Socialist Party spokesperson Rehoboth Kafwabulula has urged more women, particularly young women to join politics. 21 year-old Kafwabulula bemoaned women’s continued suffering, pain and hardship. Speaking at a recent event on 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence (GBV) organised by the Socialist Party, Kafwabulula called for an urgent need for women to take up leadership positions as they were the most affected. “Out of the 156 members of parliament (MPs) in Zambia, how many MP women do we have? Less than 15 per cent and we expect to have laws that favour us? It is not possible. There is a saying that laws made by men are designed to save their interests only, to a greater extent, I think that saying is true,” said Kawabulula.
We know our suffering; I think nobody has to tell us how we have suffered. We are the ones who face gender violence, gender discrimination whether it’s in our homes, in the streets, in the market places, we know how we have struggled, nobody has to tell us. In Nyanja they say, tavutika, in bemba they say twachula, in tonga they say twapenga, and in Kaonde they say twayanda, we have suffered.”
Kafwabulula further called for a need to create a peaceful world, one that accommodates both men and women. “The prominent question is how do we create a world that is violence-free? The only solution is for women to get involved in politics, and we need to design a political solution to the problem. Women need to take up leadership positions if they are to begin to make the change for themselves and others. “The only way we can change the world is by taking power for ourselves, for our fellow women, for the girl child, and saying enough is enough, no more violence against us, there will be no more rape, there will be no more battering. It is possible to create that world where we are heard.”
Kafwabulula has charged that as things stand today, women in Zambia had no power to make real decisions in higher political offices. “Women need to take up the power to make decisions that affect them. But the biggest challenge is how to get this power. How do we take this power? We can only get power by taking political office. We can only take that power by becoming councillors, by becoming MPs, by imagining the world we want because everything we see, whether it is the drum, the t-shirts, clothes, all come from someone’s mind. If we look at even the things to do with the city council, how is the city council designed, how is the world designed? Has the world that we have built favour women? I don’t think it does.
The Socialist Party acknowledges that women bear the greatest burden and therefore should have more to say in everything. The party came up with a decision that not less than 50 per cent of its MPs should be women, not less than 50 per cent of its councillors should be women.
Kafwabulula has called on Zambians to join the revolutionary movement. “Becoming a revolutionary, simply means to evolve, to change. Do we like the way our country and the world are going now? No, we don’t. We need to change the way the world is moving. We need to change the course of the world. That is what it means to evolve, that is what we call a revolution.”
In a democracy a 50/50 representation at all levels of leadership can’t be achieved unless in a dictatorial communist/socialist one party state were people will be appointed through a command by one supreme leader. in a democracy you can adopt 50/50 but at the end of the day the electorates will make the final decision, either they will elect more women than men or vice versa. only solution is to keep encouraging women to participate.
Which rock has this woman being living under? Let her go and see the record set by pf in terms of women participation in governance. In fact does she even know who the vice president is? This socialist party clearly lacks any sensible message for our people. These are parties created out of frustration because some one lost his newspaper business.
She is still 21 years old. Patson Daka is 21years old too. You see difference in these 2 people?
Wondering why M’membe would want to expose young people to political battles….. Young girl please hormones are still high in your system, a fatherly advice would be that go and enjoy your young days with your friends and family. Tesolo ili iyo…. M’membe watampa amangalo
“Out of the 156 members of parliament (MPs) in Zambia, how many MP women do we have? Less than 15 per cent and we expect to have laws that favour us? It is not possible. There is a saying that laws made by men are designed to save their interests only, to a greater extent, I think that saying is true,” said Kawabulula.
Ms. Kafwabulula, Laws are made to serve the citizenry, not gender. If the intention of having more women in political positions is to enact affirmative Laws, then we do not need more females in political positions.