A municipal partnership between the Swedish municipality of Kungsör and the Zambian town council of Rufunsa is working together to ensure youth and women’s equal participation in decision-making. Involving young people themselves in this work has been a central part of the partnership – hence, the International Centre for Local Democracy elects a Youth Champion for Change.
Tapera Joy Mbewe is a Ward Councillor in Rufunsa District, who successfully won her seat in 2021, becoming the youngest female politician in Zambia. Growing up in a rural environment, Tapera got to see a lot of issues: her peers were lacking the most obvious things such as health care and education. She herself was lucky to go to a good school and to have a strong role model by her side, in the form of her mother. This inspired her in her own goals, giving voice to the voiceless:
‘I do not only want to speak for them, but also to create a platform where they will be able to speak for themselves. We do need women in civic life. We do need women to run for office. We need feminists who understand the value and needs of women to be at the table when decisions are being made so that the right decisions are made. And if we are not included at the table, we must make our own table.’
As a young person and a woman in politics, Tapera has already faced several challenges related to archaic views on who can be a politician. Many politicians are not used to listen to people as young as Tapera. It is not uncommon for them to try to tone her down when she speaks out. The young politician, together with the Swedish-Zambian project team agrees that achieving equal access to and full participation in decision-making requires systemic change.
‘I think we need more policies that can encourage women and youth to join politics. Specific portions should be given for the under-represented groups. In this way, I think more people will get encouraged.’
For the full article, please see: https://icld.se/en/article/tapera-joy-mbewe-youth-champion-for-change/