Malawi’s former First Lady Patricia Shanil Dzimbiri has attributed her victory as Member of Parliament for Balaka West to the people of the constituency.

She said this on Monday in Lilongwe in an interview after taking an oath.

“It was tough; as you know women did not perform well in the election and standing as an independent, without any party backing it was not easy.

“But it was the passion to develop my constituency, coupled with the support I was getting from my constituents that gave me courage to hang on.”

She, however, blamed politics of mud-slinging saying she had suffered a lot of castigation and intimidation from her fellow contestants.

Shinil is among 30 women MPs who have made it to Parliament