Aisha Annie Mambo-Adams is a

Malawi Malawi, officially the Republic of Malawi, is a landlocked country in Southeastern Africa. It is bordered by Zambia to the west, Tanzania to the north and northeast, and Mozambique to the east, south, and southwest. Malawi spans over and ...

an politician who in 2014 was elected to represent the Mangothi Nkungulu constituency. She is the only elected Muslim and she is a member of the United Democratic Front party.

Life

Adams was born in about 1974 and she was raised in Chimwala in Mangochi. After secondary education she became a teacher for six years. She was known as Achakongwe when she was a presenter on Radio Islam. Her popularity made it possible to stand for parliament in a constituency that is 95% Muslim. She encourages Muslim women to cover their heads and to not just do so on Muslim occasions. Adams became a member of the United Democratic Front party. In 2014 she brought the election process in the Mangothi Nkungulu constituency, where she was a candidate, to a standstill using a court injunction. She argued that the list of candidates had been interfered with and she asked the court to postpone the primary elections and to prevent certain people from being involved with the list of candidates. She refused to discuss her grievance with the press, but she noted that she was a loyal supporter of

Atupele Muluzi Atupele Muluzi (born 6 August 1978) is a Malawian politician, businessman and was a Member of Parliament for Machinga North East constituency from 2004 until May 27, 2019. He is also the President of the United Democratic Front and was a pres ...

and the United Democratic Front party. She was elected to represent the Mangothi Nkungulu constituency and she was one of the first women Muslims in parliament. In May 2019 she became the second deputy speaker in parliament. She and

Catherine Gotani Hara Catherine Gotani Hara is a Malawian politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and infl ...

were congratulated by the Malawi Human Rights Commission for being women appointed to such important positions. She was the first Muslim to be a deputy speaker but other Muslim women parliamentarians include

Abida Mia Abida Sidik Mia is a Malawian politician. She is the Member of Parliament for Chikwawa Nkombezi in Chikwawa District and she is a minister of water and sanitation. Political career She was elected to the Parliament of Malawi in the 2019 gener ...

Halima Daud Halima Alima Daud is a Malawian politician and deputy health minister. Life Daud was born in southern Malawi in Nsanje. She is based in Dowa and she was first elected to parliament in 2009 when 21% of the MPs were women. She lost her Dowa South ...

, Mwalone Jangiya and Esther Majaza. Adams visited Scotland at the end of January 2024 when she and deputy speaker Madalitso Kazombo were hosted by a meeting of the

Scotland Malawi partnership The Scotland Malawi Partnership (SMP) is a non-profit umbrella organisation which co-ordinates the activities of Scottish individuals and organisations with existing links to Malawi, and aims to foster further links between both countries. It i ...

. She is a keen supporter of higher education because it allows both individuals and the country to progress. She had welcomed the partnerships in education but she has also suggested that the Muslim community in Malawi should consider funding their own institutions of higher learning. In 2024, she was to be the United Democratic Front party's chair at their convention, but she resigned in September 2024. She was still supportive of the party but she found that internal differences of opinion had become too large. Adams is a member of the

Malawi Parliamentary Women's Caucus The Malawi Parliamentary Women's Caucus is a cross party group of women who are members of Malawi's National Assembly. It was formed in 1996 when there were nine women members of parliament who wanted to work together across parties whenever the ...

which was led by

Roseby Gadama Roseby Gadama became the Malawian member of parliament for Zomda Thondwe in 2019. She is the chair of the Malawi Parliamentary Women's Caucus and she sits on the Public Accounts Committee. Life Gadama was born in Mulanje in eastern Malawi. She ...

in 2024.

Private life

She is married to Simon Adams and they have four children.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Adams, Aisha Living people 21st-century Malawian women politicians 21st-century Malawian politicians United Democratic Front (Malawi) politicians Malawian Muslims Malawian radio presenters 1970s births