Women go for Shakafuswa

Women go for Shakafuswa
By Lambwe Kachali
Monday March 24, 2008 [16:15]

THE women movement has demanded that finance deputy minister Jonas Shakafuswa resign for regarding women as sexual objects. In an interview yesterday, Women for Change (WfC) executive director Emily Sikazwe said Shakafuswa should resign from government because Zambian women would not tolerate his behaviour. Sikazwe said there was great need for Shakafuswa to be taken to ‘male Alangizi’ and be taught good morals on how to respect women.

"As women of Zambia, we cannot allow this kind of unbecoming behaviour from a government minister. We are calling for his resignation and we are very clear about that," she said.

Sikazwe said Shakafuswa's outbursts did not reflect drunkenness but showed how some MMD leaders disrespect women in the country. Sikazwe said although Zambia had a gender policy, it lacked implementation as government leaders had continued to abuse it. HIV/AIDS consultant, Professor Nkandu Luo, said Shakafuswa had degraded the status of women in Zambia as well as that of President Mwanawasa, the appointing authority. Prof Luo said the President should show leadership by firing Shakafuswa.

"...In any normal country Shakafuswa should resign. We are demanding that President Mwanawasa fires him immediately before we demonstrate on the streets. Shakafuswa has insulted us, his wife including his own mother. He has also embarrassed President Mwanawasa and his government. Therefore, there should be no sacred cow," Prof Luo said. "And if Shakafuswa can use his power and money to spread AIDS, that is very sad."

Prof Luo said Shakafuswa's statement that if a woman wanted to be 'slaughtered' then let her be done was a serious insult and disregard to the womenfolk in the country.

She said it was extremely ridiculous that some men had continued to be arrogant towards women and perceived them as objects for sexual satisfaction.

Prof Luo said women were spending sleepless nights to fight the spread of HIV/AIDS and yet some ministers like Shakafuswa were using their money to perpetuate the vice and abuse poor women who are the majority in the country.
Prof Luo, who is also Tasintha programme board chairperson, said the organisation had been looking for men who are commercial workers so that they could be integrated into the transformation programme.

"So for me there are two things we want; one, we would like to recruit him (Shakafuswa) into the Tasintha programme so that he goes through the process of transformation and two, that he should be sucked out because he is compromising our fight against HIV/AIDS," she said.

Prof Luo said Shakafuswa's behaviour sent wrong signals to the rest of Africa and the international community.
She said the deputy minister's apology did not hold water because the civil society had warned before that alcohol was the worst driver of the spread of HIV/AIDS.

"It is totally unacceptable and again he wants to use the alcohol story. I have been speaking for the last two years to say, can this country do something about alcoholism because it is a driver of HIV/AIDS but nothing has happened. So, he is just using it because he now knows that the story is sour and wants to hide in the name of alcohol. Can the President give an example by sucking some of these people who are not fit to be ministers because no person worthy being a leader can make the kind of statements," Prof Luo said. "Shakafuswa should also apologise to the women of Zambia."

Non-Governmental Organisations Coordinating Council (NGOCC) chairperson, Marian Munyinda said Shakafuswa's vulgar language would not be forgiven until he apologized to the women and the country as a whole.

Munyinda said Shakafuswa was supposed to behave like a role model and set an example for young people who were interested in joining politics.

She charged that Shakafuswa should not regard women as animals who could be used for his sexual satisfaction any time he wanted.

Munyinda urged the Speaker of the National Assembly Amusaa Mwanamwambwa to take serious action on the matter.
Young Women Christian Association (YWCA) national president Margret Kapihya said Shakafuswa did not deserve the position of deputy minister.

"No wonder the kind of debates that come out of Parliament. If people like Shakafuswa believe that women are there to be 'slaughtered' as long as he has money, he is ready to buy sex, it is very sad indeed. And we also know that he is a married man and I wonder what respect he has for his own wife if he can talk openly like that. Shakafuswa is supposed to protect the vulnerable people and not abuse them," said Kapihya.

Women activist Sara Longwe said the declaration of Zambia as a Christian nation was rhetoric.

Longwe said Shakafuswa had also insulted women of his constituency Katuba who voted for him.

She said it was important that Zambians realized the type of people they elected into public office.
Longwe said the people of Katuba should take Shakafuswa to task and advocate for his removal as area member of parliament.

"It is very disgraceful. It is taxpayers’ money Shakafuswa is boasting about and using it to abuse women. It is shameful to the MMD government and President Mwanawasa too. Shakafuswa is very ridiculous. He should not take women for granted just because of his little money that he has acquired after being appointed minister. I hope President Levy Mwanawasa won't sympathise with him on account of being his nephew. Let President Mwanawasa fire him and we are watching everything," said Longwe.

Last Thursday night, Shakafuswa threatened to beat up Chikankata UPND member of parliament Munji Habeenzu over his remark that National Assembly Motel has been turned into a brothel by members of parliament.

This follows Habeenzu's statement, two weeks ago during the debate on the policy statement of the 2008 budget estimates for the Ministry of Health, that even parliamentarians were engaging in extra marital affairs at the motel where they were being accommodated.

Habeenzu described the situation as dangerous in as far as the fight against HIV/AIDS was concerned.
But before Parliament adjourned, Shakafuswa threatened Habeenzu at the bar that he would be beaten up if he continued talking about what goes on at the motel.

Shakafuswa, who is also Katuba MMD member of parliament, said his wife consistently phoned him to find out whether he was in the chamber debating or 'slaughtering women' at the motel following Habeenzu's remarks.

He said if Habeenzu was so poor that he could not buy sex, it was important that he spared those with money to pay for it.
"I can beat you up. We will be beating you if you continue. You are very stupid, idiot, imbecile. How can you say such things in Parliament? If you are poor and cannot manage to buy sex, let people with money do that. You people in UPND are very dull. I know it's because you are very poor. If you don't know how to scr** women, just keep quiet before you are beaten up," Shakafuswa said. "If a woman wants to be slaughtered, then let her be done. The problem with many of you is that you don't know how to scr** women, no wonder they don't like you. That's why me, I don't like drinking from cheap places like this one."
However, Shakafuswa on Saturday apologised for threatening Habeenzu over his remark that National Assembly Motel has been turned into a brothel.

But Habeenzu has since maintained that he will not forgive Shakafuswa over his unwarranted behaviour and would write to Speaker Mwanamwambwa over the matter.