Status of women in Malawi: historical perspective (during Medieval period and pre-independent

Malawi) status of women in independent Malawi. Women empowerment: Meaning, Definition,

need for social work services.

What is women empowerment?

- It refers to women's ability to make strategic life choices which had been previously
denied them.
- Process by which women gain power and control over their own lives and acquire the
ability to make strategic choices. – European institute of Genger equality
- Women’s empowerment can be defined to promoting women’s sense of self-worth, their
ability to determine their own choices, and their right to influence social change for
themselves and others. – World Vision

Women's empowerment is the process of empowering women. Empowerment raises the status
of women through education, awareness, literacy, and training. Women's empowerment
equips and allows women to take life-determining decisions. They may get the opportunity to
redefine gender roles, which in turn provide them more freedom to pursue desired goals.

Women are taken as secondary to men in their social role by many of the philosophers. “Plato,
Aristotle, Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, Rousseau, and are not physically or mentally fit to
participate in politics on equal terms with men” (Barro, p. 2)

Definition: Empowerment is a “social action process that promotes participation of people,

organizations, and communities in gaining control over their lives in their community and larger
Societies” (Stein, 1997).

Empowerment means-

 having control, or gaining further control;

 having a say and being listened to;
 being able to define and create from a women’s perspective; being able to influence
social choices and decisions affecting the whole society (not just areas of society
accepted as Women’s place)
  being recognized and respected as equal citizens and human beings with a contribution
to make (Griffen, 1987

Theory of Women Empowerment

There are four waves of feminist movement.

The first wave occurred in the 19th and early 20th century movement for women’s right to vote.
The second wave in1960s and 1970s, moved for equal legal and social rights. The third wave
began in the 1990s, refers to a continuation and reaction to second-wave. The fourth wave that
began in 2012 and continues till now, talks about women empowerment. The fourth wave
seeks greater gender equality by focusing on gendered norms and marginalization of
women in society.

Traditionally, women are considered marginalized group especially women of colors and
transgender women. Fourth-wave feminist’s advocate for greater representation of these
groups in politics and business, and argue that society will be more equitable if policies and
practices incorporated the perspectives of all people.

Fourth-wave of feminism argues for equal pay for equal work and the equal opportunities sought
for girls and women and to overcome gender norms, for example expressing emotions and
feelings freely, expressing themselves physically as they wish, and to be engaged parents to their
children) and seek justice against assault and harassment is prominent.

Process of women empowerment

The first step begins at a personal level. An individual woman develops feelings of personal
power, command and self-sufficiency over material and inherent choices she has to make.

Second step, empowerment takes place on interpersonal level. Here a woman influences
the decision making power of another woman through their contact and working together.
Third step, they emphasize the goals for social action and social change. A
community development programs develops through a group effort. A community
development programs can lead to individual empowerment and interpersonal empowerment.

Dandikar (1986) described empowerment as a multidimensional process, which includes-

 Economic capacity
 Human capacity
 Social capacity
 Gender equality
 Political influence

The seven Principles of Women Empowerment

Principle 1: Create high-level corporate leadership for gender equality

Principle 2: Treat all people fairly at work, respecting and supporting non-discrimination and
human rights

Principle 3: Ensure the health, wellbeing and safety of all workers, whether male or female

Principle 4: Promote education, training and professional development for women

Principle 5: Implement supply chain, marketing practices and enterprise development that
empower women

Principle 6: Champion equality through community initiatives and advocacy

Principle 7: Measure and report publicly on progress to create gender equality

The 5 pillars of women empowerment: Education, Health, Security, Finances, Emotion.

History of Women Empowerment in Malawi

The status, rights, and roles of women in Malawi have been in constant flux since at the least the
mid-19th century.

In the pre-colonial period, principles of matriliny organized social structures within many
communities in Malawi, affording women rights to land, property, products of labor, and
children, and influence in group decision-making.

The mid-19th century ushered in a period of disturbances and social transformations that led to
changes in economic, political, religious, and familial practices. Changes in key institutions
impacted women’s access to land and their influence in governance. Women in Malawi were
excluded from new commercial and political opportunities as long-distance commerce increased
in the region. Increasing commodification of people endangered women within intensified trade
and military conflict. Patterns of increasing exclusion and endangerment of women continued
beyond the mid-19th century after the slave trade was challenged.

In the period immediately preceding colonial rule and also during the colonial period, women
actively sought to maintain rights and influence through their involvement in Christian
institutions, their appeal to courts, public protests, and through their subversive expression in
songs, stories, and possession cults.

In post-colonial Malawi, women did not gain the freedom that they had struggled for during the
anti-colonial movements. Kamuzu Banda marginalized women from access to power and
decision-making. He maintained a paternalistic approach to women’s issues which included
controlling every aspect of their lives.

The constitution adopted in 1994 with democratic reforms laid a strong foundation for women
achieving rights and improving their socio-economic status. However, women still faced
obstacles in fully realizing their rights and continued to be marginalized by Banda’s successors.
Women’s participation in leadership was limited to showing support for the president.

The election of Joyce Banda as the first female president did little to improve the status of
women. Backlash against her ascendance to the position eroded women’s access to decision-
making posts in the government. In the first two decades of the 21st century, the government of
Malawi responded to pressures from women’s rights advocates to legislate against gender-based
violence and child marriage. However, there has been little evidence of sustained and
coordinated women’s movements and activism aimed at improving women’s socio-economic
status. Much of the work women do to improve their position and that of their families and
communities takes place on a small scale or involves cooperation with precariously funded
nongovernmental organizations and community-based organizations.