BY MBONO MDLULI
EZULWINI – Chiefs have been recognised for having played a positive role towards women empowerment in the country.
The recognition was made by Minister of Tourism and Environmental Affairs Jane Mkhonta-Simelane during the Gender In Energy Awards held at Royal Villas in Ezulwini. She said the chiefs were the ones that would invite her to conduct gender equality sessions in their chiefdoms. For that, she recognised the chiefs.
However, she narrated how difficult it was for her to get the traditional leaders to understand the importance of gender equality. She said in her career as a gender analyst, she would meet with chiefs to talk about these issues. In response, the chiefs would tell her in no uncertain terms that a woman, who went to her monthly periods, could not be fit to lead.
Mkhonta-Simelane said at some point, chiefs from the Shiselweni Region kicked her out of a meeting and she refused. She refused because she had to file a report to the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), which had sponsored her to conduct these sessions. Mkhonta-Simelane said she was afraid that she would report nothing to the UNDP and lose the sponsorship. So she defied them and refused to go.
What made the chiefs to give in to her advances was the fact that she once began to inform them that by failing to advance women empowerment, they were defying His Majesty King Mswati III, who had signed a SADC Declaration on Gender and Development in Blantyre, Malawi in 1987. She said whenever the chiefs gave her tough times, she would show them that signature.
The minister also told the attendance that energy is something that was thought to be owned by men in society and it was high time women took the space. This would help change the narrative that women had no space in the energy sector. She said in some settings, women were not allowed to even use electricity because men were the ones who made that available.
Importance of women in energy
The minister described energy as the lifeblood of any nation, driving economic development, innovation, and sustainability. However, for far too long, the energy sector has remained a space where women’s contributions have been undervalued. “Tonight, we break barriers and affirm our collective resolve to change this narrative,” she said.
Studies from McKinsey & Company have shown that companies with diverse leadership teams outperform their peers by up to 25% in profitability and innovation. Furthermore, research from the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) indicates that greater gender diversity in energy results in more sustainable and effective energy solutions. Investing in gender equality is not just a social obligation; it is an economic and developmental imperative.
