Getrude Mongela
Dodoma. Veteran politician Dr Getrude Mongella
has called upon women to be confident and vie for different political
positions in the General Election in October.
Dr Mongella who was addressing the National Women
Conference on Leadership said, women were already leaders in different
social positions including in families, but now they need to step up and
compete in political positions including the presidency.
She also encouraged them to avoid sexual corruption and speak objectively when seeking votes.
“There are people who invest in sexual corruption
to win, but how many people will you sleep with? That is actually
prostitution. When you stand in front of the people seeking their votes,
you are aspiring to become a leader of all. Don’t even try to speak as
women rights activists because you need even men to vote for you,” he
said.
Dr Mongella advised women to also avoid magical
powers to help them win as the vice may accelerate other evils like
killing of people with albinism.
“Competing for leadership is all about selling
agenda and not gender fight. If women come out with a strong agenda they
will definitely win votes from all people including men,” she said,
adding:
“Let’s compete fiercely. There are forces against women called PHD – pull her down – but they should not discourage you.”
On the other hand, Chamwino District Commissioner
Farida Mgomi, said that the demand for 50/50 balance in political
positions was not the fight against men but just to ensure that both
groups are well represented in the country’s decision-making. The
two-day conference was organised by Actionaid and Tanzania Gender
Networking Programme.
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