Negotiating a Vision of Gender Equitable Learning for a Sustainable Future in Malawi

Malawi is one of the world’s 10 poorest countries (as measured by GDP); it is also rich in many ways, including Malawians’ strong work ethic and resilient extended family and clan structures. While Malawi has achieved... [ view full abstract ]

Malawi is one of the world’s 10 poorest countries (as measured by GDP); it is also rich in many ways, including Malawians’ strong work ethic and resilient extended family and clan structures. While Malawi has achieved gender parity in primary education enrollment, fewer girls complete primary, and the gender gap increases in the transition to lower secondary school. In addition, approximately half of Malawi’s girls marry before age 18, exceeding the rate of 34% for other girls in the region.

In this context, we examine the tensions and trade-offs facing stakeholders in achieving a vision of gender equitable learning for a sustainable future through the project “Engaging Communities and Schools in Support of Adolescent Girls in Malawi” (ECSSAGEM) in the southern region's Thyolo District. Funded by Echidna Giving and Dubai Cares, ECSSAGEM addresses community gender social norms; quality and accessibility of alternative Community Secondary Day Schools (CSDS); and girls’ health, safety, and learning needs. We examine baseline study data with regard to the promises and pitfalls of targets and of new indicators created to monitor gender equality in education for SDG 4. We also explore the various ways in which “whose learning for whose development” is negotiated with community members, traditional leaders, mothers’ groups, and adolescent girls and boys; with donors; and with policymakers (i.e., the MOEST), researchers, a Malawian NGO, and other project implementers.