The promise of financial support was another main reason that made some women join politics, especially those who contested at primary or constituency/ward level for the positions of MP or councillor. Taking into consideration that campaigning for political positions is expensive and time-consuming, one of the serious challenges faced by most women is lack of financial support (Kayuni and Muriaas 2015: 396). As one former PP female councillorship candidate in Chiradzulu mentioned, The people support candidates not based on character, behaviour, or not even development, rather most voters mostly support candidates for immediate gratification – money.
In the 2009 general elections, several NGOs provided financial support to female candidates under the 50-50 campaign umbrella. Based on knowledge of the support provided to candidates in 2009, some women decided to join politics in 2014, expecting this financial support. According to the perception of many people, hand-outs played a critical role in the success of a candidate. During a focus group discussion in one area in Phalombe, it was said that,
Most people go for hand-outs more than they would go for development and personality and reputation [of a candidate].
In other words, if they know that financial support is guaranteed, their likelihood of joining politics would be very high. This financial support is mainly used as handouts to prospective voters.
Conclusion
This chapter is based on a study conducted in Phalombe and Chiradzulu districts of Malawi and the main focus was to identify factors that determine women’s participation in politics at grassroots level.
In other words, it examined the supply-side of women in politics and identified some of the reasons why they volunteer to join politics. The chapter has noted that there are a number of factors which compel women to join politics in the identified areas. Just like other studies have shown, the role of political party gatekeepers is one of the important determining factors. Another factor is exposure to local development structures and projects, managed by NGOs and local governance institutions.
This has not been well articulated in the prevailing literature. We found that this exposure gave female candidates the confidence and interest to play a role in political affairs. Apart from confidence, it is possible that the exposure also helped them to understand the problems experienced in their immediate locality and helped them think about the role they may play in politics: to solve such problems. Financial matters also play a role in determining whether or not women run for office.
References
Atkeson, L. R. (2003): Not all Cues are Created Equal: The Conditional Impact of Female Candidates on Political Engagement. Journal of Politics, vol. 65, no. 4, pp. 1040-1061.
Barnes, T. and S. Burchard (2012): “Engendering” Politics: The Impact of Descriptive Representation on Women’s Political Engagement in Sub-Saharan Africa. Comparative Political Studies, vol. 46, no. 7, pp. 767–790.
Cheng, C. and M. Tavits (2011): Informal Influences in Selecting Female Political Candidates.
Political Research Quarterly, vol. 64, no. 2, pp. 460-471.
Hansen, S. B. (1997): Talking about Politics: Gender and Contextual Effects an Political Proselytizing.
Journal of Politics, vol. 59, no. 1, pp. 73-103.
Hassim, S. (1999): From Presence to Power: Women’s Citizenship in a New Democracy.
Agenda: Empowering Women for Gender Equity, vol. 15, no. 40, pp. 6-17.
Hassim, S. and A.M. Goetz (2003): Introduction: Women in Power in Uganda and South Africa.
Chapter 1, pp. 1-28 in A.M. Goetz and S. Hassim (eds): No Shortcuts to Power:
African Women in Politics and Policy Making. London and New York: Zed Books.
Huairou Commission (2010): The Huairou Commission Calls for Sustained Investments in Women’s Organizations, MDG Summit. September 20 – 22, 2010, New York. (Available at:
http://bit.ly/1Qjynsa, accessed 12 July 2015).
Kayuni, H. and R.L. Muriaas (2014): Alternatives to Gender Quotas: Electoral Financing
of Women Candidates in Malawi. Representation (Journal of Representative Democracy), vol. 50, no. 3, pp. 393-404.
Krook, M. (2010): Quotas for Women in Politics: Gender and Candidate Selection Reform Worldwide.
New York: Oxford University Press.
Lawless, J. and K. Pearson (2008): The Primary Reason for Women’s Underrepresentation?
Reevaluating the Conventional Wisdom. The Journal of Politics, vol. 70, no 1, pp. 67-82.
Lawless, J. and R. Fox (2005): It Takes a Candidate: Why Women Don’t Run for Office.
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Muriaas, R.L. and Kayuni, H.M. (2013): The Reversed Contagion Effect: Explaining the Unevenness of Women’s Representation across South African Municipalities. Women’s Studies International Forum, vol. 40, part 2, pp. 150-159.
Norris, P. (1993): Conclusions: Comparing Legislative Recruitment, pp. 309-330 in J. Loveduski and P. Norris (eds.): Gender and Party Politics. London: Sage Publications.
Norris, P. and J. Lovenduski (1993): ‘If Only More Candidates Came Forward’: Supply-Side Explanations of Candidate Selection in Britain. British Journal of Political Science, vol. 23, no. 3, pp. 373-408.
Smith, A., B. Reingold and M. Owens (2012): The Political Determinants of Women’s Descriptive Representation in Cities. Political Research Quarterly, vol. 65, no.2, pp. 315–329.
Sundstrom, A. and D. Stockemer (2015): What Determines Women’s Political Representation at the Local Level? A Fine-Grained Analysis of the European Regions. International Journal of Comparative Sociology, vol. 56, no. 3-4, pp. 254-274.
Sundstrom, A. and L. Wangnerud (2014): Corruption as an Obstacle to Women’s Political Representation:
Evidence from Local Councils in 18 European Countries. Party Politics. (Published online before print September 4, 2014, doi: 10.1177/1354068814549339, pp. 1–16).
The Economist (2006): A Guide to Womenomics, 12 April 2006. (Available at: http://econ.st/1QjyAM1, accessed 15 February 2015).
Vetten, L., L. Makhunga and A. Leisegang (2012): Making Women’s Representation in Parliament Count:
The Case of Violence against Women. Braamfontein: Tshwaranang Legal Advocacy Centre to End Violence against Women.