Malawi still has a long way to come as a country but they put a lot of emphasis on education. US Aid notes that Gender based violence is still a large problem in Malawi, the main cause of this is due to child marriages. A global health initiative strategy was created with the focus on neonatal and child health amongst other things. With high rates of child marriages you might not think education is a priority, however it is especially for women. Research done by UNICEF shows that more young girls attend school than men and that females also have more support from adults when it comes to learning. This may be because for every additional year females attend school it is associated with a 10 percent increase in wage. 

With these facts about education I think it is interesting to mention that a pen pal of mine from Malawi mentions that both her parents attended a University and that she is also attending a University, this definitely does not seem to be normal in Malawi. USAID’s Girls Empowerment through Education and Health Activity works with adolescent girls in Malawi to improve their reading and writing skills so they are better prepared for their future. As well as educating them about safe sexual and health-care behaviors. Volunteers in the Peace Corps work with girls who are starting secondary school, around the age of 14, to teach them english as well as reading and writing skills. 

Through this project I was able to write to my pen pal in Malawi, I would have never guessed english wasn’t her first language but some of the questions she asked me about the United States were shocking. For example, she wanted to know if it was true that people in the United States do not think that anyone lives in Africa as well as what colors the American flag were. The Volunteers in Malawi also teach girls about HIV prevention, and gender norms through dynamic clubs and camps.

As education is a priority for young girls in Malawi, diversity in sports is not. Upon providing a picture of my sister and I playing soccer to my pen pal she informed me that her father almost cried because he had never seen girls play soccer before and didn’t think he ever would. 

Women primarily do the cooking and cleaning in homes in Malawi as well as the majority of child care. This does not mean Malawi is behind as a country it is just how things are done there. Cooking in Malawi would be considered dangerous to Americans because the women go into a separate hut outside of the home with no ventilation to do the cooking of foods. This creates a smoke filled room that is extremely hot in temperatures that are already around 100 degrees on normal days in Malawi. Malawi is has a good source of water because almost half of the country is occupied by Lake Malawi, almost every home has a working spicket for water outside as well.

“MALAWI GENDER EQUALITY FACT SHEET: Fact Sheet: Malawi.” U.S. Agency for 

International Development, 26 Sept. 2016, www.usaid.gov/malawi/fact-sheets/malawi-gender-equality-fact-sheet.

“Projects in Malawi.” Projects in Malawi, www.peacecorps.gov/malawi/projects/

“School-Age Children.” UNICEF Malawi, www.unicef.org/malawi/school-age-children.