The power of Malawi’s women is a force for the future

Mayi Walas are the shining mothers lighting up Malawi

As we reached the brow of the dusty, red hill, it was our driver and all-round Mr Fix-It, Mabvuto, who spotted her first. “Bananas,” he shouted, as he swerved to avoid a deep pot hole. “Bananas – stop” my two female companions, Charity and Rachel replied in unison.

The plump, squat bananas of Malawi are a different fruit from the imported, mass-produced ones that we buy cheaply in Scotland. Their rich, sweet flesh has a tang of citrus. They are packed full of nutrition: potassium, natural sugars, even a little protein. They are the perfect packed lunch when travelling off-road in Malawi, and we were hungry.

The late middle-aged woman, her hair showing signs of grey, her face weary with decades of hard labour, was trudging up the hill towards us, a bright blue plastic basin full of bananas balanced on her head as she made her way to the main road to sell her precious cargo. Mabvuto called her over and one by one he counted out bananas, first ten, then twenty, finally he emptied not only her basin but her broken plastic bucket, also full of the yellow fruit.

As the bananas piled up, the woman realised that we were buying her entire stock. Today she had made a decent profit without much effort. She smiled. We thanked her and set off down the hill towards the school we were due at in 20 minutes, the boot of Mabvuto’s 15-year-old car, imported from Japan, now full of bananas. “The kids will eat them,” he laughed when we asked why he had bought so many. The woman turned and headed back to her home village, where she could now have an unexpected rest before continuing her relentless daily chore of growing and selling produce so she and her family could eat.

The 11.4 million women and girls of Malawi - over 51 per cent of the population according to the World Bank - hold the country’s future in their strong hands. Malawi cannot develop its economy or strengthen its society without women’s labour. They are the country’s farmers. They hoe the land for planting, often by hand. They plant Malawi’s subsistence crop, maize, tending it through the shocks of the climate emergency that has affected this country far more than most.

They are also the country’s ‘welfare state’, caring for children, the sick and the elderly, sharing what little they have with relatives or neighbours in need. Nothing stops them from their task of creating and nurturing life. Not the torrential storms of the months-long rainy season that can wash away their crops and destroy their fragile homes. Not the traditional culture which encourages a girl to marry soon after puberty. Not the country’s fragile economy which sees inflation at nearly 20 per cent. Not even the shortages of fuel and fertiliser, worsened by foreign wars. “It’s life,” they say, as they are forced to walk to the trading centre to sell their produce because the mini-buses have no petrol.

In the last fortnight, Rachel, Charity and I have met 200 teenage girls, all eager to complete their secondary education, because they know it is the key to a better life. We have met women headteachers who manage schools of 300 students with far fewer resources than can be found in the average nursery class in Scotland, and while they bemoan their conditions, they turn up for work every day, determined to do their best for the young people in their charge.

We learned of the army of enterprising women who, working with UK charity Solar Aid, are lighting up their communities with lights powered by the sun. There are 180 Mayi Walas (Shining Mothers) groups across the country, strengthening the local economy.

Towards the end of our visit, we met with the Minister of Gender, Mary Navicha MP, who is determined to challenge the traditional patriarchal attitudes that still hold sway in much of the country. She will introduce a bill in Malawi’s parliament next February that will prevent child marriage and provide better protection for girls. Malawi has already set the minimum age for legal marriage at 18. The minister’s bill will provide stronger enforcement. “Our girls are our future,” she says.

We discussed vocational education with Mary Mphonda, who through her growing network of women artisans is determined to help build a workforce of women working in skilled trades. We tasted the wine produced by Margaret Ngwira, who left Lennoxtown in 1968 for a two-year volunteer stint in Malawi and now, aged 80, runs Linga Wine, a successful fruit winery, from her Lilongwe home. “It tastes like Africa,” she says of her produce.

We pondered the nation’s future with Maggie Kathewera Banda, the country’s leading women’s rights campaigner, who has made it her life’s mission to improve the lot of women and girls. Her groundbreaking work on land reform, women's political empowerment and tackling violence against women and girls, among many other issues, has attracted international attention.

We met Alinafe, 21, who two years ago gave birth to a baby boy, Blessed, but thanks to support from Scotland and fired by her own determination to complete her education, she is now back in school, where she belongs. And Elida, 18, who is determined to pass on her love of mathematics to the next generation of girls.

So many women. So much talent. Energy. Creativity. Determination. For the moment, the world may be at the mercy of the ‘big men’ – Trump, Putin, Netanyahu. Our fate should not be left to them, but with ‘mayi walas’ the world over. The power of women, once unleashed, has the potential to shape not only Malawi’s future for the better, but ours too.