Center for African Studies

Empowerment as Power Within: Women Self-assess the Status of their Rights in Malawi.

Emily Maiden, University of North Florida.

Emily Maiden is Assistant Professor of Political Science at the University of North Florida. Her research focuses on local governance in sub-Saharan Africa. She holds a dual PhD in Peace Studies and Political Science from the University of Notre Dame. Her work has appeared in Governance, Journal of Modern African Studies, World Development, and Journal of International Peace-building.

Over the past 30 years, Malawi has made sweeping legal reforms to improve the status of women. But how effectively has the government implemented these laws? Does the average Malawian woman understand the laws? Does she even know they exist? This article draws on scholarly critiques of women’s empowerment measures to argue against simply measuring women’s empowerment as power to; i.e., power to make decisions, own property, and vote. We must also measure women’s political knowledge and opinions. This form of empowerment focuses on measuring power within. Through focus groups in four districts of Malawi, I find that most women don’t know key human rights laws even exists, let alone any details of the laws. While Malawians are quick to blame their elected officials for creating and reinforcing barriers to political knowledge, one group of actors has the potential to help tear these barriers down: traditional authorities.

Time: 3pm

Location: 471 GRINTER