Out of all women in Malawi, Gondwe stood out as presidential candidate for the National Rainbow Coalition (Narc) party to compete with men including Malawi Congress Party (MCP)’s John Tembo and Democratic Progressive Party (DPP)’s Bingu wa Mutharika.

But despite being the first woman to run for the highest office Gondwe was not fully supported even by fellow women.

Some women Members of Parliament (MPs) in Malawi even admitted at a Centre for Human Rights and Rehabilitation (CHRR) workshop in Lilongwe that they did not support her.

The female MPs said they allocated their loyalty to their parties and male leaders who were heading their political parties and not Gondwe. This was against a saying by the late Dr. Kwegyir Aggrey from Gold Coast (presently Ghana) that educating and empowering a woman at all levels was equivalent to educating an entire nation.

According to the Southern African Development Corporation (SADC)’s research wing, the Southern African Resources and Documentation Centre (SARDC) in Gaborone Botswana one of the major stumbling blocks to southern Africa’s development is the cultural set up in the region whereby women regards themselves as inferior to men at all levels.

The centre exposes that in southern Africa, the cultural values that boys and girls adapt at a very early age of regarding men as leaders and owners of property while women just as helpers of men are contributing to underdevelopment in the region.

Monopoly

These values are even behind men’s monopoly over resources for development as well as leadership roles.

Achieving outstanding social economic development in the region will therefore, remain a dream because women make a greater part of the region’s population but denied resources and power.

SARDC discloses that for example despite the fact that women in southern Africa make 70 out of 100 farmers producing food in the region they are denied access to land hence this has been creating pockets of hunger in southern Africa.

The centre says for example, in Malawi’s neighbour, Zambia, women do not have access to land ownership because 90 percent of available land for agriculture falls under traditional land which is in the hands of chiefs following patriarchal principles in its allocation.
The system gives women no direct access and control over land for agricultural production denying women from producing more food in the field in the process.

SARDC further says even where technologies are identified to improve southern Africa’s economic back bone, agriculture; agricultural technical experts develop more technologies to cater for crops grown by men and not those by women.

Even on ownership of livestock in Southern Africa men also generally own more cattle than women and the centre gives an example of Botswana saying women just owned 14 of every 100 herd of cattle while men the rest.

Before her term expiry as United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) Resident Representative in Malawi, Esperance Fundira at a workshop in Lilongwe attributed the high rates of HIV and AIDS infections in Malawi and southern Africa than any other part of the world to lack of women empowerment at all levels.

“Women with no resources for developing or sustaining their own lives have a higher risk of contracting HIV and AIDS than their colleagues who are empowered. For instance, widows particularly in rural areas who have been stripped off land have very few economic options to secure their livelihoods and that of their children,” said Fundira then adding, “Often this leaves women with no alternatives but to engage in risky survival strategies for money, housing and food and puts them at higher risk of contracting the virus.”

Malawi like other countries in southern Africa are signatories to regional and international conventions aiming at empowering women at all levels economically and in making decision.
However, the country still has a long way to go to empower women who also make over 50 percent of the country’s population.

After the Malawi’s May 19 2009 general elections for example the number of women MPs rose from 14 percent to 22 percent.

Gender and Development

It is even further from the 50 percent by 2015 agreed by most SADC leaders when they signed the Protocol on Gender and Development.

This is also far from the 30 percent by 2005 target which was set by the SADC region.

During the last general elections about 125 women competed for the 193 seats, with only 43 successfully claiming seats in Parliament.

The most exciting landmark however, was that for the first time since independence in 1964, Malawi also has a female Vice-President, former Minister of Foreign Affairs Joyce Banda.

The low representation of women makes it difficult to ensure government creates policies and programmes to reach a number of the SADC Protocol’s provisions, of economic empowerment of women, including access to productive resources.

Ngeyi Ruth Kanyongolo, a law lecturer at the University of Malawi, appealed to policy makers to put into practice issues to do with women empowerment.

She described how being deprived of economic resources disadvantages Malawian women.

“Women in Malawi don’t have control over their own income, and access to loans and farming land is very minimal. If only more women are ushered in decision- making positions women will continue lagging behind and remain spectators than participants in development,” she said.

Kanyongolo further explained that Malawi needs many diverse initiatives if economic and social rights are to be a reality for women.

Centre for Human Rights and Rehabilitation (CHRR) Executive Director Undule Mwakasungula said Malawi pledged to achieve 30 percent women representation in decision making by 2005.

“Currently, Malawi would like equal representation in decision making for men and women under the on-going 50-50 campaign,” said Mwakasungula.

Dominance

He however, added that men continue to dominate in everything yet problems facing Malawi are affecting more women than men.

“Ask them of the long distances they walk everyday to fetch water; talk of the impact of HIV and AIDS. Talk of the long distances they travel to get to the nearest health centre for medical care only to be told that there are no drugs. It is women who have the first hand information of these problems,” said Mwakasungula who praised Mutharika’s efforts to empower women.

First Lady Callista Mutharika said one of pillars of her Callista Mutharika Safe Motherhood Foundation (CMSMF) is to empower women.

“It is encouraging that the number of women in Parliament increased from 14 to 22 percent due to government and its partners’ efforts during the last general elections,” said Callista.

She however, said women representation was still low at all levels in Malawi therefore, urged government and all stakeholders join hands in women empowerment.

Malawi’s ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Director for Women Patricia Kaliati admitted that men do everything in the country to block women from assuming decision making positions.

“Despite that Malawi is part of the global village where women alongside men have to play their roles in social-economic development at all levels there are still some men who feel insecure with productive women,” said Kaliati.

She said unless such men’s mindset is changed to regard women as partners in development, women empowerment will continue dragging in Malawi and southern Africa.

“If Malawi is to achieve social-economic development and eradicate poverty women who are even in majority than men have to be supported materially, financially, morally by men and not be sidelined or denied opportunities,” said Kaliati.

Appreciating that Africa cannot fully achieve social economic development without empowering women in October last year at the launch of Women’s Decade (2010-2020) in Nairobi, Kenya President Bingu wa Mutharika boasted that Malawi is one of the countries in Southern Africa incorporating gender in its development efforts through Malawi Growth and Development Strategy (MDGS).

He even said his administration fully recognizes that gender equality and women empowerment is globally recognized as a human right and integral issue to achieving Millenium Development Goals (MGDs).

“During my entire career in various international organizations and national positions I have pushed the role of women to a pivotal position in governance at all levels,” said Mutharika.

Soon after succeeding Bakili Muluzi as President Mutharika even won praises for appointing women in high ranking decision making positions including Mary Nangwale as Inspector General of Police, Attorney General Jane Ansah, Vice President Joyce Banda, including in the cabinet, directors in ministries, in Malawi’s foreign missions and just recently appointed Rosemary Kanyuka as the first ever woman Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) but mentioning a few.

Mutharika even received a torch in Oslo, Norway recognizing his women empowerment efforts in Malawi.

In Joyce Banda alone Mutharika sow seeds of hope in Malawian women’s hearts that Malawi will have its own ‘Ellen Johnson Sirleaf’ after he goes to retirement at Ndata Farm in Thyolo in 2014.

Banda, a wife to retired Malawi’s former Chief Justice Richard Banda has among other things a vast experience in international relations, acquired while serving and travelling to many countries including Iran as Malawi’s Foreign Affairs Minister during Mutharika’s first five year term.

She has also won international recognition and contributed to fight against at Hunger Project in Malawi. Recently, Banda was also reported invited to Harvard University to give lecture.

Banda also fought for fellow women economic empowerment at the National Association of Business Women (NABW).

She has also been contributing to education improvement through her Joyce Banda Foundation.

However, DPP fired Banda from the party allegedly for among other things dividing the party through creating parallel structures.

“As a party we have settled for Professor Peter Arthur Mutharika to take over from his brother Professor Bingu wa Mutharika in 2014,” said DPP Secretary General Binton Kutsaira recently in the lakeshore district of Mangochi hence it is yet to be seen if powerful women like Banda are sidelined poor rural women will have the courage to stand out from the crowd to equally compete for opportunities with men at all levels.