Hendrina Givah, National Co-ordinator, FAWEMA. Providing a perspective from Malawian civil society on the challenges and opportunities in promoting education and gender equality in Malawi.

1. GENDER EQUALITY THROUGH EDUCATION IN
MALAWI: CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES
Dr Jane Cullen and Dr Lore Gallastegi
on behalf of
Mrs Hendrina Givah (National Co-ordinator FAWEMA)

3. What is FAWEMA?
FORUM FOR AFRICAN WOMEN
EDUCATIONALISTS IN MALAWI
(FAWEMA)
“Supporting Girls and Women to Acquire
Education for Development”

4. FAWEMA
• Vision: To enable girls and
women to exploit their full
potential in order to effectively
contribute towards community
and national development.
• Goal: To advance girls’
education and women’s
empowerment through
education.
• Strategy: Fostering positive
policies, practices, and
attitudes towards girls’
education

5. FAWEMA members planning activities

6. Cultural Challenges
• Puberty
• Caring responsibilities
– Community
– Family
– School
• Harmful cultural practices
• Early marriage
• Sexual violence

7. FAWEMA sanitary pad

8. Educational Challenges
• Physical challenges
– School buildings
– Distance to schools
• Lack of female role
models in schools
• Lack of enough
qualified teachers
• Fees in secondary
schools
– Self-boarding

9. Rural classroom

10. Opportunities to promote gender equality
• Mother Groups
• Gender Responsive Teaching
• TUSEME clubs: Speak Out clubs
• Female hygiene education
• Bursaries and awards
• Influencing policy making

11. Latrines built in for girl learners

12. Girls returning to school after Mothers group
initiative

13. Gender responsive training at TTC

14. Opportunities for young mothers

15. Malawi Access to Teaching Saltire Scholarship

16. Malawi Access to Teaching
Saltire Scholarships
• 1000 women in 4 districts returning to education
in their local communities
• Working in rural schools as Teaching Assistants,
acting as role models for girls
• Studying to retake secondary examinations which
could give them access to teacher training
• Helping to change perceptions among teachers
about girls’ and women’s role in education

17. Suggested ways forward
• Establish accountability forums; use a “name and shame strategy” of
districts with high school drop outs’. Hold duty bearers (MPs, Councilors
and local chiefs and parents) accountable by empowering children and
communities
• Reward communities, committees, teachers of school whose drop out
rates are decreasing.
• Lobby governments to make (lower) secondary school education free
• Increase supply of teaching/learning materials and infrastructures
including sanitary facilities for girls
• Introduce mobile laboratories/libraries for rural schools to increase access
to laboratory/reading facilities and science camps for rural girls (& boys in
examination classes)
• Empower young people through empowerment camps and identifying
youth ambassadors to help fight early marriage