NGOCC CONDEMNS SEXIST AND VIOLENT CAMPAIGN AGAINST MS. IRIS KAINGU IN MWANDI, WESTERN PROVINCE

NGOCC CONDEMNS SEXIST AND VIOLENT CAMPAIGN AGAINST MS. IRIS KAINGU IN MWANDI, WESTERN PROVINCE

The Non-governmental Gender Organisations’ Coordinating Council (NGOCC) condemns, in the strongest terms, the degrading and inciteful conduct allegedly exhibited by members of the United Party for National Development (UPND) Mwandi chapter against Independent parliamentary candidate, Ms. Iris Kamwi Kaingu. The circulated video, reportedly depicting party members performing a song that demeans Ms. Kaingu and calls for violence against her, is a textbook case of Violence Against Women in Elections (VAWE).

Conduct such as this, violates Ms Kaingu’s right to dignity under Article 11 of the Constitution, her political rights under Article 45, and the equality and non-discrimination guarantees under Article 23. It further breaches Zambia’s obligations under the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa (Maputo Protocol), and the SADC Protocol on Gender and Development, all of which oblige the State to eliminate violence against women in public and political life.

NGOCC calls on the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) to invoke the Electoral Code of Conduct under the Electoral Process Act No. 35 of 2016, which prohibits abusive, defamatory, and inciteful language during campaigns, and to sanction those responsible without regard to political affiliation. Having just launched its Gender Equality and Social Inclusion Policy, ECZ must now demonstrate that the policy is more than a document and ensure female candidates are protected.

We also call on UPND leadership to publicly reprimand the officials who reportedly rewarded the perpetrators. We equally challenge the Zambia Police to investigate possible incitement to violence under the Penal Code. Acting on incidents such as these serves as a deterrent to would-be offenders.

Women must be free to contest elections without fear of insult or death threats. NGOCC stands firmly with Ms. Kaingu and demands accountability, not silence.

ISSUED
For/NGOCC

Ms. Beauty Katebe
NGOCC BOARD CHAIRPERSON