Interview with Joyce Mwale – December 2012

Joyce Mwale reflects on her role as chairperson of Kapita Development Committee (Malawi) in a generally male dominated culture.

How is the project going on so far?

So far there has been good progress. More and more people now understand what our project is about and in particular they understand their roles to achieving our vision of making Kapita a self reliant area, with booming businesses powered by green energy. In general I can say that it has been exciting, challenging and fruitful. Many villages are coming up to pay their membership fees to join our community bank although a good number of villages have not yet started doing so but I am hopeful that soon all the 38 villages will have had paid their membership.

Joyce Mwale reflects on her role as chairperson of Kapita development committee in a generally male dominated culture.

How is the project going on so far?

So far there has been good progress. More and more people now understand what our project is about and in particular they understand their roles to achieving our vision of making Kapita a self reliant area, with booming businesses powered by green energy. In general I can say that it has been exciting, challenging and fruitful. Many villages are coming up to pay their membership fees to join our community bank although a good number of villages have not yet started doing so but I am hopeful that soon all the 38 villages will have had paid their membership.

As a woman chairperson in this area, leading men how is your job? Are you receiving enough support as you would want?

I can say my job is been both good and bad. Good in that I am have support of fellow committee members as well as chiefs. I also want to thank my vice, a man, who is always there for me to support. Also the coordinator for Empower helps me a lot. The main challenge that I face is to get the information to many people because the villages are scattered and as a woman it hard to walk and reach out to all people when they need me. I do have other responsibilities at home including kids and it is difficult sometimes to be out of home for the whole day doing project work. Nevertheless, the vice and the coordinator always come to my rescue and take up such responsibilities.

Sometimes, other people do not take me seriously being a young woman. Some people would go ahead painting me names like prostitute simply because I am found in the group of men during meetings. But I take these people as being mediocre men and I don’t pay attention to such people and I just concentrate on my work- leading the Kapita Development Committee. After all it is themselves who appointed me to be their leader. And that is as well my advice to fellow women here in Kapita and even elsewhere that when we are appointed as leaders it is better to be bold and humble at the same time.

Sometimes these men put us in leadership positions to test if we can deliver and if we have that chance we should not misuse it not to block other women who could do the job better. When we have supportive men like here in my area the job is even less stressful. I am particularly thankful to the men of this area who adopted the constitution stipulating that the chairperson for the KDC must always be a woman- this is women empowerment at its best.

Best,

Joyce