Imbalanced funding access hinders women
Abang Tapologo | Monday July 17, 2023 06:00
This was revealed this week at Commonwealth Women Parliamentarians (CWP) Africa region steering committee where they conducted election sensitisation campaigns for the forth coming general election in 2024.
With electoral campaigns are costly and time-consuming by nature, and more funds needed for better chances of success, the CWP among others aim is to address the imbalance of financial support between male and female candidates as well as promote gender equality within the Commonwealth nations. Chairperson of CWP Caucus, Nnaniki Makwinja outlined how only seven seats in parliament are held by women and that out of the seven, three are elected whilst four are specially elected.
“This puts women at a staling ten percent in parliament. We would like to bring women on board,” she added. While women are still not represented at the highest levels in government gender parity in parley has been a concern for years.
During the discussions the women outlined the challenges they go through and that despite their noble mission, CWP faces a major hurdle being financial constraints. “Funding has always been an issue. We need to catapult our women by going out there.” Lawrence Ookeditse, Botswana Patriotic Front (BPF) spokesperson added during discussion.
This dire situation has prompted CWP members to cry out for financial assistance. Financial support is crucial for CWP's initiatives, such as training programs, mentorship schemes, and advocacy campaigns. These activities are instrumental in equipping women with the skills and knowledge needed to navigate the political landscape successfully.
“We have Batswana women who are willing but in the political space the game is changing and it is a totally different spectrum because we have no funding. We want political funding and political parties with more women should get more funding,” Botswana Congress Party (BCP) representative Tshimologo Dingake highlighted during the meeting. Additionally she said that financial assistance would enable CWP to organize conferences and workshops that foster networking opportunities among female parliamentarians.
By providing financial aid to CWP, she said governments can demonstrate their commitment to gender equality and inclusive governance. Investing in women's political empowerment not only benefits individual countries but also strengthens democracy on a global scale.
Speaking as the keynote speaker of the meeting Chairperson of CWP Steering Committee, Dr Zainab Gimba said it is imperative that Commonwealth nations recognize the urgent need for financial assistance from the international community to support organizations like CWP. By doing so, she indicated that they can pave the way for greater female representation in parliaments worldwide and ensure a more equitable future for all. ‘’Discussions with the president will be on women in parliamentary,” she pointed out. She further said that men need to lobby and that political parties need to work towards financing women.
For her part CWP Chairperson of Central Africa, Talita Monnakgotla mentioned that finance will always be the elephant in the room but for the year 2024 her wish would be to see at least 20 seats for women in parliament.