The NGO Gender Coordination Network (NGO-GCN) is leading a fresh charge to introduce legislative quotas for women in politics, arguing the measure is essential to achieve gender parity in Malawi’s governance structures.

NGO-GCN Chairperson Maggie Kathewera Banda has made the call on Thursday during a strategic dialogue in Lilongwe on Monday, which brought together a Cross-Party Women's Forum from various political parties. 

The meeting's central goal was to lay the groundwork for significantly increasing the number of women elected in the 2030 general elections.

"The objective of this dialogue was to create a crucial platform for the Women's Forum to interface directly with senior party leadership," Kathewera Banda stated. "Our advocacy focused on concrete strategies to create an enabling environment for women's political participation."

The dialogue is part of the 12-month Political Empowerment of Women in Malawi (PEW-M) project, funded by UN Women and running from November 2024 to October 2025. A key outcome of the project has been the establishment of the Cross-Party Women's Forum, a unified body designed to champion women's empowerment within political parties.

During the session, the forum presented a shared "Cross-Party Women's Agenda" detailing the barriers women face, including a critical lack of campaign resources.

Aisha Mambo Adams, Director of Women for the UDF and MP for Mangochi Nkongolo, affirmed the forum's role in tackling these challenges. 

"Women have long faced barriers, particularly a lack of resources," Adams said. "This forum is a vital mechanism we have established to directly address these obstacles."

While acknowledging incremental progress, officials emphasized the need for a more concerted effort. Esther Chabwera, Deputy Director of Administration in the Ministry of Gender, noted that women performed "relatively better" in the 2025 elections compared to 2019.

"The critical task now," Chabwera added, "is to popularize the ministry's new women empowerment strategy in politics to ensure women not only participate but excel."

The push for quotas comes as recent election results show modest gains for women in politics, with 44 women elected to the National Assembly in the 2025 elections, compared to 40 women in the 2019 polls.