MUMBI Phiri’s latest remarks about women in leadership are deeply troubling for a country that is still struggling to expand space for women in governance. At a time when Zambia needs more voices promoting gender inclusion, it is shocking that a woman with her political experience would choose to publicly demean her fellow women by suggesting that running mates should not be chosen simply because they “have breasts.” That kind of language does not only trivialise women, it undermines decades of work put in by countless Zambian women who have fought to be taken seriously in public life. Nobody is saying leadership roles should be handed out based on gender alone. Competence, integrity and capability must always be the basis...