By Isaac Zulu
Former PF member of parliament Faustina Sinyangwe has called the female parliamentarians to be assertive and courageous.
Speaking in an interview, Sinyangwe has bemoaned the low participation of the female parliamentarians in National Assembly debates.
She said that the current engagements by female parliamentarians in the National Assembly leave much to be desired.
“I don’t know if they feel intimidated or not. But want I know is that the current Parliament has a female Speaker of National Assembly who I think, is willing to give the women parliamentarians to come out and speak out,” explained Sinyangwe. “Unfortunately, the female parliamentarians do not seem to be actively participating in those parliamentary debates. I know that they are few women members of parliament at the moment, but I strongly feel that they should take an active role, be assertive and courageous in their debates.”
Sinyangwe said there is need for parliamentarians to consider a proportional representation in Parliament, saying this will ensure that women are not disadvantaged in Parliament and when it comes to policy formulation.
“I remember to there were initiatives to have the Republican Constitution so that we can have a proportional representation in Parliament. Unfortunately, that proposal in the Constituational Ammend could not go through. But I still feel that we should have a proportional representation in Parliament so that all the womenfolk, regardless of their political affiliation and party leader are represented,” she said.
She also noticed with concern that Zambia has been lagging behind with regards to gender equality.
“I have noticed that we have recorded an increase in the number of district council chairpersons and mayors, but there are currently very few women in Parliament and in Cabinet itself. We are still lagging behind when it comes to gender equality in Parliament. And I think that women should come out and start advocating for gender sensitive policies as well as gender equality in the National Assembly,” added Sinyangwe.
