also living lessons to other women, in a way. The lesson: Women in politics should stop wasting and buying time in a world that offers no spare time.

Chirwa also says women politicians must stop toeing party lines wholesale. So far, the trend has been that a politician in Malawi should be an individual of the political party; never an individual of the whole country.

“Narrow partisanship is killing us. In fact, it is both inter-elections inactivity and women’s lack of ability to stand for other women that has affected the number of women in politics. We needed to have, at least, 80 women in Parliament now,” said Chirwa.

Emmie Chanika, Chairperson for the NGO-Gender Coordination Network’s Permanent Committee on Women in Politics, sees shifting fortunes, however. She says, with time, the Malawian woman will not only learn to fight for what belongs to her, but also retain what she has already laid her hands on. Things like holding political office.

“That is why we have the permanent committee. It’s because we realize that fighting for women empowerment is a continuous process, and we have been trying our best,” said Chanika.

In other words, the Committee she chairs is permanent, until women attain what is theirs; her position is not, it is temporary.

Gender, Children and Community Development Minister, Kaliati, also sees changing fortunes for Malawian women in politics and decision-making processes.

“I must say that we are lucky in Malawi because we have visionary leaders. The administration of Ngwazi Dr. Bingu wa Mutharika has been in the forefront promoting women, so much so that we have women Ministers, Principal Secretaries, High Commissioners and heads of government departments. It shows that we are moving in the right direction,’ said Kaliati.



Up against life’s artificial boundaries

RICHARD CHIROMBO

A smiling youth, 30, craws impatiently in the mud. Just some two hours ago, it was the sun, brazing heavily over his back.

Not the best of days, it seems- this Wednesday, March 3, 2010.

People pass him by, unperturbed, caught up in the web of thoughts on how to escape the rains pouring heavily in Blantyre.

The man, Andrea Kanama from Khuguwe village, Chief Mchiramwera, Thyolo is not worried about the rains; all he cares about is the guitar strapped onto his back.

“It’s all I have that gives me my daily bread. Let me say, also, that I am satisfied with the income I earn daily, and will never go about the streets asking for alms,” says Kanama, wearing a smile that seems never to dry up from his face.

Kanama says he was born in 1980, but is unsure of the exact date and month- only saying “It was during the rainy season”.

That is the day Kanama’s life went into the shadows. For physically challenged persons like Kanama, to live was trouble, to look for alms was trouble, getting access to a Primary School trouble.

“So, I stayed home while other ‘normal’ children went to school. There was also a great distance between my home and school. I wish I had the opportunity to go to school,” says Kanama.

That is the challenge faced by a myriad of families with physically challenged children in rural areas, too; it is either they are too poor to afford a wheelchair and access to education institutions that carter for these children or the question of distance. Many things may happen on the way between home and school that put the child at the mercy of foreign devices.

Little wonder that, in the 1980s, having a disability became an impregnable fortress that, like all fortresses, limited the view of the outside world and distorted perspective. The future was too blurred to offer any clear perspectives, and Kanama quickly learned to live with this “painful fact; it was also a dilemma”.

“Not that I blame it on other people, though most people with physical challenges cannot pretend, also, that government policies and people’s perceptions of disability were a faultless paragon of virtue and courtesy,” said Kanama, adding:

“To the contrary, people and government institutions could sometimes be too distant from the real challenges facing us, could be vituperative in their classification of us and could often blame it on lack of resources instead of concentrating their energies upon the merits of our cause,’ said Kanama.

This had a ripple effect on people’s perceptions, he said, because disability became a special interest groups’ cause instead of a national issue. The likes of Kanama were left to fend for themselves in a world already programmed to loathe them.

The problem, it seems, has over the years developed a deep surface and continues to date. Take, for instance, the plight of special needs education pupils in Blantyre. Special needs education teachers like Christopher Mpakeni move about from one place to another just because all public primary schools are far from having this rare specie of compassionate teachers.

So they move, with miserable stipend, from Machinjiri primary schools to Chirimba, a distance of sorts for teachers whose transport allowance is but a mockery. Often, they dig deeper into their pockets- and equally deeper into their reserves of passion- just to help these kids.

It is the best they can do. Their operating philosophy is that, at least, if they cannot give these pupils light now; they will show them where the light is. How to walk towards that light is a government’s responsibility.

Non-Governmental Organisations have also come in to help, but their efforts have been hindered by their zeal to invest in short term initiatives. Sight Savers International has been one of the international organisations to come to the rescue of government, but things went haywire over a year ago when the organization withdrew funding for a programme that lessened teachers’ burdens.

Special needs education teachers were receiving about K1, 500 a month to help them easily move from one school to another. The end of the programme meant that the teachers, already poorly paid, would now find means of fending for themselves.

It also took more than a year for the teachers to receive what they had already worked for.

“It pains to find that, despite many years of fighting for our rights, things have not changed. We still struggle to get access to many public resources and infrastructure,” said Kanama.

Kanama thanks his parents- Carlos and Emily- for inculcating a hard working spirit in him, though. He also hails a friend, Feston Samola, for teaching him how to play a guitar, which has now become his sole source of bread and butter.

“Disability has not stood in my way because I am able to fend for myself and other people. I stay with four other people in Thyolo and am able to fend for the group. I am also able to move about, from Thyolo, Blantyre, and Zomba to Machinga, where I get paid for playing music. In fact, I have just recorded a music album,” he said.

Kanama is a also an artist of sorts. He even challenges that he can have a successful attempt at murals, that is, if given the chance in terms of capital.

“I earn between K2,000 and K2,500 a day, far much better than what other working class people are getting per fortnight. My dream is to raise K600,000 and venture into irrigation farming. It pains me to see able-bodied people complaining of hunger when they have all it takes to rise above hunger and poverty: no food for lazy man,” said a brunt Kanama.

Not that life is all rosy. He says challenges abound, and points at verbal and physical abuse as some of the challenges. Just on the Wednesday of March 3, 2010, he decided to travel from Thyolo to Blantyre on a mission.

The mission was his forthcoming music album, Tikutha ndiEDZI, which he wanted to promote at state-run Malawi Broadcasting Corporation. This was after he appeared on Malawi Television some three weeks earlier.

He came back a shocked man.

“I was turned at the gate. They said I could not go inside the studios because I did not have K10, 000. I later learned that it was a hoax; I did not need to pay money to speak on public radio. It will take me time to go back there because I still feel that I was discriminated against,” said Kanama.

That is not all. Some drivers spill rainwater on him when it is raining. This pains Kanama, who enthuses that, while the sight of him clawing in the mud or basking in the October sun portrays a picture of someone who is so slow in mobility, his mind is always far ahead of him.

That means, as the makes his way through the rains and heat, his mind is always in the next possible shelter where people are hiding from the two natural fruits. When rain water is spilled over him, he is always safe and clean- somewhere in his mind.

Only that resource inadequacies and people’s negative perceptions prevent him from physically getting to his mind, in real touch with what goes on in his mind.

The draft Bill on Equalisation of Opportunities for People with Disabilities could be the sure link between what goes on in his mind, and the physical world he lives in.

The Federation for Disability Organisations in Malawi 9Fedoma) has been pressing hard to get the bill enacted. The organization’s spokesperson, Pamela Juma, says she is getting impatient.

“It’s taking too long. We needed to have that piece of legislation yesterday,” said Juma.

But government, through Minister responsible for the Elderly and People with Disabilities Reen Kachere, says there is some headway towards enactment.

Kachere says, in the meantime, patience is all that is needed.

But Kanama does not care about some piece of paper causing such problems. Sometimes, he says, he feels like disability organisations (and that includes Fedoma) do not really stand up for their cause.

“Organisations representing the interests of people with disabilities also stand in the way of us, the people they were supposed to represent. Look at the Malawi Council for the Handicapped (Macoha), for instance. Ten years ago, some officials from Macoha came to my home in Thyolo, and promised to enroll me at a vocational school in Magomero. They have never come back to me. Isn’t that ironical?” queries Kanama.

So, he doesn’t care about mere pieces of paper that may, in the end, be as good as nothing. The challenge is life itself; how people with disabilities make the best out of it.