The Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace in the Archdiocese of Lilongwe (CCJP) has called upon political parties and community governance structures to create a policy that would advance gender-balanced compositions in positions of leadership.

According to CCJP Governance Officer Felix Nakoma, such a policy would help the country to increase female participation and representation in political and leadership positions across the board.

Nakoma was speaking at the headquarters of Traditional Authority (T/A) Kayembe in Dowa during an interface meeting the Commission organized for traditional and community leaders in the area.

The interface meeting was held under the “Enhancing the Participation of Women in the 2025 Malawi General Elections” Project, which CCJP is implementing with financial support from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

Dowa West Constituency was selected because of its history for preference of male contestants in elections.

Nakoma said it was said that the area has never produced a female member of Parliament (MPs) or councilor since Malawi adopted multiparty democracy, describing the development as retrogressive.

“Malawi cannot achieve its much-desired development aspirations espoused in the Malawi 2063 (MW2063) unless women are fully capacitated and engaged in the implementation of various development projects,” he said.

Speaking on behalf of T/A Kayembe, Senior Group Village Head (SGVH) Siwinda admitted that some of their cultural practices have been fueling discrimination and marginalization of women in the society.

But Siwinda stated that traditional leaders are working hard to end harmful cultural practices to ensure women are given equal opportunities in the society.