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    "id": 669298,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/669298/?format=api",
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    "content": "brought to the table. Some of the women who attended the conference had suffered through the nominations from their political parties, seclusion and not being able to voice their concerns or their objectives on why they are in politics. We came to the conclusion that women should be supported by political parties. Mr. Speaker, Sir, for our South African counterparts, their political parties raise for them funds and they are supported on the ground. They are even given priority during nominations. That does not happen in our country but I hope that one day, Jesus will come back and there will be fair nominations in this country. Women will not only be given positions to be called “flower girls” by their political parties. Some women parliamentarians have brought quality Motions and Bills to the House. I am aware that some of these positions would not have been attained were it not for the political parties. However, where does the engagement end? Are the political parties aware that we brought Bills to Parliament? I do not think so. However, political parties should support us and our engagements and know how far the Bills that we bring to Parliament go in as far as implementation goes. With regard to funding of the political parties, we realized that most of the women Members of Parliament who attended this conference had no financial support from their political parties yet political parties and their constitutions stipulate that women should be supported not because they are a lesser gender but because we need to stand and defend our political parties. We need to be funded for that. I know that does not happen in this country but as I said, I hope that it will happen one day. Mr. Speaker, Sir, we also discussed the issue of women and the media. Most of the people who attended the conference gave their experiences on how media exposes their inadequacies. For instance, if Sen. Kanainza lost her purse, the media will make it a big story. A small thatched house can be made to look like a mansionette when it comes to discussing women issues. In other words, stories about women are exaggerated and tend to move towards the negative. However, no one defends us. We remain to defend ourselves from such stories. We are left alone to defend ourselves against the public and everyone else. We learnt that the women the Members of Parliament need to prepare their families for such things. Most of us have had very bad experiences with bad press and attacks. Our families did not know how to react in such instances. The first people that you need prepare for such instances are your family and friends because they are the only people who are left to stand with you. A media personality was there to train us on how to handle bad and good press. We were also taught how to create relationships with media personalities so that whenever there is bad news about a woman on a Thursday, good news can be highlighted on a Friday. As women parliamentarians, we need to work towards capitalizing on the good news that has been highlighted about you. We are aware that darkness cannot drive away darkness. However, light can drive away darkness. Bad press can only be taken away by good press. Therefore, as women parliamentarians, we need to create a good relationship with the media personalities so that the pill is not too bitter to taste. Mr. Speaker, Sir, we need to create a good relationship with the male Members of Parliament if they allow us. We need their support. I remember during the debate on the The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate"
}