As we commemorate Mother’s Day today on October 15, I would like to take the opportunity to join all MOTHERS in Malawi and to congratulate them for their time-honoured efforts to raise the bar of humanity and for their relentless desire to always make the world a better place.
Women are always a symbol of love and an epitome of care for the disadvantaged; the orphans and the elderly. They symbolize the spiritual flow of emotions and the deep connection upon which the whole humanity rests. Today is, therefore, the best day to remind the world about the gift that women are to creation.
Let us embrace women in our societies; let us remember to love and respect them. Let us encourage all girls and women who dropped out of school for various reasons to go back for the betterment of their future and that of their country. I would like also to urge my fellow women to make sure that children are going to school. Let us support women who do small businesses to earn a living and support their families.
I would particularly like to recognize all female nurses and midwives for taking care of fellow women in hospitals, mainly in labour wards during the COVID-19 pandemic.
However, women in this country are going through teething challenges following the harsh economic environment. Prices of so many basic commodities have skyrocketed making lives of so many women especially single mothers unbearable.
As DPP Shadow Minister for Gender, I want to urge government to create an enabling environment for women to showcase their skills and to reach their latent potential in different fields. Let qualified women get jobs without any form of discrimination on the basis of gender, tribe or religion.
I also want to appeal to government provide soft loans to women. Government must also consider topping up the ‘Ntukula Pakhomo’ programme so that many poor women are reached out and uplifted financially.
Finally, I want to urge all husbands to love, respect and support their wives. Let us desist from all forms of domestic violence. Women must also similarly respect and love their husbands. Many men are suffering and going through silent stress because of the psychological torture they suffer at the hands of their wives. Together we will make Malawi a better place to live.
Signed
Honourable Mary Thom Navicha, MP
DPP SHADOW MINISTER OF GENDER
Blantyre, 15 October 2021
