Assigned Reading 6

Reading 6

Book--A Democracy of Chameleons: Politics and Culture in the New Malawi
Chapter 9--Human Rights and the Multiparty System Have Swallowed Our Traditions
Author--Ulrika Ribohn (of this chapter only)
Publisher--Nordic Africa Institute, February 2002

• human rights is a national/global idea...but it should be interpreted and defined locally, although it rarely is--most outsiders to certain areas argue in favor of global human rights policies, even if they conflict with local cultural values for given areas
• in Malawi, a dichotomy between human rights and cultural values in relation to women exist--people are made well aware of this dichotomy by the media and outsiders
• the Malawi Congress Party (MCP) monopolized Malawian politics from 1961-1993--however, since its disbandment, many say that the role of women in politics has gotten worse

Malawi Culture

• there is a duality in Malawians concept of culture--Old culture vs. New culture
• New Culture: equal rights/freedom for all, individualism over community is preferred, selfishness and disrespect have evolved
• Old Culture: women are more subservient to men, respect for elders essential, where one stands with one's community defines one's self
• rural Malawi is often more centered around the 'Old culture'
• umuthu--a word defined in Chichewa as 'something that goes with dignity, including all a person does, good and bad'
• ulemerero wa umunthu--'human dignity' defined in Chichewa
• from what I read these are the closest words that define how a person acts and what type of morals an ethics they exhibit (in relation to English vernacular)

Women in Malawi

• if a woman is 'well-behaved' and shows respect, then she is respected by others
• the only way for her to gain respect is by acting like this
• 'quarrelsome' women are denied help--even by other women
• the problem or gray area exists in what some Malawians define as a well-behaved women--women that speak out about their role in society are often neglected by the community
• many women in Malawi express an attitude of: 'I don't think what I can get out of it (meaning any decision/action they make), but what others can.'--Malawian women are very self-sacrificing--they act and do for the greater good...but is this morally/ethically right...many who adhere to global human rights would argue that Malawian women should not have to adhere to this attitude

Culture as Power

• there are conflicting views between the general public and educational system in Malawi about 'initiation practices' that adolescent girls in Malawi go through--educational systems largely agree that these practices take away from the girls self-value, actual education, and prove detrimental to their overall being
  

• many interpret 'human rights' as taking away from cultural values and Malawian's sense of nationalism
• human rights, in turn, are a double-edge sword because of their western world connotations
• all Malawians can react against these human rights--women against being identified as the violated, and men against being called the violator