Malawi: Gender transformative effects through the implementation of land rights for women

The Customary Land Law, i.e. the law concerning land that is traditionally owned, was newly enacted in Malawi in 2022 after lengthy consultations with civil society organisations and the traditional village heads (chiefs). In contrast to common practice in patrilineal societies in northern Malawi, it provides for land rights for women. However, the implementation of this law is still in its infancy in Malawi. The majority of people in rural areas are unaware of the law, and women in particular are not aware of their rights. In the patrilineal society, a woman moves to her husband‘s village when she marries and rarely owns land independently to cultivate. Land is usually owned jointly with the husband to cultivate. The women also work in the family fields, but it is often the men alone who decide how to utilise the proceeds. After divorce or the death of the husband, women are usually required to return to their parents and must usually leave most of their possessions with the husband‘s family. The „Land Rights for Women and Marginalised Groups“ project, which is funded by Misereor and implemented by the Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace (CCJP) of the Diocese of Mzuzu, is working with the Ministry of Lands to implement access to land for women and the issuing of land titles for women in the Rumphi district in northern Malawi. The project also encourages women to implement agro-ecological farming techniques in the project impact areas. Widows and divorced women in particular, who are treated more or less with disrespect on their parents‘ farms, can not only feed themselves and their children by owning and independently cultivating land while applying agro-ecological farming methods but also generate income by selling part of their harvest, which they can invest in their children‘s schooling, in the purchase of more land or in starting some other income-generating activity to support reinvestment in agriculture. They also become respected members of their society again, participating in the decision-making process in the village.