Women’s participation in local development – A case study of Zomba District Council in Malawi

ABSTRACT

Malawi has decentralised development planning structures to create a representative system of local government and a base for participatory democracy in development. This paper, which is based on data collected through literature review supplemented by key informant interviews interrogates the extent to which decentralisation has generated opportunities for increased women’s participation and representation in local government development structures. The paper contends that although decentralisation has generated opportunities for increased women’s participation, men’s domination supported by systemic, institutional and patriarchal norms and weaknesses in the enforcement of policies complicate the situation. Therefore, pragmatic policies and actions must be pursued to improve women’s participation at local and national levels. These should include the introduction of specific quotas in local government structures, building public awareness on gender perspective, enforcement of existing gender policies and concrete action which translates into women having a voice, power, and the capacity to organise and mobilise themselves.

KEYWORDS:

• Women’s participation
• decentralisation
• development
• planning
• Malawi

1. Introduction

Women’s participation in governance structures has received international, regional and national recognition. It remains a core issue anchored to democratic governance in developed and developing countries (Miranda, 2005). There are calls for addressing historic women’s exclusion and gender imbalance in structures such as local government and the creation of an environment where women can exercise their rights and equally participate in decision making positions (Ndlovu & Mutale, 2013). The major reasons for the adoption of some form of decentralised system of government are well documented (Rondinelli & Cheema, 1983:11–13). Most developing countries have adopted political and administrative decentralisation as a strategy to increase women’s participation and representation in the local development planning institutions (Tordoff, 1994). Politically, decentralisation is considered a means of deepening democracy and promoting accountability and transparency. Administratively, decentralisation is regarded as a key strategy that facilitates effective coordination of community participation in development planning and implementation of policies (Mutizwa-Mangiza & Conyers, 1996:79).

In Malawi, there were hardly any specific policies on women’s participation in local governance structures during Banda’s single party rule (1964–93). As observed by Tiessen (2008:203), the political role played by women was centred on compulsory dancing and praise worship of the leader and ruling party during rallies through the Women’s League which was affiliated to the Malawi Congress Party (MCP) (Gilman, 2001; Mwakasungula et al., 2001). However, since the advent of the multiparty democracy in June 1994, local government system has been reoriented towards decentralised local governance. Among the steps taken, are included the adoption of the Republic of Malawi Constitution Act No.7 of 1995, the passing of the Local Government Act No. 42 of 1998 and the Malawi Decentralisation Policy which emphasises political decentralisation. The aim is to, among others things, promote participatory democracy in the local development planning institutions. Malawi is implementing sector devolution, a phased approach of decentralising functions from line ministries and government departments to sectors operating at the District level (UNDP, 2000). The process entails institutional and functional integration, rationalisation and human resources absorption and composite budgeting. In July 2001, guidelines for sector devolution were released by the Office of the President underlying the need for timely devolution of functions to the District Councils with the aim to promote citizen participation including women in the sector’s decision making processes (GoM, 2013).

However, there is a mismatch between the policy and practice as the implementation has been much of administrative decentralisation rather than political decentralisation. In some countries in Africa, the outcomes of decentralisation have been unsatisfactory. They have neither promoted participatory democracy nor have they led to viable local institutions instrumental to ensuring effective women political participation in local development planning institutions. As argued by Oyugi (2000:12), decentralisation has neither been a major process of good governance nor has it facilitated active women’s participation, in the local development planning institutions. Thus, decentralised strategies have failed to actualise genuine women’s participation due to inter-alia, centralised systems that allow minimal women’s participation and regulate local institutions heavily. The success of decentralisation initiatives in promoting women’s participation in the development process is dependent upon a number of internal and external factors. These include administrative capacity, socio-political and economic factors. According to Khosla & Bartha (2008), women are not well represented at the local level as they face a number of barriers that range from structural challenges in the political and economic institutions to cultural exclusion and stereotypes that perpetuate male dominance. Most local government institutions are patriarchal, designed by men and do not take into account women’s responsibilities.

In summary, there is no automatic relationship between decentralisation and increased women’s participation and representation and much depends on the context and unique circumstances in which local government operates. Therefore, this study interrogates the extent to which the decentralised local governance in Malawi enhances women’s participation and representation in local development since the adoption of the multi-party system of government (1994–2019 period). The focus is primarily on the qualitative participation of women and process of governance in local structures, namely, the District development planning institutions using Zomba District Council as a case study. However, an overview of the quantitative participation of women in the structures is also reflected.

The findings of this case study expose the variables and the underlying causes of inequality within the local government context. The study underlines the essence of increased representation and participation of women in public decision making arenas and the priority areas that require alignment of the policy and strategies for implementation with the aim to ensure gender-sensitivity and inclusiveness in public policy making, service delivery and overall socio-economic development. It also highlights sustainable ways for the elimination of the barriers to women’s participation and representation in decision making in the development related institutions. Overall, the analysis contributes to the debates about the relationship between women’s participation in local governance structures and the mechanisms through which decentralised reforms either fail or promote increased women’s engagement in the development process.

This paper is divided into six major parts. Part one introduces this paper on Women’s Participation in Local Development – A case study of Zomba District Council in Malawi. Part two highlights the significance of women’s participation and representation in local government. Part three presents an overview of the policy and regulatory framework which creates the environment in which women’s participation and local government plays out. This is followed by the clarification of the methodology adopted for this study in part four. Part five is the crux of this paper, which presents the findings of women’s participation and representation in Zomba District Council’s local development structures. It covers the contextual issues and process with District Council’s local development structures as well as the challenges and prospects facing women’s participation and representation at the local level. Finally, the concluding remarks are presented in part six.

2. The significance of women’s participation and representation in local government

The significance of women’s participation in decision-making structures, both formal and informal is well documented. For example, Heywood (1994:176) argues that equal representation of both men and women in decision-making structures is an important principle of fair democratic governance and a fundamental human right. According to Akpabio (2000), there cannot be true people’s participation in governance without the equal representation of women and men in all spheres of life and levels of decision making. Thus, under-representation of women’s local development planning structures is a violation of democratic principles of equal representation, participation and fairness taking into consideration that women comprise almost half the population in most countries. According to Rallings & Thrasher (1999:59), participation in the local political system is the essence of local democracy, and it is a means through which democratic character and incorporation of local knowledge, women’s interests and priorities into the policy formulation process are facilitated. Similarly, Narayan (2002:20) argues that women are at the heart of development and democracy, and they are the ultimate beneficiaries and agents of development and democracy. Therefore, women must have the authority and control over decisions and resources to ensure effective mobilisation and use of limited public resources.

As argued by Barakso (2007), women’s leadership style differs from men’s and women appear more likely than men to seek consensus and solicit input from others, and women are generally more likely to encourage participation than men. This implies that the achievement of equal representation and participation of women in decision-making in local government structures is of unique significance. Local governments are closest to the citizens and the decisions made have immediate effect on both women and men. Therefore, the presence of women in District and sub-District structures makes a difference in how the institutions are managed and reach decisions; women enhance and enrich the overall decision making process. Furthermore, local level structures are political bases and nurseries for leadership and management which provide an environment and opportunities to women, who are historically under-represented, to exercise their rights and gain experience and knowledge for seeking higher level offices. Therefore, decentralised local government structures and decision making process are significant for creating gender sensitive policies and for promoting sustainable development.

3. Overview of policy and regulatory framework

The process of promoting women’s participation and representation in local institutions such as District Councils and local development planning institutions largely depends on what happens at national and international levels and within the local government system. Therefore, it is useful to consider the policy and regulatory frameworks which create the environment within which initiatives to increase women’s participation and representation are undertaken.

Malawi accedes to a number of international, regional and sub-regional conventions, protocols and declarations which underline the importance of women’s right to participation in governance structures and decision making positions. These include the 1979 UN Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) which, in articles 2–4 and 7 provide guidelines, standards and specific actions towards achieving gender equality. For example, article 7 requires countries to take measures to eliminate discrimination against women in political and public life. Furthermore, the Beijing Declaration and Platform of Action of 1995 requires countries to prioritise women’s full participation in power structures and to take strategic action to address gender inequality at all levels. Other international instruments are the Universal Declaration of Human rights (UDHR) and the Sustainable Development Goal number 5 which requires countries to pursue gender equality and empowerment of women and girls.

At regional and sub-regional levels, the key instruments include the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights which came into effect on 21 October 1986, the Protocol to African Charter on the Rights of Women in Africa (the Maputo Protocol) of 2005, and the SADC Declaration on Gender and Development which requires member states to increase the number of women occupying positions in political and decision making by 30%. For example, Article 12 of the SADC Protocol on Gender and Development which was adopted in August 2008 recognises equal participation of women and men in decision making as a fundamental human right.

At national level, Chapter XIV, the Constitution provides for the creation of local government authorities whose responsibilities include the promotion of participatory approaches at local level. Section 146 (3) states that issues of local policy shall be decided at the local level under the supervision of local government authorities called assemblies (now called Councils). The above provisions envisage a decentralised local government system with an increased role of facilitating grassroots involvement that includes women. Section 12 of the Constitution provides for the adoption of policies and legislation aimed at achieving, among other goals, gender equality. Section 20 requires the state to attain gender equality and full participation of women in all spheres and it outlaws discrimination of all persons. Section 40 provides the right to political participation to both men and women. However, the Constitution does not include quotas and mechanisms that expressly guarantee women’s equal participation in areas of decision making in public institutions including local government.

The Gender Equality Act of 2013 provides for quotas in almost every crucial area of society including public service recruitment with the aim to promote gender equality and equal integration of men and women. However, the Act does not specifically include political and decision making positions. The Local Government Act No. 42 of 1998 provides the basic legal framework for promoting public participation that includes women through decentralised local governance structures. Section 3 of the Act provides that the objectives of local government are to further the Constitutional order in the country based on democratic principles, accountability, transparency and participation of the people in decision-making and development processes. Similarly, section 6 of the Act provides for the promotion of local democratic participation as one of the key responsibilities to be carried out by local government authorities. Furthermore, section 14 (2&3) provides for the creation of a District Council and other committees at area, ward and village levels in order to enhance citizen participation including women in governance and development.

The promotion of equal participation of men and women in decision-making is also reflected in the National Gender Policy’s theme 5 on ‘The Governance and Human Rights’ and the national development objectives as outlined in the Malawi Poverty Reduction Strategy and Malawi Growth and Development strategy. However, it is the N33ational Decentralisation Policy (2000:2) which clearly states that local institutions are established with the aim to, among others, facilitate the participation of the grassroots (which includes women) in decision-making; embrace participatory democracy, and strengthen and deepen democracy by bringing the services and decision-making closer to the public. Therefore, the decentralisation of political and administrative structures provides a base for participatory democracy and a representative system of government that promotes women’s participation in the development planning process.

However, Kayuni (2011) argues that what political elites promised in relation to women’s liberation in the advent of multiparty democracy has not been adequately translated in the current democratic system. Similarly, Malera (2005:16) argues that women’s participation and representation in governance structures is very low. The rate at which the gender equality policy initiatives have been translated into action over the years has been disappointingly slow. This is confirmed by the fluctuating trend and low percentage rates of women’s participation and representation in parliament and is shown in Table 1.

Table 1. Women participation and representation in parliament in percentage terms.

Year	1994	1999	2004	2009	2014	2019
Women percentage	5.6%	8.8%	14.6%	21%	17.2%	26%

Sources: (Tiessen, 2008 and Electoral Commission Report, 2019).

The results in Table 1 above show that although the 2019 women’s representation in parliament of 26% is higher than previous years, women remain under-represented. Thus, despite Malawi’s various gender equality initiatives including acceding to the international instruments and collaborative efforts with non-governmental organisations, women’s participation and representation in governance structures is still low.

It must be noted that only three local government elections were conducted - in 2000, 2014 and 2019. Women’s participation and representation rate in Councils was 8% in 2000; 13.4% in 2014 and 14.5% in 2019. Thus, since the advent of multi-party democracy in 1994, women’s participation and representation has been low both at the central government and local government levels. Therefore, this paper interrogates the extent to which decentralisation has generated opportunities for increased women’s participation and representation in local government development structures.

4. Methodology

The study adopted a qualitative approach. The existing literature on women’s participation and local development was systematically reviewed and synthesised. This involved a review of journal papers, conference papers, books, official reports and internet sources. A systematic review of literature attempts to collate all empirical evidence to answer a specific research question. It uses explicit, systematic methods that are selected with a view to minimise bias and thus provides more reliable findings from which conclusions can be drawn and decisions can be made. A systematic review of the literature is appropriate in identifying and appraising research based evidence and presenting it in accessible format. This methodology was supplemented by key informant interviews with 20 purposively selected senior District council officials.

5. Results and discussion

5.1. Women’s participation and representation in Zomba District Council’s local development structures (2014–19).

The District Councils are empowered by Section 6 (1) of the Local Government Act of 1998 ‘to promote infrastructure development, approving and implementing projects'. Section 14 (3) allows the creation by the District Council of standing committees at the District level as well as other committees at area, ward and village levels in order to enhance citizen participation including women in the local development planning and implementation process. In this analysis, attention is given to the local development planning and implementation structures, namely, the Council, Development Committee, Area Development Committee (ADC) and Village Development Committee (VDC).

5.1.1. District Council

The Zomba District Council is the main policy making body and it comprises two major structures, namely the political and the administrative structures. The political structure, according to section 5 (1) of the Local Government Act of 1998, includes councillors elected from each ward; members of parliament; traditional chiefs; and five appointed members to represent special interest groups. The administrative structure, also called the Council Secretariat, comprises sector head and staff with the District Commissioner as the head. The Council Secretariat is responsible for the day-to-day running of administrative activities and implementation of decisions taken by the Council (GoM, 2013). Overall, the Council is responsible for the mobilisation of resources for community projects consolidated in the District Development Plan.

Regarding the political structure, out of a total of 45 Council members, elected women, which includes councillors and members of parliament (MPs), are voting members in the council. Thus political leadership qualities is the major asset for women to be elected. During the 2014–19 period, there were 6% of women councillors; 9% women Members of Parliament; and 10% were Traditional chiefs. The study revealed that women’s representation is significantly low in Zomba District Council and far from gender parity. This implies minimal input by women; as such, their diverse interests may not be adequately incorporated into Council deliberations and resolutions. The administrative structure of the Council is also male dominated with only 11% women’s representation in key leadership positions of District Commissioner and Council directorates. In addition, out of the 15 devolved sectors heads, only four are women, representing 27%; and out of 45 members of District Executive Committee members, only eight are women, representing 18%. In short, there are few women occupying key decision making positions in Zomba District Council management and sectors, which is attributed to the small pool of educated females in Malawi. The situation is attributed to the requirement of merit and education qualification. Both women and men undergo a selection process where the most suitable for the position is appointed. There are fewer women than men who have basic qualifications to compete for the positions and therefore requirement for participations includes the attainment of appropriate level of education. Thus, despite efforts to bridge the gender gap in education, it is still a challenge to maintain gender parity especially in senior classes of primary school, and the gap progressively widens into secondary and tertiary education.

5.1.2. Development Committee

The Development Committee is one of the service committees of the Council, which has the responsibility to coordinate development initiatives at Council level. It reviews and submits the draft Social Economic Profile (SEP) and Local Development Plans (LDP) to the full Council for consideration and approval. The Development Committee also oversees the implementation of the LDP (GoM, 2013). The committee is male dominated; out of nine members, only three are women, representing 33% (males include four councillors and two MPs while females include one woman councillor and one from a special interest group). Although women’s representation is higher in this committee than in the Council, males still dominate. The situation translates into minimal input of women’s concepts of development insights, values, and visions which are different from those of men owing to their sex and gender roles and life experiences.

5.1.3. Area Development Committee (ADC)

The Area Development Committee (ADC) is a forum for representatives from within the jurisdiction of the Traditional Authority and Sub Traditional Authority. There are 11 ADCs in Zomba, each with an executive committee which comprises 16 members. The committees also incorporate two members (one male and female who serve as chair and vice) drawn from Village Development Committees (VDCs) operating in the ADC’s area of jurisdiction. The functions of the ADC include setting up priorities, preparing project proposals that address community needs; organising monthly meetings; supervising, monitoring and evaluating the implementation of projects; bringing together community members and resources for self-help projects; and improving and prioritising project proposals before submission to DEC (GoM, 2013). The study revealed that 36% of the ADCs had equal representation of men and women. while women were in the majority in 54% of the ADCs. The situation is attributed partly to the requirement that where a male person is elected as an office bearer in the ADC or VDC, the vice should be female. In short, women’s participation and representation in Zomba ADCs is higher than in the upper District Council structures such as the District Council and the Development Committee. The women who participate in ADCs and VDC are mostly those that aspire to political leadership, including housewives and local entrepreneurs.

5.1.4. Village Development Committee (VDC)

The Village Development Committee (VDC) is the forum which is closest to the people and represents the interest of communities at group village level. There are 119 VDCs in Zomba. Each VDC comprises one elected member from the village: the councillor of the ward in which the VDC is located; four women representatives nominated by people within the VDC, and an extension worker operating in the village. The functions of the VDC include prioritisation of community needs as well as preparing project proposals for submission to the ADC; supervision, monitoring and evaluation of the implementation of development activities in the villages; initiation of community self-help activities; mobilisation of community resources for people’s participation in self-help activities; and reporting to the relevant group village headman on discussions and activities of the committee (GoM, 2013).

The study established that women’s participation and representation was higher in the ADCs than in the top District Council structures. It was also revealed that more women in villages have time to attend to local forums than men as the latter are busy earning a living. Zomba District is a matrilineal society and more participation and representation for women is anticipated than in patrilineal areas where male dominance is high. In addition, the ADCs and VDCs are regarded by the community members as lower level committees and inferior as compared with governance roles played by the Council and Ward committees. As such, ADCs and VDCs do not place high demands on eligibility criteria such as level of education, training and experience since they are considered by the public as lower status positions which are more appropriate for women. The increased number of women in ADCs and VDCs is also attributed to the prescription by the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development that at least four women’s representatives must be in VDCs. According to Chiweza (2015) women on average constitute 41% of VDC members; 27% of VDC chairmanship/vice; 38% of VDC Secretaries, 44% of Vice Secretaries and 47% of Treasurers.

Overall, the implication is that decentralised local government has provided space and opportunities for women to exercise their right to participate in the decision making process and to have their voices heard for inclusion into local development plans. However, although there is an increase in the number of women in ADCs and VDCs unlike in the upper Council structures, the challenge of achieving gender parity still remains. The under-representation of women is unfair and a violation of good governance which calls for equal representation in view of the fact that women comprise 52% of the country’s population. The total population for Zomba is 746,724 (356,718 male and 390,006 female). Thus, women represent 52% of the district population reflecting the national composition (NSO, 2018). Women are denied the opportunities to exercise their political rights and gain skills, experience and knowledge that would motivate them to aspire for higher level positions. The low women’s participation and representation in the governance structures particularly in local government is attributed to several political, socio-economic, and cultural factors which reinforce male dominance in governance institutions. The major challenges facing the enhancement of women’s participation and representation in local development planning structures are discussed in the section below.

5.2. Challenges and prospects

5.2.1. Challenges

The challenges facing women’s participation in local development planning structures are attributed to multiple and interrelated political, economic, and socio-cultural factors. Politically, the playing field is uneven due to male dominance which overshadows women. There is lack of acceptance of women into leadership positions by both men and women, which affect women’s assertiveness. Women respondent mentioned that they face unique problems to compete for elected position and cited ‘the need to seek permission from their husbands to participate’; ‘intimidating political environment and dark side of politics associated with hate speeches, corruption, violence and sexual harassment’. The intimidating political environment is further complicated by patriarchal norms and attitudes, which reinforce perceptions that ‘the woman’s proper place is in the kitchen’.

Economically, women operate within a political economy underpinned by resource constraints. During interviews, women made several remarks such as ‘we find difficulties to finance an election campaign’, ‘politics demands huge amounts of financial and material expenditure’; ‘the electorate expects handouts’, ‘most of us depend on our husbands for a living’ and in most cases the husbands cannot afford the costs or are simply not supportive. Thus, the lack of financial or income resources posed as major barriers for women to effectively compete for elected positions at the local level. The electoral politics, political competition and campaign are characterised by patronage, clientelism and dispensing of handouts. Thus, the lack of funds is an important resource constraint as many women find difficulties to pay for overhead costs including transport, and campaign material, such as t-shirt, caps, posters, among other materials used to motivate and mobilise votes, since most of them are middle-aged housewives, living on subsistence farming with very weak financial muscle.

Furthermore, the socio-cultural factors perpetuated by deeply entrenched cultural attitudes, prejudices and stereotypes which remain strong among both men and women in the rural areas pose challenges to women’s participation in local development planning structures. For example, during interviews and focus group discussions most men and women perceived a woman as inferior and incapable of providing leadership. The remarks made included: ‘woman cannot stand and speak in front of men’, ‘woman is not above man’; ‘men are born to be leaders; culture has it that women are weaker people’, ‘women grow up shy and cannot make good leaders.’ This implies that there is lack of recognition of women’s achievements among most community members. It was mentioned that there is ‘a pull down syndrome’ where women do not vote for fellow women on the pretext that women are not meant to be standing in front of men or leading as their rightful role is to obey and take orders from men.

A related dominant stereotype is that women who actively participate in public functions are of loose morals. Some men expressed fear that once women get involved in VDCs, ADCs and politics, they become ‘mahule’ (prostitutes). This negative perception regarding women who are engaged in public duties stigmatises and discourages them to compete for elected positions. Furthermore, the multiple traditional gender roles that include providing productive labour, domestic chores, and child bearing and rearing translate into lack of time and heavy workload.

The structural challenges that affect women’s participation in local development planning structures which are not unique to Zomba, include low levels of educational qualification, lack of technical skills, and governance structures. For example, despite the high women representation in ADCs and VDCs, the respondents during interviews stated that their active participation is hampered by their inability to speak out and articulate issues during public discussions, especially where men are present. Most women lack assertiveness and public speaking skills and are unable to clearly communicate and aggregate the diverse needs of the people. Chiweza (2015) observes that women could be physically present in the committees but they rarely speak when men are present. The situation is attributed to the less attention that is given to capacity building and empowering female representatives to participate in decision-making processes so that they can have the necessary skills to ably participate in leadership roles. Clearly, educated and well-informed women are a critical precondition for effective promotion of women’s political participation in development processes. Interviews with senior District Council officials revealed that most women representatives at the various levels have poor educational backgrounds and face problems in trying to understand policy issues relating to finance.

The foregoing discussion shows that the achievement of gender parity in governance institutions at local and national levels remains a challenge. In general, countries that have the highest number of women in local government are the ones that implement some kind of affirmative action measures. As observed by Ballinger (2001), only four out of the 14 SADC countries (Lesotho, Namibia, South Africa and Tanzania) have ever achieved the 30% mark of gender parity in local government. Lesotho is the only SADC country which exceeded the SADC target of 50% in local government where 330 out of 1272 local government electoral divisions were reserved for women. In 2008, the country achieved 58% women’s representation in local government. Similarly, in Namibia, an increase of women’s participation in local government is attributed to the legislation that requires the political party candidate list to include 30% women representation (Ballinger, 2001). At the parliamentary level, Ballinger (2001) observed that only five countries (Angola, Mozambique, South Africa, Tanzania and Namibia) out of the 14 SADC member states achieved the 30% target gender parity in the 2000s. Thus, the benchmark set as critical mass for women’s participation has been attained by very few countries at regional level.

5.2.2. Prospects

It is tempting to conclude that decentralisation has failed to improve women’s representation based on the fact that women do not constitute 50% of Zomba District Council members. However, there are some positive developments arising from decentralisation initiatives which support women’s participation in the local governance structures. As argued by Chiweza (2015), overall, there is improvement on women’s leadership in Councils with 28.6% of all female District Commissioners (DC) unlike in the early 1990s when there was only one female DC in the whole country. Women’s representation in the Zomba District Council is boosted by representatives from sectors heads and interest groups who attend Council meetings as non-voting members. The decentralised local government system also provides space which facilitates entry of additional women into the District Council and particularly in ADCs and VDCs.

Furthermore, the Gender Equality Act (2013) provides for quotas in almost every crucial area of society including public service recruitment with the aim to promote gender equality and equal integration of men and women. This provides an opportunity which requires enforcement in order to improve women’s representation and participation of female personnel in appointed positions including the Council as well as in devolved sectors, the DEC and AECs. The increase in women’s participation in ADCs and VDCs is partly due to government’s prescriptions on the composition of the committees. In summary, against the background that women were very much under-represented under MCP rule in Malawi, women’s participation and representation in the local development planning structures in Zomba District council represents a modest improvement. This shows that decentralisation is ‘working’ in improving women’s participation and representation at the local level.

6. Concluding remarks

The promotion of women’s participation in development is the key role of the Malawi local government as outlined in the Local Government Act No. 42 of 1998 and the Malawi Decentralisation Policy. Although women have not reached parity in Zomba District Council’s local development planning structures, their inclusion has nonetheless improved over time, albeıt slowly. Thus, decentralisation has generated opportunities and spaces for increased women’s representation in the Council structures and particularly in ADCs and VDCs.

However, the mere establishment of legal and policy framework does not guarantee promotion of gender perspectives and women’s participation in local development planning structures partly due to men’s domination supported by political, economic and social-cultural and patriarchal norms which must be challenged. The promotion of women’s participation in governance structures and leadership positions should go beyond token representation and embrace concrete action, influence and benefits for women. The introduction of specific quotas in local government structures will improve women’s participation and representation at the local level. Of greater need are intensive capacity-building programmes which aim to build public awareness of gender perspectives and enforcement of legal and policy framework that support gender equality. Women in Malawi constitute a significant critical mass whose participation in local development planning structures would positively contribute to both local and national development. Therefore, it is important that they should have a voice, power and capacity to organise and mobilise themselves and effectively participate in governance institutions at all levels.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).