First Vice-President Jane Ansah has issued a strong call for greater inclusion of women in decision-making roles across Malawi, saying the country cannot achieve meaningful development while half of its population remains underrepresented in leadership.
Speaking on Friday in Lilongwe during a meeting with a delegation from the Women's Manifesto Movement, Ansah said many of the challenges affecting women in Malawi are rooted in long-standing exclusion from key economic, political, and social spaces, despite women having equal rights in law.
The delegation presented the Women's Manifesto, a detailed national document outlining women's priorities and expectations from government. It highlights a wide range of concerns affecting women, including economic empowerment, land ownership rights, access to water, agricultural support, healthcare services, education, and broader socio-cultural barriers that continue to limit women's participation in national development.
Ansah urged women not only to demand inclusion but to actively participate in leadership structures, saying real change will come when women are fully involved in shaping policies and national direction.
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Drawing from her own experience as Malawi's second female lawyer after former Chief Justice Anastazia Msosa, Ansah said she understands the structural and social barriers women continue to face, especially at community level where inequality is most visible.
She stressed that investing in women's education and economic empowerment is not optional but necessary for national progress, pointing to Rwanda as an example where deliberate investment in women's leadership and education has significantly increased female representation in public service and decision-making.
"Women should be given equal rights and opportunities as men, and more investment should be made in women's education and economic empowerment," she said, adding that persistent challenges such as gender-based violence, limited access to education and healthcare, and poor infrastructure continue to disproportionately affect women.
She further called for unity among women's groups, warning that fragmented advocacy weakens their impact. "Women must remain united and continue advocating for their rights and inclusion in leadership positions. United we stand, divided we fall," she said.
Representing the Women's Manifesto Movement, executive director of the NGO-Gender Coordination Network, Maggie Kathewera Banda, described the engagement as productive and encouraging. She said the manifesto reflects extensive nationwide consultations conducted across all districts to ensure that women's voices at grassroots level are fully captured.
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Kathewera Banda said the document covers 15 key thematic areas, including gender-based violence, economic empowerment, education, leadership and governance, agriculture, peace and security, and access to productive resources. She also revealed that the movement is seeking an official audience with President Peter Mutharika to formally present the manifesto at national level.
United Nations Women country representative Letty Chiwara said the meeting demonstrated a strong commitment by women's groups to push for gender equality and inclusive development. She noted that Ansah encouraged the delegation to deepen their understanding of community-level challenges so that proposed solutions are grounded in real-life experiences of women across the country.
The Women's Manifesto Movement continues to position itself as a national platform pushing for structural reforms that would increase women's participation in leadership and ensure that development policies reflect the realities faced by women across Malawi.
