Martha Mkandawire of Mwamilili Village, Traditional Authority (T/A) Mwankhunikira in Rumphi District wanted to become a peacemaker, but it was not easy.
“When conflicts get out of hand, it is women and children who suffer the worst,” she says. “However, culturally, a woman is not supposed to stand in public and speak in front of elders who are supposed to advise her.”
Despite the zeal to participate in preventing and resolving conflicts in her rural community, Mkandawire, 22, did not know how to do it.
“As a woman, I had to tread carefully on sticky issues, especially in view of the male-dominated culture,” she says.
Catherine Nyirenda, 23, from T/A Katumbi in the district, also had similar challenges.
The two are living their dreams after attending a training under the Lwandi Lithu community-led conflict management project implemented by Centre for Civil Society Strengthening (CCSS) and God Cares Rights with funding from the Women Peace Humanitarian Fund through UN Women.
The two young women say the training equipped them with the necessary skills for conflict prevention and response.
“There are several pressure points we need to correct. In my area, land normally belongs to men because they believe that women will marry and move to their husbands’ villages. We need to deal with this, but it’s not easy,” says Mkandawire.
Nyirenda says awareness of the prevailing cultural norms can handle a situation well.
“As young women, we have to show that we understand the cultural sensitivities and have capacity to intervene when a problem crops up,” she argues.
Malawi Human Rights Commission was part of the training to equip young women with leadership skills and human rights approaches.
MHRC executive secretary Habiba Osman says young women need to understand people’s rights and responsibilities.
“Some people think rights are open-ended, but freedoms have limits,” she says. “At the peak of the Covid-19 pandemic, everyone had to obey an order to wear masks, rights or no rights.”
Rumphi district community development officer Robert Chidothe says it is important to empower young women with leadership and conflict management skills.
He argues: “We should accept that girls and young women have a role to play in uniting and developing our communities. With proper knowledge and skills, they can bring people together to carry out development activities as one. After all, what a man can do a woman can also do if given equal opportunities.”
God Cares Rights Foundation executive director Agnes Mughogho, said the 18 young women from 18 area development committees (ADCs) in Rumphi learned how to settle conflicts and make peace in their communities.
“We have many brilliant young women in our communities who can become cornerstones in uniting their rural areas if we give them chance,” she said.
CCSS executive director Viwemi Chavula expects some of the trained young women to even contest for decision-making positions, including parliamentary seats and ward councillorship in the September 16 General Election.
The training mainly focussed on the responsibilities of young women in peacebuilding, conflict management, human rights violations and, entrepreneurship.
“We hope these will enhance awareness and promote female leadership and women participation in decision-making while fostering community dialogue,” she said.
The 22-months project aims to enhance and entrench transformative conflict prevention efforts at community and district level.
