Report male politicians soliciting for sexual favours – ZNMNGD

By Fridah Nkonde-Mubanga

The Zambia National Men’s Network for Gender and Development says female aspiring candidates should report male politicians soliciting for sexual favours ahead of the August 12 General Elections.

Zambia National Men’s Network for Gender and Development (ZNMNGD) National Coordinator Nelson Banda in a statement stated that there was need for the country to blacklist abusive male politicians asking for sexual favours from women politicians.

“The Zambia National Men’s Network for Gender and Development (ZNMNGD) is calling on all women aspiring candidates to report any male politician who solicits for sexual favours to our organization, ahead of the 2021 General Elections so that they are exposed and their names kept in a database to prevent such men from holding public office in future because such acts are criminal and demeaning to women,” Mr. Banda stated.

“We wish to state that as an organization, we are monitoring all violations of women’s rights because we want women to effectively participate in elections before, during and after the August 12, 2021 polls. We will document these violations for appropriate action. We are appealing to law enforcement agencies to blacklist male politicians who will be found soliciting for sexual favours from aspiring women candidates so that they do not stand for any elective position or hold any public office in future.”

Mr. Banda implored political parties not to accept men with questionable characters as members.

“We are saying this because such behaviour is not only demeaning and discouraging women from joining politics but also compromising the integrity of other honest men who want to work with women in politics. The behaviours of male politicians who have no respect for women is tantamount to abrogating the Constitution and reducing the country’s commitment to upholding the values of regional and international protocols such as the SADC and AU Protocols, the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) which protects women against all forms of discrimination which Zambia has agreed to,” Mr. Banda stated.

“We would like to warn  male politicians that should their names be registered  in our database, we shall ensure that they do not stand for any elective position or hold any public office because that would be a breach of the Constitution to promote gender equality.  We feel it is high time men rise to the challenge and defend the rights of women to participate in leadership as it is well known fact that women are the majority political mobilisers and voters and therefore should participate in national affairs without any limitations.”

Mr. Banda stated that it was disheartening that some aspiring female candidates with the desire to serve their communities as elected leaders were being taken advantage of by dishonest men who wanted sexual favours.