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NORGLOBAL-Norge - Global partner

Democratisation, Political Participation, and Gender in Malawi

Alternative title: Demokratisering, politisk deltakelse og kjønn i Malawi

Awarded: NOK 4.5 mill.

This project has examined the opportunities and obstacles for women to increase their political involvement in Malawi. We have examined the effects of female representation within three arenas where politics are played out; the executive branch (President's Office/Government), the Parliament/legislature, and the political parties. The main output of the project is a book entitled "Women in Politics in Malawi", with two editors (Inge Amundsen and Happy Kayuni), printed in Malawi and published jointly by the University of Malawi and CMI in September 2016. Among the most important findings (reported in the book, mainly), is the fact that Malawi ranks low on women representation in politics. Quite worrisome in this respect is the downturn in women representation in parliament as a consequence of the 2014 elections and the so-called "Joyce Banda effect"; it dropped down from 22.3 per cent in 2009 to only 16.7 per cent. In fact, if the previous increase had continued unabated and on the same rate (i.e. 5.5 per cent increase per election, which was the average from 1994 to 2009, without the 2014 backlash), women representation in parliament would have reached one third in 2019 and a full fifty-fifty balance in 2034. Now, with the backlash, the prospects are far bleaker. The numbers of women in cabinet has also been slightly increasing since 1994 when Malawi adopted a democratic system of governance, until the recent downturn. For instance, the representation of women in cabinet in June 2008 was 20 per cent, whilst that of June 2009 saw 23.8 per cent, which meant that Malawi fared above average in the region with regards to female representation at the cabinet level. However, the current cabinet has a much lower number; with the government reshuffle in August 2015, President Mutharika nominated only three women to his 20-member cabinet (one from each of Malawi's three regions), which is only 15 per cent. Also in terms of local politics (Malawi adopted decentralisation in 1998), the representation of women has been low. With the first local elections in 2000, women representation stood at 8.1 per cent, and with the elections in 2014, the number increased to 13.4 per cent. This is a significant increase, but still way below the SADC average of 24 per cent. This weak representation is due to a number of factors. Although the legal framework regulating women participation in politics is rather well developed (up to international standards), the laws and policies have failed to incorporate equality and non-discrimination principles in a consistent way. There is also one specific legal weakness: the law on political parties does not provide for gender parity (or any minimum number of female members or candidates) as a condition for party registration. It is a puzzle that women?s representation in Malawi?s parliament went down with the 2014 elections, despite the fact that people?s attitudes towards women politicians did not deteriorate much, according to various opinion polls. One explanation to this might be methodological (for instance does the so-called ?social desirability bias? tell us that respondents to opinion surveys tend to provide answers they believe the interviewer wants or is socially acceptable), but basically it was circumstantial factors like the 'Joyce Banda effect' and the 'cashgate' scandal. Furthermore, there was an impact of Joyce Banda?s womanhood. Using a widely circulated political campaign video-clip as a prime example, which portrayed Banda in exceedingly archaic, patriarchal and prejudicial terms, we have found that women are judged according to a ?different yardstick?. The use of symbols and metaphors portrayed Banda as a hyena, as a snake in the grass, as a cow (that cannot pull a cart), and as rubbish to be 'swept out'. Her failure was measured along gender lines. The development needs of their home area was a major concern and motivated women to stand for the 2014 local elections. The lack of potable water, income generating activities for women, early marriages of girls and other women interests? were important. However, when elected, their representation in service committees is low and they rarely reach beyond the role of vice-chairpersons of the councils, and they are inexperienced and struggling to cope with the demands of political office. Other important factors for women to come forward and stand for elections are support from spouses and traditional and religious leaders, and exposure to development projects, NGOs, and local government institutions. The women also face a number of inhibitive factors, however, like the competitiveness and corruption associated with politics. Besides, the 'gatekeepers' within the parties (people with power within a party, usually party chairpersons and secretaries) are determining women?s entry into politics. They can promote but also hinder women candidature.

This project is motivated by the need to better understand what promotes women's participation in politics and the possible effects of women's participation in different political arenas. The challenge to women participation in Malawi is the oscillating process of democratisation. The country experienced a substantial process of democratisation when multiparty elections were introduced in 2003-04, but the country has later experienced significant pressures in the direction of presidentialism, limited po litical competition, weakened checks and balances, and reduced accountability. What are the obstacles to and prospects for women's increased political involvement in Malawi? The project proposes to investigate the impact of three forms of representation , within three 'arenas' where politics is played out. We will present the numbers and analyse the trends and patterns of women representation; we will examine how female representation affects the policy process and outcomes; and we will study the attitud es towards women in the public sphere. This will be done in the three political arenas of executive/government, parliament/legislature, and within the political parties. While the point of departure for undertaking this study is firmly anchored in the Ma lawian empirical context, the research is also motivated by the broader trends in the scholarship on women in politics and an effort to understand the consequences of women's representation by focussing on substantive ('acting for') and symbolic ('role mo delling') representation. The methodology will basically be qualitative, like process-tracing of pro-women legislation and semi-structured interviews with key actors, official documents, reports, evaluations, newspaper articles and secondary literature. Also quantitative techniques like perception surveys will be used to investigate the effect of female representation on attitudes towards gender, and voting patterns in parliament.

Funding scheme:

NORGLOBAL-Norge - Global partner