The Malawi chapter of this series profiles the status of women in Malawi from 1997 to 2004 and records the extent to which practical and adequate steps are being taken to address gender concerns in all development sectors. It examines how Malawi is fulfilling its commitments under the Beijing framework, the SADC declaration on gender and development and to meet the targets of the Millennium Development Goals adopted in 2000. It considers to what extent the dimension of gender is being mainstreamed into every aspect of human life, examining all contexts within which women operate: social, economic, legal and political. 85pp, ZIMBABWE. SARDC.

The Muslim Association of Malawi, the GTZ Combating Gender Based Violence Project (German government international cooperation enterprise), the Mangochi Network against Gender Based Violence, and the GTZ consultancy unit Islam and Technical Cooperation in Africa cooperated to produce this study. It is based on nine public dialogues in Mangochi during 2005. A survey at the start of the project found that violence in all its forms physical or verbal is regarded within Malawi as an acceptable method of resolving conflict whether within the family, or in hospitals, prisons, schools and between political parties. The objective was to establish an environment where participations would be able to interpret their own rule system towards reaching consensus with the other groups. The contributions are left to speak for themselves, rather than being evaluated. 116pp, MALAWI. KACHERE SERIES.

Election campaigns, political events, and national celebration days in Malawi usually feature groups of women who dance and perform songs of praise for politicians and political parties. These lively performances help to attract and energize throngs of prospective voters. However, as Lisa Gilman explains, 'praise performing' is one of the only ways that women are allowed to participate in a male-dominated political system. Although political performances by women are not unique to Malawi, the case in Malawi is complicated by the fact that until 1994 all Malawian women were required to perform on behalf of the long-reigning political party and its self-declared 'President for Life', Dr. Hastings Kamuzu Banda. This is the first book to examine the present-day situation, where issues of gender, economics and politics collide in surprising ways. 268pp, USA. TEMPLE UNIVERSITY PRESS.

Rooted in theological reflection and missionary perspectives on the lives of the Nyanja women in Niassa province, Northern Mozambique, and on the Anglican Diocese of Niassa in central and southern Mozambique and Zimbabwe. It offers a wide critique of the impacts of the devastation of the war. Also examines the position of women in Mozambique and women in relation to theology elsewhere in Africa. BNS, 170pp, MALAWI. KACHERE.

Discusses the plight of widows who lose all access to matrimonial property once her husband dies. This dispossession has its own causes and effects and the authors demonstrate how these social and political factors are perpetrated both directly and indirectly. Bib, 112pp, MALAWI. KACHERE SERIES.

Born under British colonial rule, even as a child she was aware of the injustice meted out to her as an African and a girl. While struggling for her education, she met and fell in love with Orton Chirwa, a charismatic teacher and activist. From then on their fates became intertwined with the politics of their country after independence. As a campaigner, politician, lawyer, wife and mother, she has left an indelible mark on Malawian politics. Index, b/w photos, 208pp, UK. ZED BOOKS.

Although reliable data on the incidence of gender-based violence is scarce, there is an increas-ing body of knowledge indicating that it is widespread and common in Malawi. Story Workshop, supported by the Dutch organization Cortaid initiated the Kamanga Zula programme to fight Gender-Based Violence. At the heart of the project is two weekly radio programmes: a serial drama and a panel discussion covering all aspects of Gender Based Violence. A media analysis was carried out and workshops were organized for student journalists, both from the Polytechnic and the Malawi Institute of Journalism. The articles in this publication were written by the participants of those workshops for a media contest, organized as a component of the Kamanga Zula project. 128pp, MALAWI. KACHERE SERIES.

Focusing on intimate partner abuse only, the study explored sexual, emotional, and physical violence, as well as financial abuse. Gender violence has received increasing attention from policy-makers, the public sector and civil society in Malawi. Despite this, levels of abuse remain unacceptably high. There is, at the same time, an apparent awareness of various actions that constitute abuse and gender violence, and furthermore, an apparent disinclination to accept any such actions. This raises a dichotomy that is difficult to challenge: the conversion of awareness and ideological commitment to rejecting gender violence into actionable and physical resistance to such abuse. Tables, charts, 53pp, SOUTH AFRICA. INSTITUTE FOR SECURITY STUDIES.

2005 1919913939 Paperback

The findings of a study carried out in three rural districts of Malawi, it aims to explore the issue of gender based violence, known locally as 'nkhanza', and its impact on women's social and legal status. Concludes with recommendations and the outline of a practical project to build an empowerment strategy and enable Malawians to reflect on and challenge gender based violence. 90pp, MALAWI. KACHERE.

Assesses the disjuncture between Malawi's 1994 constitutional provisions for gender equality and women's empowerment and the gender imbalances in legal codes on wills and inheritance, citizenship, marriage and the rights of children born outside of marriage. 95pp, MALAWI. LAW COMMISSION.

2003 NO ISBN Pamphlet

Findings of a survey to collect baseline quantitative data on the extent of gender-based violence in schools, to explore the nature of such violence where it does occur, and to gauge the extent of the fear of such violence among school children, and assess perceptions of violence in this population. Tables, charts, 76pp, SOUTH AFRICA. INSTITUTE FOR SECURITY STUDIES.

2005 1919913912 Paperback

History of Malawian women concentrating on the 30 year period of Banda's rule. 127pp, UK. DUDU NSOMBA PUBLICATIONS, 0952223376

Describes how poor women in Malawi endeavour to make a living by agreeing to have sex with men in bars, rest houses, workplaces, and communities. Paradoxically, their fight for survival exposes them to the deadly risk of contracting HIV. Index, bib, notes, 362pp, NETHERLANDS. HET SPINHUIS.

The author argues that being Baptist gives women increased chances to define they space they live in, since Baptist polity and doctrine with its congregational independence and limited centralized organization creates room for local innovation. Apps, index, bib, 232pp MALAWI. KACHERE SERIES.