Negotiating female identity in a changing world : a small case study in Malawi

Negotiating female identity in a

changing world : a small case study

in Malawi

Kultura i Polityka : zeszyty naukowe Wyższej Szkoły Europejskiej im. ks. Józefa Tischnera w Krakowie nr 10, 123-140

NEGOTIATING FEM ALE IDENTITY IN

A CHANGING W O RLD: A SMALL CASE STUDY

IN M ALAW I

Abstract

This p a p e r p re se n ts a sm all case study base d o n th e n a rra tiv e s of th re e w o m ­ e n in M alaw i to a s c e rta in h o w th e y n e g o tia te fe m a le id e n tity in a c h a n g in g w o rld . The so cio -h isto ric al co n tex t is th a t w e ste rn d isco u rses re la tin g to w o m ­ en ’s e m p o w erm en t an d g en d er equalities are being ab so rb ed in developing co u n ­ trie s w h ich c a n influence p e o p le ’s p e rcep tio n s of th e w ay th e y view them selves a n d th e ir o w n p ractices. This m ay p re se n t a conflict b etw een w e ste rn an d tr a d i­ tio n al expectations an d values. In M alaw i, new o p p o rtu n ities a re sta rtin g to o pen up fo r w o m en cau sin g th e m to a d a p t to new life styles. Close study of th e w ays in w h ich w o m en of different g en eratio n s a n d of different socio eco n o m ic b a c k ­ g ro u n d s re c o u n t th e ir ex p erien ce of b ein g a w o m a n in M alaw i seem s to reveal co m m o n th e m es b o th in th e stru c tu re a n d in th e c o n te n t of th e n a rra tiv e s w h ich co n n e ct w h a t a re in fact richly individual an d p e rso n a l stories. In line w ith B am ­ b e rg (2003:222) ‘r a th e r th a n seeing n a rra tiv e s as in trin sically o rie n te d to w a rd co h e re n c e a n d authenticity, a n d inconsistencies a n d equivocations as a n an aly t­ ical n u isa n c e ’, th is m icro analysis finds th e la tte r aspects to b e th e m o st in te re st­ ing. T herefore, it w ill a im to u n p a c k how p a rtic ip a n ts o rie n t to, ascrib e a n d n e ­ gotiate fem ale identity th ro u g h language. In re c e n t years, n a rra tiv e analysis has b ee n used to exam ine re a l life stories. In this study, a n e th n o g ra p h ic a p p ro a c h to d a ta collection is ad o p ted by interview ing w o m en in th e h o m e en v iro n m en t. The reco rd in g s analysed a re stories b u t they are elicited in th e context of an interview w h ich inevitably p ro d u c es th e ‘re s e a rc h e r effect’. F u rth e r w o rk is n eed ed to a s­ sess th e value of n a rra tiv e analysis in gauging th e im p act of w e ste rn cu ltu res on g en d er identity co n stru ctio n .

Keywords:

n arra tiv e ; critic a l d isco u rse analysis; fem ale identity; globalisation; M alaw i

+ dr. Linda M cL oughlin is C u rric u lu m C o -o rd in a to r fo r E n g lish L a n g u a g e a t L iv erp o o l

H o p e U niversity. H e r re s e a rc h in te res ts a re L anguage, G e n d e r a n d S exuality a n d C ritical D is­ c o u rse A nalysis. S h e h a s w ritte n a tex tb o o k The Language o f Magazines 20 0 0 R o u tle d g e a n d p u b ­ lish ed in in te rn a tio n a l jo u rn a ls su c h as Gender and Language.

124

Introduction to the study

The U nited N ations has noted regional p a tte rn s in th e global tren d s affecting w o m en ’s p o sitio n o v er th e la st tw o d ecad es a n d th e p r o b ­ lem s th ey face today. In su b -S a h a ra n Africa th e re has b een very lim it­ ed p ro g re ss in red u cin g g e n d e r in eq u ality in m o st social, econ o m ic a n d p olitical contexts. D espite th e lim ited p ro g ress rep o rted , o bserv a­ tio n s b a se d on sm all-scale d a ta co llected fro m a re c e n t visit to th e SOS C hildren’s Village in Lilongw e, M alaw i w ere th a t on th e su rface young w om en’s outlook reg ard in g g en d er equality w as extrem ely p o s­ itive. W ith no d esire to quell su ch optim ism , p re p a ra to ry re se a rc h for th e visit d o cu m en ted th a t stro n g p a tria rc h a l relatio n sh ip s prevail: ‘As everyw here, p o w er a n d w ealth a re largely in th e h an d s of m en, b u t in M alaw i so cial n o rm s po w erfully p ro te c t th is situ a tio n a g a in st c h a l­ lenge ...’ O verseas D evelopm ent Institu te, W orking P ap er (2006:18).

This p a p e r is a p p ro a c h e d fro m a fem in ist lin g u istic p ersp ectiv e. F ro m th e outset, it is ack n o w le d g ed th a t th e in te rp re ta tio n of fem i­ n ism is ro o ted in W estern discourse. However, one sh o u ld b e m indful of bell ho o k ’s (1990) criticism , namely, th a t academ ics w a n t to know ab o u t th e su b a ltern ’s experiences b u t n o t th e ir ow n in te rp re ta tio n s of th o se experiences. T herefore, th e en d eav o u r is to let th e w om en speak for them selves a n d try to avoid draw in g on th e re s e a rc h e r’s ow n cu l­ tu r a l a n d in te lle c tu a l bag gag e. U nfortunately, d u e th e tim escale, it w a s n o t p o ssib le fo r th e r e s e a rc h e r to le a rn th e w o m e n ’s m o th er- to n g u e C hichew a th o u g h Spivak (1992:189-90) has a valid point:

R ath er th a n im agining th a t w o m en au to m atically have so m ething identifiable in com m on, w hy n o t say, hum bly an d practically, m y first obligation in u n d e rsta n d in g so lid arity is to le arn h e r m other-tongue. You w ill see im m ediately w h a t th e differences are. You w ill also feel th e solidarity every day as you m ake th e attem p t to le arn th e language in w h ich th e o th e r w o m an le a rn t to reco g n ize reality at h e r m o th e r’s knee. This is p re p a ra tio n for th e in tim acy of c u ltu ra l tran slatio n .

The setting, data and methods

A ccording to S h arp (2009:20), in th e W estern im aginary, sub-Saha- ra n A frica is seen as ‘u n d ev elo p ed a n d child -lik e’. The focus of th is case study, M alawi, is ra te d as one of th e w o rld ’s tw elve p o o rest co u n ­ tries an d heavily re lia n t on d o n o r aid. Fanon’s (1986) influential text

Black Skin, W hite Masks co n tain s a po w erfu l critiq u e of w h a t he refers

tiv e d o c u m e n ts th e p ro c e sse s w h e re b y w h ite co lo n izers a lie n a te d b lack natives causing th e m to feel in ferio r a n d d ep en d e n t so th a t they strove to em u late w h ite cu ltu re a n d society. It is beyond th e scope of th is p a p e r to p re se n t a critiq u e of co lonialism b u t it is a p p ro p ria te to c o n sid er its co n tin u in g legacies.

As a linguist interested in th e relationship betw een language and the c o n stru ctio n of g e n d e r id e n tity th e a p p a re n t m isa lig n m en t b etw een W estern, negative p e rce p tio n s reg ard in g th e statu s of w o m en in M a­ law i a n d th e w o m en ’s ow n po sitiv e subjectiv ities is fo u n d to b e in ­ trig u in g . It w as d ecid ed to p u rs u e a sm all scale e th n o g ra p h ic study b ased on th e n arrativ es of Jo, E m m a a n d Lilian (the nam es a re p se u ­ donym s). It sho u ld be m en tio n ed th a t th e p rim a ry p u rp o se of th e re ­ s e a rc h e r’s visit to Lilongw e w as to prov id e in-service te a c h e r ed u ca­ tio n . It w as d u rin g th e tw o w eek s s p e n t w o rk in g a t th e sch o o l, engaging w ith th e te a c h e rs th a t a ra p p o rt developed b etw een th e re ­ se a rc h e r a n d th e key in fo rm an ts. B eing a m a tu re w o m an p ro v ed in ­ v aluable in aligning th e re s e a rc h e r w ith Lilian th e d eputy h ead of th e school. However, th e age difference m ay have h in d e re d th e dynam ics of con versations w ith Jo (Lilian’s d au g h ter) a n d h e r frien d E m m a. It w as to w ard s th e en d of th e visit th a t th e re s e a rc h e r asked th e w om en if a sh o rt in terv iew w ith eac h of th e m could b e reco rd ed . It w as ex­ p la in e d th a t th e re s e a rc h e r w as a linguist in terested in lan g u ag e an d g e n d e r a n d w a n te d to k n o w m o re ab o u t th e ir ex p erien ces of being a w o m a n in M alaw i. A c a su a l in te rv iew style w as ch o sen y ielding th re e h o u rs of rec o rd e d d ata w h ich w h en tra n sc rib e d p ro d u c e d elev­ en p ag es of tra n sc rip tio n . The in terview s to o k p la ce in th e g u est a c ­ co m m o d atio n w h ich is fam iliar te rrito ry for th e w o m en a n d sim ilar to th e ir ow n m od est hom es.

The qualitative data distinguishes th e w om en along tw o lines: age and social status. Lilian is a m a tu re w o m an of 42 w h ereas Jo a n d E m m a a re m u c h yo u n g er; 18 a n d 17 y e a rs of age respectively. As d ep u ty h ead of th e school, Lilian by W estern sta n d a rd s w ou ld b e re g a rd e d as m iddle class, as w ould h e r d au g h te r Jo, w h ereas E m m a, th o u g h te c h ­ nically not an orphan, is reliant on aid provided th rough th e SOS village. In com m on, th e w o m en distin g u ish ed them selves geographically, i.e., th e ir re g io n a l id en tity w as b a s e d on th e to w n sh ip L ilongw e r a th e r th a n th e surrounding ru ra l locations from w h ere they originate. C am er­ on (1998a) refers to an in crease w ith in fem inist sch o larsh ip of th e im ­ p o rta n c e of co n sid ering th e w ays g e n d e r in teracts w ith o th e r identity categories. The positive p o sitio ning of self co n tain ed in th e w o m en ’s n arrativ es reveals a com plex in tersectio n of gender, class an d reg io n ­ al identities and, a t tim es, involves th e negative p o sitioning of others.

This study atte m p ts to assess th e im p act of initiatives su ch as The C onvention on th e E lim in atio n of all form s of D iscrim in atio n ag ain st W om en (CEDAW) a n d th e fo rm atio n of a gov ern m en t d e p a rtm e n t The M inistry of G ender, Youth a n d C o m m u n ity S erv ices in th e lig h t of claim s th a t changes a re b eg in n in g to tak e effect. R eports suggest th a t although changes are now happening, in trad itio n al ru ra l settings, u n ­ equal g en d er roles are u n d erp in n ed by m utually-reinforcing teachings delivered in homes, m any schools, churches an d com m unity gatherings, an d d u rin g in itia tio n rites. T hese influences see a c c e p ta n c e of m ale au th o rity over w o m en as in teg ral to resp ect for p ro p e r h ie ra rc h y an d d ep e n d e n c y in g en era l. In su ch c irc u m sta n c e s, C ritical D isco u rse Analysis is an appropriate m ethod since it allows systematic exam ination of th e re la tio n sh ip b e tw ee n la n g u ag e a n d p o w e r fro m a n u m b e r of perspectives: social F airclough 1995; political vanD ijk 1996, 1998 an d h isto rical W odak a n d M eyer 2001. As th e p re se n t study is co n cern ed w ith changes of a tran sn atio n al n a tu re a n d th e effects of globalisation, F airclo u g h’s focus on disco urse an d social ch an g e w o u ld seem a p p o ­ site. The CDA ap p ro ac h is inform ed by poststructuralism , a key te n et of w h ich is th a t g en d er is socially constitutive a n d in a co n stan t state of flux. B u tler’s (1990) notion of perform ativity is also useful in helping to explain g e n d e r as a p erfo rm ativ e social c o n stru c t ra th e r th a n a fixed social category. A CDA analysis of the narratives will seek to reveal how identity categories are invoked, resisted, negotiated a n d policed. Given th e context in w h ich th e study tak es place, it is p e rtin e n t to d raw on postcolonial theory, in p a rtic u la r to critique W estern represen tatio n s of th e ‘O th e r’. The conclusion suggests th a t fu rth e r research is need ed to assess th e value of such analysis in gauging the im pact of w estern cultures on g en d er identity co n stru ctio n of w o m en in developing countries.

The Data and Analysis

It w as im p o rtan t to begin th e interview s by creatin g a p riv ate space w h ere possible conflicts relatin g to g e n d e r m ay b e articu lated . T here w as also an assu ran ce th a t th e in fo rm an t could sim ply pass over any top ics th a t sh e fo und too controversial.

Follow ing S aw in (1994:634), featu res cru cial to a gender-sensitive analysis w ere identified a t th re e levels: th em atic, fo rm al a n d b e h a v ­ ioural. Them atically, th e n arra tiv es of all th re e w o m en conveyed t r a ­ d itional values, for exam ple, w om en’s role is associated w ith th e hom e a n d m en’s w ith th e lan d (w h eth er o r n o t w o m en also u n d erto o k p aid w o rk outside th e hom e). D espite th e co n strain ts of th e interview situ ­

ation, in fo rm al te rm s th e n arrativ e s in clud e c o n stru cted exam ples to illu strate po in ts som etim es rep lete w ith dialogue betw een ch aracters. In n arrativ e term s, th e re is a seam less tra n sitio n betw een th e co n v er­ satio n al a n d story-telling, i.e., th e w o m en did n o t form ally in tro d u ce th e ir stories w ith p a ralin g u istic keyings.

In perfo rm in g th e ir g en d er identity it m u st be rem em b ered th a t th e w o m en a re w o rkin g w ith re so u rces th a t a re m ad e available to th e m by th e ir cu ltu re , in B o rd ie u ’s (1991) te rm s, ‘lin g u istic c a p ita l’. It is im p o rta n t to d isting u ish this fro m ‘sym bolic c a p ita l’ w h ich relates to p u b lic form s of sp eakin g as, trad itio n ally , su ch form s a re d en ied to w om en. In identifying fo rm al a n d th e m atic regularities, it w as n o t th e in ten tio n to suggest th a t th e w o m en ’s n a rra tiv e s re p re se n t a d istin c­ tive fo rm since a m o re in-depth analysis reveals a n u m b e r of a p p a re n t d is c re p a n c ie s a n d p re v a ric a tio n s. H ow ever, in lin e w ith B am b erg (2003:222) ‘ra th e r th a n seeing n a rrativ es as intrin sically o rien ted to ­ w a rd co h ere n c e a n d authenticity, a n d in con sisten cies a n d equivoca­ tions as an analytical n u isa n c e ’, th is m icro analysis finds th e la tte r as­ p ects to b e th e m o st interesting.

The fram e w o rk fo r analysis w ill now b e set out. An im p o rta n t as­ p e c t of CDA is its ‘c ritic a l’ focus. This en tails c ritiq u in g ‘com m on- se n se ’ assu m p tio n s w h ich a re im p licit in th e con v en tio ns acco rd in g to w h ich p eople in te ra c t linguistically, a n d of w h ich p eople a re g en er­ ally n o t consciously aw are.

A fu rth e r elem ent of CDA w h ich this study w ill in c o rp o ra te is inter- textuality. In B ak h tin ’s (1981:89) te rm s, th is entails reco g n itio n th a t texts co n tain tra c e s of o th e r’s w ords. For K risteva (1986:39), it refers to th e in sertio n of history into a text a n d th e in sertio n of th e text into history. As th e w om en ’s n arrativ es do n ot tak e p lace in a vacuum , in ­ stan ces of in tertex tu al referen ces w ill b e looked for. F u rth erm o re, in analysing th e w o m en ’s n a rra tiv e s it w as n ecessary to d ra w on texts, fo r exam ple, w o rk in g p a p e rs , p o licy d o c u m e n ts a n d new s re p o rts w h ich con stitutes cross tex tu al intertextuality. It sh ou ld also b e b o rn e in m in d th a t w h a t th e w o m en say in th e ir n a rra tiv e s, is a g a in st th e b a c k g ro u n d of w h a t is un said. F airclough (2003:58) refers to th is as ‘assu m p tio n s’ w h ich he claim s p rovide vital links to ideologies. Close­ ly lin k ed to a ssu m p tio n s a re p re su p p o sitio n s. P resu p p o sitio n s a re pro p o sitio n s w h ich a re tak en by th e p ro d u c e r of th e text as already es­ tab lish ed o r ‘given’. In th e context of th e p a tria rc h a l system outlined, an a p p ro a c h w h ich goes bey on d m e re d escrip tio n to focus atten tio n on th e socio historical, cu ltu ral an d p olitical im plications of discourse m ay help to infer w h e th e r globalising ten den cies a re affecting th e t r a ­ ditions a n d custom s of M alawi.

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J o ’s n arrativ e

The reco rd in g begins w ith a n in fo rm al exchange designed to alle­ viate th e ‘o b serv er’s p a ra d o x ’. The m ain issues co n cern in g g en d er b e ­ gin to su rface w ith J o ’s a c c o u n t of th e d ifferen t ex p erien ce for boys a n d girls in M alawi:

Extract 1

Jo: becau se erm a boy is responsible a t hom e m aybe w hen he grow s u p he needs to b e m o re ed u ca ted w h en he grow s u p he can se a rc h for a jo b a n d find m oney a n d provide for th e fam ily so he is th e h ead of th e family in M alawi it’s reg ard ed like th a t an d th e girl w ho is th e re ju st like th e b re a d e a te r follows w h a t th e h u sb an d says basically so she is ju st there to help th e family cleaning the place doing the household chores and e rm taking care of th e children an d everything so it’s like every w ork in th e house belongs to a lady a n d th e m a n is th e re to p ro v id e food an d find m oney for th e fam ily so th e girl has all th e responsibility at hom e.

On th e surface, h e r ex planation is b ased on th e differential division of labour. The clause ‘in M alaw i it’s reg a rd e d like th a t’ co n tain s an as­ su m p tio n th a t in o th e r cu ltu res th e situ atio n is different. H ere th e t r a ­ d itio n al, in e q u itab le view of g e n d e r re la tio n s is p re s e n te d w h ich is d isco rd an t w ith J o ’s p e rso n al view p u t fo rw ard w h en questio n ed as to how th is acco rd s w ith h e r am bitio n to study econom ics at university. In th e follow ing ex tract th e re is a clear sense of a to w n /co u n try divide in rela tio n to g e n d e r aw aren ess w h ich Jo relates to a d isp arity in ed ­ u catio n al a tta in m e n t b etw een p eople in to w n s an d villages:

Extract 2

Jo: y eah b asically it d ep en d s so m eho w h ere in M alaw i in villages th e y p ra c tic e th a t b u t in to w n s p eo p le a re m o re e d u c a te d so th ey le a rn how g e n d e r w o rk s th a t a m a n can do any w o rk th a t a w o m an c an do so h ere in to w n it is sim ple b ecau se even m y p a re n ts e n c o u r­ age m e to do som e w o rk a t school so if I have finished som e w orks at th e h ouse it’s like I am alw ays given th e tim e so th a t I sh o u ld do som e w o rk a t sch o ol a n d th a t m akes m e h ap p y b eca u se it is p o ssib le th a t they do so m eth ing like for m e an d I p ass all my ex am in atio ns b u t in th e village it is difficult b eca u se som e p eo p le say th a t w om en a re ju st th e re to m a rry a n d to do som e w o rk so they d isco u rag e th e m going to school a n d they a re leaving th e m like th a t

J o ’s n a rra tiv e conveys a m essag e of p ro g re ssio n ; th a t id eas a re chan gin g w h ich again she attrib u tes to raised g e n d e r aw areness:

Extract 3

Jo: yeah th in g s h as c h an g ed b ecau se rig h t now people a re getting to know w h a t g e n d e r is b ec a u se even m y m u m w h en sh e w as a t th e village w h en she w as young th e re w e re som e p eople w ho said no she sh o u ld ju s t m a rry a n d you c a n n o t do any w o rk you a re ju s t useless can n o t do anything b u t she w o rk ed h a rd she h ad a n am bition th a t she w a n te d to b e m o re ed u ca ted th a t’s w hy sh e ’s ed u cated rig h t now

L inguistically th e re a re som e m a rk e rs w h ich m ig h t suggest a co n ­ flict b etw ee n J o ’s a p p a re n t ra ise d g e n d e r aw aren ess a n d M alaw ian trad itio n s. For exam ple, in E x trac t 1 Jo, in referen ce to w om en, uses th e in d efinite artic le ‘a ’ a n d th e resp ectfu l te rm ‘lad y ’ w h e re a s m en a re re fe rre d to by th e definite a rtic le ‘th e ’ follow ed by th e sin g u la r n o u n ‘m a n ’. T h ere is an asy m m etry in th a t an in d efinite a rtic le n a r ­ row s dow n th e referen ce to a single m e m b er of a class. By con trast, th e definite article specifies th a t th e reference is assu m ed to be know n to th e sp e a k e r a n d ad d ressee. In W estern cu ltu res, th e fo rm lady/la­ d ies h a s in c re a s in g ly a c q u ire d th e fe a tu re s [ + PA T R O N ISIN G ], [ + CONSERVATIVE] a n d [ + DATED] H olm es (2000:146). C ontextual­ ly, it seem s Jo is being polite a n d respectful; she can n o t be expected to know th a t ‘lad y ’ has acq u ired n egative co n n o tatio n s in W estern d is­ co u rses (an d even if sh e did, it does n o t n ecessarily follow th a t she sh ou ld b e influenced by this). However, th e asy m m etrical use of a rti­ cles reflects a subtle, no d o u b t su b co n sciou s, m ean s of red u cin g fe­ m ales to a class w h ilst th e re v e rse seem s to h a p p e n in th e case of m ales; th e y a re sp ecified o r essen tialised . In ex tra cts 2 a n d 3 J o ’s stan c e is revealed by h e r use of th e restrictiv e ad v erb ‘even’: ‘even my p a re n ts en co u rag e m e to do som e w o rk ’ a n d ‘even m y m u m w h en she w as at th e village w h e n sh e w as young th e re w ere som e p eop le w ho said no she sh ou ld ju s t m a rry ’. R estrictive adverbs focus atten tio n on a ce rta in elem en t of th e clause. H ere they serve to em p h asize th e im ­ p o rta n c e of th e p ro p o sitio n by excluding o th e r possibilities, for exam ­ ple, th a t it is exceptional for a girl to b e ed u ca ted a n d th a t J o ’s m o th ­ er, w ho has achiev ed educationally, w as in c o rre ctly su b jected to th e tra d itio n a l view th a t for w om en, m a rria g e is in co m p atible w ith ed u ­ catio n al am bitions. To fu rth e r h e r point, Jo em beds re p o rte d sp eech into th e n a rra tiv e “you c a n n o t do any w o rk you a re ju s t useless c a n ­ n o t do a n y th in g ”. H ere th e re p o rte d sp e e c h p re s e n ts a n ex trem ely negative view of w om en. Jo cou n terpoises th is w ith a g en d er sensitive ex p la n a tio n as to w h y h e r p a re n ts e n c o u ra g e h e r to w o rk h a rd a t school:

130

Extract 4

Jo: [...] th ey know th e im p o rtan ce of being ed u ca ted b eca u se they have som e friend s th a t th ey w ere playing w ith w h en th ey w ere young a n d th a t frien d s d id n ’t w o rk h a rd a t school th ey w e re som e d isco u r­ aged a n d th ey didn’t le arn so they see in th e m th a t th ey a re suffering rig h t now they have m any ch ild ren they don’t know th e im p o rtan ce of having few er ch ild ren so th ey can b e able to ra ise th e m so th ey ju s t know a w o m an is a ch ild b earin g m ach in e so sh e can b e a r m o re ch il­ d re n th a n a m an w an ts so they a re som ehow ig n o ran t they don’t know w h a t g e n d e r is [...]

T he re p o rte d sp e e c h is q u ite rev ealin g of w id e r so cial a ttitu d e s fro m w h ich Jo d ista n ces herself. This is evid ent in h e r u se of ‘ig n o ­ r a n t’ to d escrib e o th e r lan g u ag e u sers w ho do n o t u n d e rs ta n d w h a t ‘g e n d e r’ is. H e r choice of p h ra s e ‘ch ild b earin g m a c h in e ’ does seem to c o n c u r w ith a fe m in ist c ritiq u e w h ic h ch allen g es d o m in a n t d is­ co u rses of w o m en bein g re d u c e d to th e ir re p ro d u c tiv e cap ab ilities, ‘sh e can b e a r m o re ch ild ren th a n a m an w a n ts ’ alludes to stereo ty p i­ cal discou rses of m ale sexuality. H ollw ay (1984) refers to th is as ‘th e m ale sexual drive d isco u rse’, nam ely th a t th ey a re gov ern ed by th e ir genes to p ro c re a te b u t a re devoid of n u rtu rin g sen sibilities. In J o ’s n arrativ e, g e n d e r does a p p e a r to b e fluid ra th e r th a n fixed.

Extract 5

Jo: d octors m o re d octors a re m en so it’s like m o re nu rses a re w o m ­ en an d m o re d octors a re m en so I don’t know ju s t b ecau se m aybe they don’t en co u rag e th e m as m uch to b e doctors o r even m en see n u rsin g qualification like it’s no t im p o rtan t for th e m it’s like they can be so m e­ th in g th ey haven’t achieved w h a t th ey w a n te d so they w o rk h a rd to be a d o c to r so b u t n o w ad ay s it’s like th ey a re en co u ra g in g b u t so th a t m o re w o m en sh o u ld also b e d o cto rs a n d o th e r m en sh o u ld also be n u rses to b e g e n d e r balan ced .

It is n o t axiom atic th a t w om en a re nu rses a n d m en a re d octors due to biological destiny b u t b eca u se society does n o t en co u ra g e w om en to b e docto rs a n d it re g ard s n u rsin g qualifications, stereotypically as­ so c ia te d w ith fem ales, as less im p o rta n t. D espite claim in g th a t th e sexes a re tre a te d equally, J o ’s use of th e m o d al auxiliary ‘sh o u ld ’ in d i­ cates th a t in som e p rofessions th a t is n o t n ecessarily th e case.

In relatio n to linguistic capital, th e n atio n al language Chichew a, as Jo explained, like E nglish is sex-preferential ra th e r th a n sex-exclusive:

Extract 6

Jo: [...] th e h ig h e r p e rc e n ta g e w o m en sp eak respectively [resp ect­ fully] y eah an d m en ju s t speak w h atev er

It seem s th a t w o m e n ’s lin g u istic b e h a v io u r is p o lic e d a n d th a t th e re is a double b in d - m en can say w h atev e r they like w ith o u t risk of recrim in atio n . In th e m eeting w ith E m m a, she w as re lu c ta n t to tell th e re s e a rc h e r w o rd s only m en w o u ld use desp ite assu ran ces th a t no- one else w o u ld listen to th e recording.

Jo ’s interview ends on a positive note. As th e re se a rc h e r w as aw are of th e legacy of th e ‘big m a n sy n d ro m e ’ in M alaw i, Jo w as ask ed w h e th e r she th o u g h t th a t th e p re sid e n t m ight one day be a w om an.

Extract 7

Jo: y eah it’s alre ad y sta rte d b ecau se th e vice-p resid en t h e re in M a­ law i is a w o m an so it’s like g e n d e r b a lan ced b ecau se th e p re sid e n t is a m a n a n d th e v ic e -p resid en t is a w o m a n so it’s so m eth in g like e n ­ co u rag in g b e c a u se in p a rlia m e n t th e re a re m o re w o m en in p a r lia ­ m e n t so it’s en co u rag in g a g e n d e r b alance.

At p o in ts in th e interview , Jo d em o n strates fem inist sensibilities:

Extract 8

Jo: e rm I th in k th a t th e m o st im p o rta n t th in g is th e w o m en should be em p o w ere d a n d th e y sh o u ld b e given th e sam e q u alificatio n s as m en b ecau se initially w h en a m an th e ch ild ren a re grow n in a certain h o u se a d a u g h te r a n d a so n it’s like th e so n is alw ays given so m e calves to u se th e m th e g irl is given so m e ch o res to help th e m o th e r usually to ca re for th e child it’s ju s t th e fou n d atio n th e p ro b lem s’s th e fo u n d atio n b u t if th e girl w as given som e o p p o rtu n ities th a t sh e could do in th e fu tu re th e n th a t co u ld b e helpful so th a t th e m a n a n d th e w o m en sh o u ld b e tr e a te d eq u ally M alaw i sh o u ld b e a g e n d e r b a l­ an ced one.

This is illu stra te d by h e r u se of th e te rm ‘e m p o w e rm e n t’ a n d th e fact th a t she sees th e n eed for stru c tu ra l ch an ges to b e m ade. H ow ev­ er, it is in c o m p a tib le w ith h e r lack of c o n c e rn th a t th e w o m a n r e ­ fe rre d to is vice-presiden t, n o t p resid en t. T h at is n o t to su g g est th a t w estern p arliam e n ts are any less sexist, m erely th a t w estern fem inists’ co n cern s reg ard in g g en d er asym m etries have b een rag in g for longer th a n in th e A frican context. T hese p o in ts w ill b e exp lo red fu rth e r in th e conclusion.

E m m a ’s n a rra tiv e

The n a rra tiv e beg ins w ith E m m a d escrib in g h e r fam ily a n d how she cam e to th e SOS village; h e r m o th er p assed aw ay a n d h e r fath e r co uld n o t look afte r h e r a n d h e r fo u r siblings. E m m a goes on to d e ­ scrib e h e r am bitions:

E m m a: I w a n t to stu d y a m e d ical [m edicine] I w a n t to b eco m e a n u rse

E m m a is q u e stio n e d on w h e th e r sh e h a d c o n sid e re d b eco m in g a d o cto r w h ich sh e finds q u ite am using b u t an sw ers ‘ah if I pass w ell’. S he is asked if th e o p p o rtu n itie s a re th e sam e fo r girls a n d boys; a l­ th o u g h no t as am bitious as Jo, she resp o n d s in a sim ilar way, th a t in th e p a st only boys w ere en co u rag ed to b e ed u cated an d th a t girls w ere to ld ‘they sh ou ld n o t go to school b ecau se y o u ’ll get m a rrie d ’. H ow ev­ er, E m m a is less positive th a n Jo on th e c u rre n t position: ‘th e o p p o r­ tu n ity is almost th e sa m e ’. The in sertio n of th e adverb serves to soften th e claim .

E m m a is q u estio n ed on how th e chan g es a re affecting g e n d e r dy­ nam ics, w h e th e r m en a re hap p y th a t w o m en a re now achieving su c ­ cess:

Extract 9

E m m a: m m a t first th ey w e re refusing they w e re th in k in g th a t all th e se w o m en w a n t to get a lot of m oney a n d they a re going to b e ru d e especially in th e m a rriag e b u t as of now th ey have [be] com e to know th e tru th th a t w o m en can also sta n d do th e sam e as w h a t th e w om en I m ean w h a t th e m en do so th ey also en co u rag e th e ir w ives a n d o th ­ e r girls th a t th ey sh o u ld tak e p a r t in w orking.

S he refers to th e p o w er m en have over w om en; th a t they could p re ­ vent th e m fro m w orking if they so w ished. T here seem s to b e a p re s u p ­ p osition th a t w h en w o m en g ain fin an cial in d ep en den ce, th e re w ill be a co rresp o n d in g decline in th e ir m o ral behaviour. However, it seem s th a t m en recogn ise th e advan tag es of w o m en b rin g in g in an ex tra in ­ com e. T hat is to say ‘ex tra ’ b ecau se Jo m en tio n ed th a t w o m en should n o t ask m en for th in g s like ‘ch em ical h a ir ’ [h air p ro d u cts] o r co sm et­ ics b u t sh o u ld bu y th e se fro m th e ir ow n incom e. Jo ex p lain ed th a t som e w o m en h ave b u sin esses b u t th ey a re low statu s, fo r exam ple, selling g ro u n d n u ts. P ra h a n d A dom ako Ampofo (forthcom ing) re p o rt th a t w om en w o rk ers in th e inform al secto r en co u n tered in creased d o ­ m estic violence sin ce som e m en felt disem po w ered by w om en ’s fin an ­ cial in d ep en d en ce a n d th e ir e n h an c ed ro le in decision m aking.

Interestingly, E m m a m en tio n s so cial co n cern s reg ard in g w o m en ’s im politeness th a t Jo re ferre d to. She explains w om en ’s g re a te r p o lite­ ness in te rm s of th e ir ch ild re a rin g role. E m m a is q u ite em p h atic in resp o n se to th e q u estio n of w h e th e r w o m en could b e ju s t as ru d e as men:

Extract 10

Em m a: nooo th e w o m an is doing so m ething she is n o t su pp o sed to b e ru d e sh e ’s su p p o sed to resp ec t h e r h u sb an d a n d e r sh e ’s su p p o sed to know th a t th e re is rig h t so she sh o u ld I m ean sh e sho u ld co n sid er a w o m a n I m e an a m a n th a t he is also a p e rs o n so I th in k w h en a w o m an is w o rk in g o r doing so m eth in g I th in k sh e sh o u ld k now h e r p o sitio n I a m a w o m an of co urse b u t I w o u ld have to do this

D espite p re se n tin g a view of equality, it seem s th a t so fa r as sym ­ bolic ex p ression is con ce rn ed , c u sto m p ro h ib its w o m en using tab o o items; they need to know th e ir ‘position’ w h ich involves being resp ect­ ful to m en. In m any w e stern cultures, traditionally, taboo is asso ciat­ ed w ith m asculin ity a n d resp ectability w ith fem ininity b u t th e se p a t­ te rn s do seem to b e changing.

Lilian’s n a rra tiv e

It w as explained to Lilian th a t Jo a n d E m m a h ad been interview ed to help sh a p e o u r u n d e rsta n d in g of w h a t it is like to b e a young w o m ­ an in M alaw i a n d th a t th e persp ectiv e of a m a tu re w o m an w o u ld p r o ­ vide a useful com plem ent. In com m on w ith Jo, Lilian seem s to evoke an u rb a n /ru ra l divide:

Extract 11

Lilian: yeah I th in k in to w n h ere p eople a re a b it civilised you a re going to see m aybe a boy cooking food in to w n b u t in th e ty p ical vil­ lages ah I th in k it is som ehow people th in k an d m aybe som eone is not th in k in g p r o p e r le t’s say if h e ’s a m a n a n d h e ’s coo k in g food a n d w ash in g th is a h w h a t ty p e of th is m a n (laughs) so m ay b e no th ey w o uld n o t be asham ed.

W hereas Jo refers to co u n try p eo p le as ‘ig n o ra n t’, Lilian uses th e te rm ‘civilised’ to re fer to tow nspeople, th e co ro llary being th a t co u n ­ try p eople a re ‘uncivilised’. Lilian w as asked w h e th e r a w o m an w ould receive th e sam e criticism if she w ere to do so m eth in g th a t w as co n ­ sid ered m asculine:

1 3 4

Extract 12

Lilian: m aybe p eo p le can ju s t say th is w o m an is very co u rag eo u s say so m ething like th a t

y eah sh e can do so m e big m en s w o rk yeah b u t h e re in to w n now I th in k peo ple a re civilised.

S he w as asked how things have chan g ed since sh e w as grow ing up. Lilian: you w o n ’t see a m a n n o t a m an a w o m an m aybe being an electrician

An e n g in e e rin g a n e n g in e e r th o se w o rk s p u ttin g a n o v erall on a w o m an it looks aw k w ard som ehow b u t now adays you w ill see w o m ­ en w earin g overalls

The d escrip tio n ‘aw k w ard ’ does n o t acc o rd w ith Lilian’s m o re lib­ e ral fem inist stance. Lilian w as rem in d ed th a t she h ad p assed w om en soldiers a n d police officers (though d isp ro p o rtio n ate to th e n u m b e r of m ales) a t v ario u s ch eck p o in ts w h en on a day trip w h ich su p p o rte d h e r claim s ab o u t how th in g s a re c h an g in g b u t th a t th e research e r, d u rin g h e r tim e in M alaw i h a d also seen som e co n trad ictio n s. F or ex­ am ple, th e re w as a w o m an heavily b u rd en ed , also struggling to carry a ch ild w ith a m an w alking alongside carry in g nothing.

Extract 13

Lilian: oh you see th a t is really w h a t is h ap p en in g a t th e m o m en t y ou see th is w o m a n h as w ak ed u p in th e m o rn in g s h e ’d h ave b een a ro u n d th e h o u se m aybe clean in g som e p lates w h ile th e m a n is ju s t sittin g (laughs) a n d you go in th e g a rd e n a n d you c a rry to loads w ith m aybe a child at th e b ack w hile th e m an is ju st w atching w alking you go in th e g a rd e n a n d m aybe by eleven o ’clock oh le t’s go h o m e an d have o u r lu n c h yet th e n you c a rry th o se tw o loads m aybe som e fire­ w o o d w ith a ch ild at th e b ack a n d th e m an is ju s t w atch in g w alking y ou go h o m e th e m a n is sittin g y o u ’re n o w p re p a rin g food you see (sighs)

L ilian clearly recognises th e asy m m etrical division of labour. S he w as asked w h a t w ould h ap p en if a w o m an challenged a m an, if for ex­ am ple, she w ere to ask th e m an to help her:

Lilian: I th in k it w ould e rro rs you a re a lucky lady w hy are you ask­ ing a m an to do th is you a re n o t su p po sed to do this

In view of Lilian’s e a rlie r u se of th e te rm ‘co u rag e o u s’ to d escribe a w o m an w ho step p ed o u t of h e r stereo ty p ica l g e n d e r role, sh e w as asked w h e th e r w o m en w ou ld b e in p h ysical danger.

Extract 14

Lilian: erm of co u rse for som e m en som e m en I n eed to assist my w ife w ith o u t forcing b u t forcing som ebody to do it could lead m aybe to th e end of th e m a rriag e b eca u se th ey w o u ld say I have to go aw ay a n d find a n o th e r w ife if you a re n o t p e rfo rm in g w h a t you a re s u p ­ p o se d to th in g s like th a t so ju s t to k eep th e fam ily going th e n ju s t th in k it’s OK w hy is my m an sleeping

M w ale (2002:117) claim s th a t w estern fem inism fails to d eal w ith issues th a t d irec tly affect A fricans, fo r exam ple, so m e so cieties a re m a trilin e a l; w ives h av e m o re p o w e r a n d in flu en ce th a n th e ir h u s­ b and s. O th er factors a re th a t th e no tion of fam ily is n o n -n u cle ar b u t relates to an extended kinship system , for exam ple, Lilian’s ed u catio n w as fu n d ed by h e r u n cle and, d u e to th e AIDs crisis, she, in tu rn , is tak in g c a re of h e r s is te r’s child. However, it does seem th a t w ives are exp en d a b le ‘I have to go aw ay a n d find a n o th e r w ife if you a re n o t p erfo rm in g w h a t you a re su p p o sed to ’. As Lilian seem ed to effect em ­ p a th y in th e above ex tracts by in sertin g th e p e rso n a l p ro n o u n ‘y o u ’, she w as ask ed ab o u t h e r ow n d o m estic a rra n g e m e n ts, w h e th e r h e r h u sb an d does as m u ch w o rk in th e ho use as she does:

Extract 15

Lilian: of c o u rse so m etim es he assists so m etim es b u t n o t usually m aybe b ecau se now w e have o ld er ch ild ren a n d th ese o ld er ch ild ren help m e a lot cooking a n d cleaning th is a n d th a t h e ’ll ju s t sit a n d m ay­ b e w atch television

F urthem o re, Lilian w as asked w h e th e r h e r sons do as m u ch w ork as h e r d au g h te r

Extract 16

Lilian: oh you m ean th a t son my son is so lazy because today I said to h im you know w e h ave a lot of p a n ie r assist us a n d h e ’s saying no m am m y I ’m not carrying this I said no th a t’s because you eat you have to carry this one tim e you will be alone a n d he w as forced into carrying a b ag of w h ea t going to th e m ill h e ’s w hy m o th e r he d o esn’t cook he doesn’t strip he ju st eats th e n I said oh m y friend you are in d an g er one day you w ill cry w h a t w ill you do you have to d ep en d on yourself you have to know how to cook how to w ash up do this I always advise him but som ehow b u t of co urse I know a slight d isadv an tag e b ecau se w e have

m o re girls th e re a re ab o u t fo u r girls b u t th e o ne w ho is in th e college a h th a t one is th e exception b ecau se he cooks he cleans th e ro o m

It seem s th a t d ifferen t b eh av io u rs a re exp ected of m ales a n d fe­ m ales; th a t it is exceptional for a boy to do h o usehold chores especial­ ly if th e n u m b e r of g irls in th e h o u s e h o ld ex ceed s boys. M w ale (2002:135) refers to th e m iddle class A frican m a rria g e as a p o o r an d fain t im itatio n of th e w estern n u c le a r m arriag e: ‘In th is d arkly glass- im age [...] decisions can be (i) syncratic, i.e. b o th m o d ern ised A frican sp o u se s re a c h in g o p e n c o n se n su s on a n issue; o r (ii) a u to c ra tic , w h ereb y th e h u sb an d o r wife issues decrees. The la tte r tw o m odes of decision -m ak in g m ay cau se te n sio n a n d lead to ep h em eral, d elicate a n d sym bolic tria l m a rria g e s.’

L ilia n w as to ld a b o u t th e r e s e a r c h e r ’s c o n v e rs a tio n s w ith th e y o u n g er w o m en w h ich revealed a double sta n d a rd in language:

Extract 17

Lilian: som etim es you know b ecau se of o u r cu ltu re th ey th in k th a t a m an is m o re bullying th a n a w ife th a t’s w hy th e n a m an can b e a t a w ife a n d do everything to a w ife b u t th a t is cru el oth erw ise m aybe b e ­ cau se of m y p o sitio n m aybe m y h u sb a n d has som e re sp e c t I have to say so (.) m aybe (.) he says m a d a m m a d a m th in g s like th a t

Like Jo, Lilian a p p e a rs to recognise th a t c u ltu ra l p ractices in M a­ law i m ig h t b e differen t to o th e r cu ltu res. However, sh e is carefu l to d istan ce h erself fro m p ractices su ch as bullying an d w ife beating, r e ­ ferring to th e m as ‘c ru e l’. Lilian’s critical d eploym ent of fem inist the- m atics suggests th a t h e r fem inist subjectivity is p e rh a p s m o re devel­ o p ed th a n th e y o u n g er w o m en ’s. S u ch g e n d e r co nscio u sn ess could com e fro m h e r g re a te r life experience, n o t necessarily fro m fem inism .

Conclusion

The lim ited d ata p ro vides som e glim pses into th e com plex w ays in w h ic h th e w o m e n n e g o tia te fem ale id e n tity in a ch a n g in g w o rld . T here a re tw o levels - w h a t they say in resp o n se to q uestions a n d how it is said - th e ir ac tu a l lan g u ag e use. They show how they co n stitu te th em selves as alig n ed to fem in ist co n ce rn s re g a rd in g g e n d e r asy m ­ m e trie s b u t th e y also sh o w p a tte rn s reflectin g th e in flu en ce of th e la rg e r society a n d its p a tria rc h a l in stitu tio n s. The w o m en reflect on p a s t asy m m etrie s b u t also im ag in e a p o ssib le g e n d e r eq u al fu tu re. S om e of th e issues ra ised they a p p e a r to re g a rd as m u n d an e, for ex­

am ple, th e double sta n d a rd in language w h ere o thers su ch as violence ag ain st w o m en a re p erce iv ed as uncivilised a n d cruel. W hen Jo w as ask ed ab o u t w h e th e r sh e h a d e x p erien ced u n fairn e ss, if th e re w ere tim es w h en sh e felt so m eth ing w o uld n o t h a p p en to a boy, sh e refers to m en doing in ferio r jobs, for exam ple, a m an w orking as a cleaner. She explains th a t is n o t fair b ecau se ‘I ’m u sed to th e life th a t m en are m o re ed u ca ted th a n w o m en so w h en I see a m an th a t is n o t m o re ed ­ u c a te d o r th a t h asn ’t even gone to school I ju s t feel really so rry ...’. In negotiating th e ir identities, th e w om en po sition them selves in o pposi­ tio n to th e view points of others, for exam ple, th e ‘ig n o ra n t’, ‘u n civ i­ lised’ peop le of th e co u n try sid e w ho do no t u n d e rsta n d w h a t g en d er is. S u c h p ra c tic e c o rre s p o n d s w ith F o u c a u lt’s n o tio n of disco u rse; th a t it is b ased a ro u n d b in a ry p airs. S a id ’s influential text, Orientalism refers to a series of d iscourses th a t explained th e n a tu re of th e O rient a n d O ccident. His tax o n om y show s th e O rien t is p erceiv ed as differ­ en t fro m E u ro p e b ased on a n u m b e r of oppositions: th e O ccident (E u ­ rope) is developed, scientific, m o ral a n d religious - th e O rien t is b a c k ­ w a rd , su p erstitio u s, im m o ral, h e ath en . As S h a rp (2009) p o in ts out, alth o u g h decolonisation has o c c u rre d w ith in d ep en d en ce it does n o t m ean th a t o th e r effects of th e colonial p e rio d have all disap p eared .

This p a p e r h a s c o n sid e re d p o w e r re la tio n s h ip s in M alaw i fro m a CDA perspective. It w o u ld b e rem iss n ot to co n sid er w h e th e r d o m i­ n a n t disco u rses a re challenged, ap p ro p ria ted , o r subverted. In o rd e r to avoid ‘reconstellat[e]ing th e text to d raw o u t its use, w rench[ing] it ou t of its p ro p e r context a n d p u ttin g it w ith in an alien a rg u m e n t’ Spi- vak (1998:214), th is p a p e r atte m p ts to co ntextualise th e d a ta w ith in its A frican b ack g ro u n d . H ow ever, as th e follow ing c ita tio n reveals, w estern developm ents have g reatly influenced A frican fem inist sch o l­ arsh ip . A rd ay fio -S ch an d o rf (1993:11) refers to ‘th e w in d of ch an g e th a t sw ep t acro ss th e globe th ro u g h th e lau n ch in g of th e In te rn a tio n ­ al W om en’s Year in 1975 by th e U nited N atio n s’. This, she claim s, led to th e m o m e n tu m in th e d eveloped co u n tries, p a rtic u la rly th e w est giving b irth to w o m en ’s stu d ies a su b ject w h ich is in creasin g ly being reco gn ised as a se p a ra te discipline in A frican universities. Jessie Ka- bw ila K ap asu la of C h an cello r College, Zom ba, M alaw i/B ingham U ni­ versity (N ew York) in rela tio n to g e n d e r politics in M alaw i believes:

‘We ca n n o t b ury o u r h eads in th e sand, p a tria rc h y in its indigenous a n d colonial form s is rife in o u r co u n try a n d if w e a re to talk of w o m ­ en le a d e rs h aving a h a n d in a d d re ssin g th is p ro b le m th a t is a t th e h elm of a lot of fem ale op p ressio n , w e c a n n o t afford g e n d e r n e u tra l o r so called n atio n al strateg ies.’ N yasa Times 24.4.2009

S he is referrin g to th e negative reac tio n h e r resp o n se to an article by a m ale a ca d e m ic h a d received. S he goes on to q u estio n w h e th e r h e r a rtic le w o u ld h av e rece iv ed th e sa m e view s h a d sh e n o t b e e n a ra d ic a l fem inist. In a review of W om en’s a n d G e n d e r S tu d ies r e ­ s e a rc h in s u b -S a h a ra n Africa, A dom ako Ampofo, et al (2004) re p o rt th a t th e re is resen tm en t a n d resistan ce to w a rd affirm ative actio n p r o ­ g ram s a n d m isogynist attitu d es to w a rd w o m en as in tellectu ally less cap ab le th a n m en. The la rg e r ideological fram ew o rk of M alaw i’s pa- tro n ag e -o rie n te d po litical system is explained in a w orking p a p e r p r o ­ d u ced by th e O verseas D evelopm ent In stitu te, London:

C olonialism su p e rim p o se d elem en ts of a m o d e rn state on h ie ra r­ ch ical b u t c o m m u n al societies, g en era tin g p o w erfu l legacies in c lu d ­ ing a n am b ig u o u s m o ra l a ttitu d e to w a rd s law s a n d a d m in istra tiv e ru les req u irin g ho n esty a n d p ro fessio n alism in p u b lic (form al state) service. The n atu re of trad itio n al society helps to explain w hy abuses by ‘big m en’ a re to le ra te d even w h en very few of th e benefits filter dow n to o rd in ary people. [...] S ocial relatio n sh ip s a re c h a ra c te rise d by in e­ qu ality a n d a larg e ‘p o w e r d ista n c e ’. Excessive deferen ce stifles in n o ­ vation, p rovides ra tio n alisatio n s for dishonesty w h ere im p o rta n t p e o ­ p le a re involved, a n d in c re ased th e difficulty of em pow ering w om en.

The rep o rt goes on to do cu m en t m ale dom in an ce a n d sexual exploi­ tatio n during th e B anda period. In th e aggrandisem ent of th e president, w om en p erform ed p raise songs an d dances. They w o re w rap s w ith th e p re s id e n t’s face on th e m (one of th e te ach ers a t th e school still w ears hers). T h ro u g h th e w o m en ’s leag ue th ey serv ed as in fo rm ers for th e p arty an d w ere p ressu red into providing sexual favours to p arty leaders a n d fu n ctio n aries. It is re p o rte d th a t d u rin g th e p o st-B an d a p erio d , th e exploitation of w o m en w as less overt b u t still w id esp read . In d eed m en ‘jo k in g ly ’ criticise th e B ingu w a M u th arik a g o v ern m en t for n o t using w o m en sin ce w h en cash is circu lating , b ro th e rs a n d h u sb an d s benefit w h ich co n cu rs w ith E m m a ’s claim th a t m en see th e benefits of en co u ra g in g w ives a n d o th e r girls to w ork. A lthough ch an g e is now happening, th ere w ere instances in th e narratives w hich reveal a tension, pointing to th e acceptance of m ale authority over w om en as integral to respect for p ro p e r hierarchy. As th e w om en w ere reluctan t to illustrate c u ltu ra l tab o o s in lan g u age, a n d fro m th e claim s of Jessie K abw ila K ap asu la reg ard in g th e negative resp o n se to h e r criticism s of th e s ta ­ tu s quo, it seem s th a t self-determ inatio n by w o m en is seen as th r e a t­ ening. It is a g a in st th e b a c k d ro p of th is com plex ideology th a t th e w o m en n eg o tiate th e ir identity in talk. R ath er th a n choosing b etw een th e ‘e ith e r’ of tra d itio n a n d th e ‘o r ’ of developm ent, they p ro d u c e hy­ b rid p ra c tic e s w h ich com bine elem ents of each. B ulbeck (1998:21)

References

A dom ako Ampofo, Jo sep h in e B eoku-B etts, W arim u N g aru iy a N jam b i a n d M ary O sirim 2004 ‘W om en’s and G ender Studies in E nglish-Speaking S u b -S ah aran Africa: A Review of R esearch in th e Social S cie n ces’ Gender and Society Vol 18, No. 6 pp 6850714

A rd ay f i o - Sc h a n do rf, E. 1993 ‘G en d er an d G eography in A frica’ in Different Places, Different Voices : Gender and Development in Africa, Asia and Latin America Ja n e t H en sh all M om sen a n d Vivian K in n aird (eds). R outledge

B akhtin, M. 1981 The Dialogic Imagination The U niversity of Texas Press

Bam berg, M. A nna De Fina an d D eborah Schiffrin (eds) 2003 Selves and Identities in Narrative and Discourse Jo h n B enjam ins.

B ourdieu, P. 1991 Language and Symbolic Power H a rv a rd U niversity P ress B ulbeck, C.1998 Re-Orienting Western Feminisms C am bridge U niversity Press B utler, J 1990 Gender Trouble Feminism and the Subversion o f Identity R outledge C am eron, D 1998a ‘Is th e re an y ketchup, V era?’: gender, p o w er an d p ra g m a tic s’,

Discourse and Society, 9/4 pp. 435-455,

Hollway, W. 1984 ‘G en d er difference a n d th e p ro d u c tio n of subjectivity’, in H en- riq u e s, J., w ith Hollway, W., U rw in, C., Venn, C. a n d W alkerdine, V. (1998) Changing the Subject: Psychology, Social Regulation and Subjectivity (2nd edn), L on­ don, M eth u en pp 227-63.

Holmes, J. 2000 ‘Ladies and gentlemen: corpus analysis and linguistic sexism ’ in Cor­ pus Linguistics and Linguistic Theory M air, C. a n d M aria n n e H u n d t (eds) In te r­ national Computer Archive of M odem English RodopiBV Am sterdam pp 141 - 155 hooks, bell 1991 Yearning race, gender and cultural politics T u rn aro u n d

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K abw ila K ap su la Jessie R eply to M w ale N yasa Times 24.2.2009 K risteva, J. 1986 The Kristeva Reader ed. by Toril M oi Blackw ell

M w ale, P N. 2002 ‘W h ere is th e F o u n d atio n of A frican G ender? The Case of M a­ la w i’ Nordic Journal o f African Studies 11(1): 114-137

B ooth, D. D ian a C am m ack, Ja n e H a rrig an , E dge Kanyongolo, M ike M atau re and N ao m i N g w ira 2006 ‘D rivers of C hange an d D evelopm ent in M alaw i’ O ver­ seas D evelopm ent In stitu te L ondon W orking P a p er 261

P rah , M. an d A kosua Adom ako Ampofo 2009 ‘C ontextualising D iscipline an d P u ­ n ish m e n t of W om en a n d C h ild ren ’ in K athy C yusack a n d Takyiw aa eds. The Architects of Violence Against Women in Ghana Accra: The G ender Centre pp 213-250 S aid, E. 1991 Orientalism P enguin

S aw in 1994 ‘R eco n cep tu alizin g “w o m en ’s n a rra tiv e ” as co n tex tu alized n a r r a ti­ v e ’ in B ucholtz, M. A.C. Liang, L au rel A. S u tto n a n d C aitlin H ines (eds) Cul­ tural Performances B erkeley W om en a n d L anguage G roup, C alifornia

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Dr. Linda M cLoughlin zajm uje się k o o rd y n acją p ro g ra m u n a u c z a n ia języka angielskiego n a L iverpool H ope University. Jej z a in te re so w an ia b ad a w cze obej­ m u ją język, płeć i seksualność o raz k rytyczną an alizę dyskursu. Jest a u to rk ą p o d ­ rę c z n ik a The Language o f M agazines (2000 R outledge) o ra z w ielu p u b lik acji u k a ­ zujących się w m iędzynarodow ych czaso p ism ach m . in. Gender and Language.

Streszczenie

P o szu k iw an ie kobiecej to ż sa m o śc i w z m ie n ia ją c y m się św iecie: niew ielk ie s tu d iu m przypadku kobiet w M alaw i

A rtykuł sta n o w i n iew ie lk ie s tu d iu m p rz y p a d k u o p a rte g o n a o p o w ieścia ch trz e c h kobiet żyjących w M alaw i. M a n a celu u k azan ie ich p o szu k iw ań kobiecej to żsam o ści w zm ien iający m się św iecie. W k rajach rozw ijających się kontekst so ­ cjologiczny i historyczny pozostaje pod głębokim w pływ em dyskursu toczącego się w kra jach zac h o d n ich o ró w n o u p ra w n ie n iu kobiet i ró w n o ści płci, co m oże m ieć isto tn e z n aczen ie w p o strzeg a n iu sam ego siebie o ra z w łasnych zach o w ań . M oże to ro d z ić konflikt p om iędzy k u ltu rą za c h o d u a p rz y ję tą tra d y c ją i w a rto ściam i. W M alaw i o tw ierają się dla kobiet now e możliwości, które pozw alają im zaad o p to ­ w ać się do now ego stylu życia. D ogłębne stu d iu m tego ja k kobiety różnych pokoleń o ra z z ró żn y ch w a rstw sołp o łeczn y ch w M alaw i p rz e d sta w ia ją sw oje d o św iad ­ czenia, p ro w ad zi do w ysunięcia w spólnych w niosków w o dniesieniu zaró w n o do stru k tu ry ja k i te m a tó w ich opow ieści, k tó re s ta n o w ią b o g aty o b ra z osobistych przeżyć. Id ą c za B am bergiem , kluczow ym p u n k te m za in te re so w an ia analizy je st pogląd, iż opow ieść n ie je st n ieo d łączn ie sp ó jn a i p raw d ziw a, lecz sk łan ia się ku w zględnej niezgodności, d w u zn aczn o ści ja k i złożonej niedogodności. Głów nym z a m ierzen iem je st w ięc u k azan ie ja k kobieca tożsam ość p rzejaw ia się po p rzez ję ­ zyk. W ostatnich latach analiza n arracy jn a jest źró d łem w ielu b a d a ń historii życia codziennego. N iniejsze s tu d iu m o p a rte je st n a podejściu etnograficznym . B a zu ­ je n a m a te ria le z g ro m a d z o n y m p o d czas ro zm ó w z k o b ie ta m i przebyw ającym i w ich śro d o w isk u dom ow ym . Ź ró d łe m b a d a ń s ą w ięc o p o w ie d z ia n e h isto rie , przy czym fo rm a w yw iadu pozw oliła n a d a ć im w y m iar naukow y. N ależy p odjąć d alszą analizę, k tó ra pozw oli ocenic w arto ść przeprow adzonych b a d a ń w zakresie w pływ u k u ltu ry zachodniej n a s tru k tu rę tożsam o ści płci.

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