Jean Kalilani

Honourable Jean Kalilani MP
Minister of Gender, Children, Disability and Social Welfare
Incumbent
Assumed office 17 June 2017
President	Peter Mutharika
Member of Parliament for Dowa Central
Incumbent
Assumed office ?
Personal details
Nationality	Malawian
Political party	Democratic Progressive Party
Occupation	politician

Jean Alfazema Nachika Kalilani is a Malawian politician who has served in the Cabinet of Malawi as Minister of Home Affairs and Internal Security since 2015. Previously she was Minister of Health from 2014 to 2015. She is also the Secretary General of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and second term Member of Parliament for Dowa Central Constituency.[1]

Life

She worked for the World Health Organization in Botswana as a country representative.[2]

In 2010 she was elected to chair of Malawi Parliamentary Women's Caucus, in 2010, after a difficult time when Anita Kalinde was impeached. It was suspected that Anita Kalinde who was Joyce Banda's niece had used the position to forward their political ambitions. Kalilani was appointed as a minister in the following year and Christina Chiwoko became an interim chairperson until Cecilia Chazama was elected.[3]

After DPP candidate Peter Mutharika was elected President, he appointed Kalilani as Minister of Health in June 2014. She was moved to the post of Minister of Home Affairs and Internal Security in August 2015.[4]

Kalilani had been elected to be the DPP's Secretary General. She was replaced in 2014 by order of the DPP's executive committee by Ecrain Julius Kudontoni.[5]

In 2016 she was the Minister for gender, disability and social welfare. The government had passed a number of related acts of legislation so Kalilani worked with the ministry of rural affairs to organise a meeting of lady chiefs. Over two days they were encouraged to use their social capital to publicise this legislation and to encourage others to challenge traditions.[6]

She was invited by the African Union in 2017 to take the lead on gender for an African Union meeting.[7] In the following year she organised celebrations for International Women's Day involving the first lady Gertrude Mutharika and concentrating on women in the countryside. The progress of Malawi on gender was encouraged by the UN's representative Clara Anyangwe and Kalilani was invited to New York to discuss gender related issues at the United Nations.[8]

Kalilani is the mother of recording artist and aspiring politician Tay Grin.[9]

References

1. "AfriqueJet Actualités : résultats sports, Loto, Euromillions, My Million". www.afriquejet.com. Archived from the original on 2012-06-12. Retrieved 2016-12-16.
2. "Jean-Alfazema Kalilani". www.afdevinfo.com. Archived from the original on 2012-10-10.
3. Chiweza, Asiyati; Wang, Vibeke; Maganga, Ann (2016). "Acting jointly on behalf of women? The cross-party women's caucus in Malawi". CMI Brief. 8.
4. Thom Chiumia, "Nankhumwa, Muluzi demoted in Malawi cabinet protocol rank" Archived 2015-08-23 at the Wayback Machine, Nyasa Times, 19 August 2015.
5. Reporter, Nyasa Times (2014-10-13). "Political scientist faults DPP's removal of elected SG Kalilani - Malawi Nyasa Times - News from Malawi about Malawi". www.nyasatimes.com. Retrieved 2025-01-08.
6. Reporter, Nyasa Times (2016-07-22). "Custodians of cultural practices and beliefs are chiefs – Kalilani - Malawi Nyasa Times - News from Malawi about Malawi". www.nyasatimes.com. Retrieved 2024-12-30.
7. Reporter, Nyasa Times (2017-01-24). "Malawi chairs African Union gender ministers caucus ahead of AU Summit - Malawi Nyasa Times - News from Malawi about Malawi". www.nyasatimes.com. Retrieved 2024-12-30.
8. Reporter, Nyasa Times (2018-03-07). "Malawi to comemorate international women's day on 8 March - Malawi Nyasa Times - News from Malawi about Malawi". www.nyasatimes.com. Retrieved 2024-12-30.
9. "Malawi: DPP Unveils Rapper Tay Grin As Candidate in MP Bisnowaty's Lilongwe City Central". allAfrica.com. Archived from the original on 2018-09-24. Retrieved 2024-12-30.