Ipyana2017MSCE

MALAWI SCHOOL CERTIFICATE OF EDUCATION

SUMMARY NOTES
BOOK 3
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UNIT 1

ASPECTS OF DEVELOPMENT

Meaning of development
Development refers to the sustained elevation of an entire society an( its social systems towards a
better or more humane life. The objectives of development are:
 to increase the availability and widen the distribution of life sustaining goods such as food,
shelter, health and protection.
 the other objectives of development are to raise the levels of living of all people and to
expand the range of economic and social choices available to individuals and nations.

Traditionally development has been viewed as the economic progress of a country. Development
meant that a country was able to achieve and sustain an annual increase in its production levels of
5-7% or more. While economic progress is an essential component, true development is
multidimensional in nature. It must encompass more than the material and financial side of
people's lives.

Development is the sustained elevation of an entire society and social system towards a better
more mane life. It must also be viewed as the acceleration of economic growth, the reduction of
inequality and the eradication of absolute poverty. It is the transformation of society.

Objectives of development
Development helps to increase the availability and widen the distribution of basic life-sustaining
goods such as food, shelter, health anti protection.

The other objective of development is to raise the levels of living by providing higher incomes,
the provision of more jobs, better education and greater attention to humanistic values. All these
will serve to enhance the material well-being of people as well as help generate greater
individual and national self-esteem.

Development helps to expand the range of economic and social choices available to individuals
and nations. It does that by freeing people from external dependence and internal servitude.

Dimensions of development
Political development: Development cannot proceed easily in societies where conflicts and
political instability are at the center of life. The absence of peace and political stability often leads
societies to devote a higher percentage of their budget to the military, than to development needs
in, for example, health, education or agriculture.

Economic development: Economic growth is the engine of development as a whole. Without

economic growth there can be no sustained increase in household or government consumption,
in private or public capital formation as well as in health and security levels.

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Technological development: In order for development to take place it requires additional
resources as well as increased productivity and a wider variety of goods and services.
Therefore sustained development depends on new technologies.

Social development: development affects all aspects of society. People are a country's principal
assets. Their well-being defines development. Their energy and initiative drive development.
Their characteristics determine the nature and direction of sustainable human development.

Actors in development
 The state or government bears primary responsibility for its own development.
Development requires competent governmental leadership, coherent national policies
and a strong popular commitment.
 Development requires international cooperation and it requires that other actors assist the
government in its efforts. Such assistance could come from other countries and
international institutions.
 Communities, families and individuals, have a role to play in the development of their
countries and societies.

Locus of development
Often countries formulate a development strategy. A development strategy must include
components aimed at developing the private sector, the public sector, the community, the family
and the individual.

Private sector development: The key objective is the creation of a strong, competitive, stable and
efficient private sector. Among the elements, which advance this objective, are a legal
infrastructure, which can provide and enforce commercial law: stable economic policies, and an
effective financial system. A key part of the environment is the quality of the labor-force; an
educated, healthy workforce is essential.

Public sector development: A development strategy needs to pay attention to the public sector.
After all if the government cannot manage its own affairs how can it manage the affairs of others?
The key question behind the strategy for the public sector is to identify the role of government -
both what the government should do and how it should do it.

Community development: While certain activities are most effectively undertaken at the national
or international level, much of life centres around communities which are often the most effective
vehicle for bringing about the transformation of a society. Well-designed development projects
can be a catalyst for community development. Participation at the community level allows the
project choice to reflect the needs and preferences within the community.

Development of the family: The family is the basic unit of a society and plays a key role in
development. The family, therefore, needs to be strengthened by giving attention to the rights,
capabilities and responsibilities of its members. The development of the family need to
encompass all the family members including its female members. Women play a key role in the
bringing up of their children. They are responsible for the education, nutrition, as well as the
health of their children. Efforts geared at developing female members of the family need to be
given a priority.
Individual's development: In the end, the transformation of a society entails transformation in
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the way individuals think and behave. Development entails the empowerment of individuals, so
that they haw more control over the forces that affect their lives. Education and health are at the
centre of efforts aimed at the development of individuals.

UNIT 2

SOCIAL & ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

Meaning of social and economic development
Social development refers to development in the general well-being of people and their societies.
It looks at improving the living standards of people. Social development is central to the needs
and aspirations of people throughout the world.
Economic development on the other hand is economic growth combined with improvements in
the living standards of people. You should not confuse economic development with economic
growth. Economic growth occurs where there is an increase in the amount of goods and services
produced by a country. This is normally measured over a period of one year. Economic growth
on its own is not economic development. This is because economic growth does not take into
account how the wealth of a nation is distributed.

Economic development and social development are therefore related so much that they are often
referred to as socio-economic development. Social development cannot be attained in the absence
of economic development. The achievement of sustained social development requires sound
broadly based economic policies.

INDICATORS OF SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

Educational Indicators
Adult literacy rate: Is the percentage of people aged 15 and above who can read and write.

School enrollment ratio: Is the number of children of official school age enrolled in primary or
secondary school, expressed as a percent of the number of children of official school age for
those levels in the population.
School drop out rate: Is the percentage of students who drop out before completing a
particular cycle like primary school or secondary school.

High adult literacy rate, high school enrollment ratio and low school drop out rate are all good
for social-economic development as education is very important for development. It affects the
rate of economic and social development. This is because education helps in the provision of
semi-skilled and skilled labor force that is needed in ' the production of goods and services.
Education has impact on income earning potential of an individual. Well educated people
contribute effectively to the development of their communities.

Education has also an effect on fertility levels of women. The more educated a woman is the
less the number of children she is likely to have because of time spent at school and the
subsequent work commitments.
Health, Indicators
Percentage of population with access to safe water: Safe water is very important for good health.
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Contaminated water causes a lot of ill ' health in many societies.
Percentage of population with access to sanitation: Adequate facilities for disposal of waste
helps to prevent human, animal and insect contact with excreta. Suitable facilities range from
simple but protected pit latrines to flush toilets with sewerage. To be effective all facilities need
to be correctly constructed and maintained.
Infant mortality rate (IMR): This is the number of infants who die before reaching one year of
age, expressed per 1,000 live births in a given year.
Maternal mortality ratio: This is the number of women who die during pregnancy or child birth,
and is expressed per 100,000 live births.
Life expectancy at birth: This is the number of years that a person would live based on
statistical probability.
In developed societies life expectancy is high because the percentage of population with access to
safe water and sanitation is also high. On the other hand Infant mortality rate, maternal mortality
ratio, and prevalence of child malnutrition are low.
Good health is an important indicator of social-economic development. This is because only
healthy people can contribute to the development of their country. You need a healthy labour
force if you are to increase production levels. Good health is particularly important at childhood
level. This is because good health is important for a child's mental and physical development.
Crime rate: In a socio-economically developed society crime rate is likely to be down. High
incidence of poverty is one of the major causes of high crime rate especially robberies.
Infrastructure: The presence of social and economic infrastructure is a good indicator of social
and economic development. Examples of these include schools, hospitals, and financial
institutions like banks.
Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and Gross National Product (GNP): Gross domestic product and
gross national product are important economic indicators. The total income or output of a country
is usually measured in GDP and GNP. GDP measures the value of total output produced by
factors of production located in the domestic economy regardless of who owns these factors. GNP
measures the total domestic and foreign output claimed by residents of a country. Growth in
GNP and GDP are an indication that the economy is growing. GDP and GNP are measured
normally over some period usually a year.
GNP per capita: It is the total GNP of a country divided by the total population. If a country does
not produce a lot the income per person will be low. The same applies if the population is big.
Where the population is big the total product of a country has to be divided among a lot of
people. In this case the GNP per capita will be low.

SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT INITIATIVES IN THE COMMUNITY AND

THEIR IMPACT
The achievement of social economic development requires sound economic policies and
investments. The most productive policies and investments are those that empower people to
maximize their capacities, resources and opportunities.
FACTORS THAT CONTRIBUTE TO ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
Market liberalization: This refers to the removal of barriers to trade: Market liberalization helps
in bringing about a lot of actors in the market place. The more the people and companies
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involved in businesses the more the people who will share in the economic progress of a country.

Privatization: This is the process of moving activity from public sector to the private sector. The
advantage of privatization is that it encourages private ownership of productive resources. This
means that wealth is not just owned by the government but also by the ordinary
people of a country who may own shares in the private companies.

Industrialization: The process of expanding the country's capacity to produce secondary goods
and services is known as industralisation. Industrialisation helps to create more industrial
employment opportunities for people and therefore, more opportunities for earning income.

Import substitution- The government attempts to replace imports with domestically produced
goods through this policy which builds on industrialisation.

Distribution of income or consumption: The existence of disproportionate distribution of total

national income among households is an indication of high level of under-development whereby
the share going to rich people in a country is far greater than that going to the poorer people.

Unemployment levels: There is a very close relationship between high levels of unemployment
and widespread poverty. Economic policies that promote the creation of employment
opportunities can help in the alleviation of poverty.
In a socio-economically developed society you would also expect the people to have adequate
and proper housing as well as enough food throughout the year. Houses that leak and are not
well ventilated are a health hazard to the people living in them. Food insecurity is the major
contributor to high levels of mortality as it leads to poor nutritional status.

Urbanization: This refers to the economic and demographic process involved in the growth of
towns and cities. Growth of economic activities in cities, which are often brought about by
industrialization, leads to the migration of people from rural areas to the urban areas. The people
are needed to work in the expanding industries.

Taxation: Government tax policies are very important in deciding the levels of social and
economic development. The tax revenue that government levies on private individuals,
corporations and property used to finance public services such as health, education, transport,
communication, and other components of the economic and social infrastructure. High taxation
levels, however, can act as a hindrance investors. A lot of companies would not want to invest in
countries where they will be deducted a lot of money in taxes.

Peace and stability: Peace and stability are important factors of social and economic
development of a country. Both domestic and foreign investors would not want to invest their
resources in countries or areas where they feel their investment is insecure.

Availability of resources: In order to develop economically and socially, there is need for
resources both financial and non-financial. Finances are needed in providing for public
services and also by the private sector if they are to make investments. Non-financial
resources such as educated workforce and natural resources are all important for
development. Economic development can hardly take place where there is poor human
resource capacity.

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Management of resources: Having resources is important for economic development. However

having resources without their proper management can do little to achieve sustainable
development. Natural resources, financial resources, and all other resources need to be
managed well if they are to contribute to economic and social development.

POLITICAL DEVELOPMENT
Politics is about control, power and authority. Basically power and control refer to the ability to
cause others to change their behaviour and do what the power holder wants. Authority on the
other hand is slightly different from power in that it refers to the right to enforce obedience.
People acknowledge authority when they believe that those who are using this power have the
moral right to do so. Politics is also about conflict resolution.
In a democracy, the government receives its power from a mandate of its citizens. The mandate
gives the government power to govern by passing and enforcing laws.
Sometimes other people exercise illegitimate control, power and authority on others: Power is
illegitimate when it is not recognized and accepted by the majority of those who are governed.

Political development looks at how control, power and authority are acquired and exercised so
as -to benefit the majority of those who are governed.

INDICATORS OF POLITICAL DEVELOPMENT

Political awareness and citizen participation: In a politically developed society the citizens are
aware of political developments taking place in their society and thus actively participate in
them. Citizen participation may take many forms including voting in an election, debating issues
or attending civic or community meetings.
Political tolerance: Politically developed societies are politically tolerant. This means that people
who are not in power must be allowed to organize themselves and speak out regardless of their
different cultures: race, religions, ethnic groups and political parties. These may have viewpoints
different from the majority of the population or from those in power.
Ability to choose own leaders: In a society that is politically developed, the people to be
governed need to express their will by choosing or electing their own leaders. The elected official
should be chosen and peacefully removed in a free and fair manner. Intimidation, corruption and
threats to citizens during or before an election do not indicate political development or maturity.
Political institutions: These include political parties as well as the parliament. In a politically
developed society you do not only have the institutions but the institutions are actively involved
in promoting the welfare of all the people they represent. Frequent parliamentary , sessions are
also an indication of political development. They are an indication that the government is not just
doing things on its own; rather, it is consulting the electorate through their representatives in
parliament.

Transparency and accountability: In a politically advanced society elected as well as nominated

officials are held accountable to the people. They are required to make decisions and perform
their duties according to the will and wishes of the people and not just for themselves.

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Control of the abuse of power: In politically developed countries efforts are not spared in trying
to prevent officials or other people from abusing their power. The most common form of abuse
of power is corruption.

Human rights: Human rights of citizens are respected and protected in politically developed
countries. Human rights include freedom of expression, freedom of association and freedom of
assembly.

The rule of law: In politically developed countries no one is above the law, not even the
president. This means that every one is required to obey the law and will be held accountable if
he or she violates it.

Multi-party system: A multiparty system of government is a good indicator of political

development. Traditionally one party system of government has resulted in dictatorship in many
African countries. Multiparty system means that you have more than one political party
participating in an election. This system of government allows for opposition to the party that
wins an election. The opposition helps to check the activities of the winning party, making sure
they are taken to task and abuses are checked.

EFFECTS OF POLITICAL DEVELOPMENT ON PEOPLE

Political development increases awareness of people in the political affairs affecting them. Being
informed is critical to effective participation. Talking to and raising questions with people who
are knowledgeable like members of parliament or civic leaders can properly inform citizens,
who can also obtain information from the media (radio, television or newspapers). Citizens'
awareness in political affairs helps to ensure that leaders are held accountable and are not
allowed to abuse their powers.

People know their rights and respect other peoples' rights. They are tolerant with one another
and they appreciate diversity in culture, race, religious beliefs, views as well as political parties.
They work together.

Discussing political developments freely

Political development leads to increased participation in development work. In politically
developed countries citizens work as partners with their government and participate in
development work. If people do not participate actively in the work of the government the
danger is that the government makes all decisions without their input. The more input from
citizens the more informed and better the decisions made.

Political development leads to increased participation in parliamentary and local government

elections. Elections help to give legitimate power to those who win to become leaders.

MAJOR POLITICAL DEVELOPMENTS IN MAIAWI SINCE 1963

In February 1963 Malawi, known as Nyasaland then, attained self-governance and Kamuzu
Banda became the first Prime Minister. On 6 July 1964 Nyasaland attained independence and
changed its name to Malawi.

In 1971, all other political parties in Malawi were banned except for the Malawi Congress Party.
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This turned Malawi into one party state. In the same year Kamuzu was made life president of
Malawi Congress Party.

On 8th March 1992, the Catholic Bishops in Malawi wrote and circulated a pastoral letter entitled
"Living Our Faith" which openly criticized the Kamuzu Banda government.

In June 1993 a referendum was held in Malawi to decide on whether to reintroduce multiparty
system of government or not. The people of Malawi voted for the re-introduction of multiparty
democracy.

Following the referendum, the constitution of Malawi was amended to allow for the formation of
other parties. Other political parties were thus formed. Some of them were Alliance For
Democracy (AFORD), United Democratic Front (UDF), and Malawi Democratic Party (MDP).

On 17th May 1994, multiparty parliamentary and presidential elections were held simultaneously
in Malawi.

Following the general election the president of the UDF was elected the presidential winner with
47.16 percent of the votes; Kamuzu Banda was second with 33.45 percent of the votes while
Chakufwa Chihana of AFORD was third with 18.90 percent of the votes. During the elections,
there were 177 constituencies being contested. UDF won 85 of the seats, MCP won 56 seats, and
AFORD won 36 seats.

In 1999, another multi-party election was held in Malawi and Bakili Muluzi was elected
president for a second term of office. he handed over power to his party successor, Bingu wa
Mutharika who won the presidential elections on 20th May, 2004.

TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENT
What is Technological Development?
- Technological development is the application of knowledge or science to production that
helps to expand the potential productivity of resources.
- Technology can be seen as input in the production of goods and services and is thus a
source of total factor productivity.

INDICATORS OF TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENT

Over the past century impressive advances in communication, transport and medicine etc have
changed the way people live and work. Indicators of technological development include: cell
phone, telephone sets, computers, radios, money cards, telephones etc.
FACTORS THAT CONTRIBUTE TO TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENT
1. RAISING AWARENESS
- A country's people and leaders must view the effective use of technological advances as
the key to successful and sustainable development.
- Leaders and the general public must be educated about and convinced of the importance of
technological innovations.

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2. STRENGTHENING GLOBAL LINKAGES
 Developing countries need to get access to technology through global links
 Specifically this is through imports of capital goods and components, through direct
investment and strategic alliances as well as through foreign education and training
 It is important that foreign travel and other contacts with foreigners and foreign goods
and services be strengthened.

3. CREATING POLICY AND REGULATORY ENVIRONMENT CONDUCIVE TO

TECHNOLOGICAL UPGRADING
A policy and regulatory environment that promotes rapid diffusion, adoption, and efficient
use of new technologies is very important.
A free market economy would help in bringing about technological development. This
includes:
i. the promotion of competition
ii. removing restrictions on foreign technology imports
iii. encouraging greater participation in world trade
iv. facilitating foreign contacts through foreign conferences and trade fairs

Competition forces firms to lower costs improves quality and keep up with new products. It
thus helps to create a strong incentive to adopt more efficient new technology and
organization.

4. EDUCATION AND TRAINING

 Modern education institutions place a high priority on the development of problem
solution skills and on teaching of scientific knowledge and method.
 There is a particular emphasis on the teaching of information and communication
technology so that future adults will have the skills and knowledge to keep abreast of the
constant changes in the technology and will know how to use such technology to their
advantage.

5. DEVELOPING PHYSICAL AND LOCAL TECHNOLOGY SUPPORT INFRASTRUCTURE

 To help in the effective use and diffusion of technological information, it is necessary to
develop networks and institutions that can tap into information about technology and
markets tends both worldwide and locally.
 Access to computers at telecommunication hardware and software (including the
Internet) as well as transportation (roads and airport) a telecommunications is crucial.
 Some institutions include the universities through their research activities:
Some of the key institutions include
i. Technological information centres
ii. Standards, testing and quality control institutions e.g. Malawi Bureau of
standards
iii. Research and development institutions e.g. The Malawi Industrial Research and
Technology Development Centre (MIRTDC)

6. POLITICAL WILL
Government can play a role in funding technological development. It must be determined to find
resources for technological development. Innovation can help enormously in improving the lives
of the people e.g. use of solar power in areas where there is no electricity (can be used for food
processing - thus providing opportunities to generate income.
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7. MATCHING SOLUTION TO LOCAL PROBLEMS

 The effective use of technology means matching technological development to the local needs
of a country.
 It should be appropriate to the local conditions to which its being applied
 The degree to which technology is appropriate varies from one country to another.

MILESTONE TO TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENT

Some of the significant technological developments of the last few centuries include:
a. The airplane b. space flight
c. the bicycle d. credit cards
e. radio f. television
g. telephone h. computer.

IMPACT OF TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENT ON THE LIVES OF PEOPLE

POSITIVE IMPACT
a. Improvement in transport has revolutionized the way people move around. Travelling is
now faster and easier, cars, buses, trains and planes make it easier for people to access the
goods they need; to find employment and to reach educational institutions. They also allow
business people to market goods and find customers.
b. Improved communication through telephone, faxes and e-mail. People on opposite side of
the world to keep in touch and make daily communications easier for government, business
and individuals.
c. Televisions and radios bring information and entertainment to people in their own homes.
d. Domestic appliances make it easier for people to look after their homes, allowing more time
for paid work and leisure
e. Electronic commerce can help businesses expand advertising and selling. These goods and
services in the international market place in the internet
f. Computer technology has great potential for improving education. Special programmes can
help students in all kinds of studies. It is particularly helpful in distance education and for
adult education
g. Technology has brought great improvement in healthcare, in the form of more effective
drugs and equipment.

NEGATIVE IMPACT
a. Television and the Internet expose people to different cultures, particularly that of the
western world. Some elements of these cultures may have a bad effect on young people e.g.
encouraging violence and low moral standards.
b. A small number of companies have enormous power in the information industry. It is
extremely difficult for other companies to compete against them
c. Some aspects of the new technology raise ethical questions e.g. Biotechnological innovations
that change the nature of plants species to provide stronger crops
d. Many technologies have been used to develop new and more deadly weapons.
- Nuclear weapons were used to devastating effect at the end of the Second World War.
- Chemical weapons have also been developed which can kill or injure vast number of
people.
e. Some technologies damage the environment e.g. pollution from the burning fossil fuels (coal
and oil and car exhausts has become a world wide problem.
f. Technologically advanced countries use a great deal of energy, some of it from nuclear
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sources. While nuclear energy does not have a damaging effect on the environment, faults or
accident within nuclear power plants can lead to nuclear disasters and the spread of
radioactivity, which is harmful to all forms of life.
g. An industry, which introduces new technology, can contribute to unemployment.

TOPIC TWO

CULTURE AND CHANGE

Meaning of culture
Culture is complex. It includes knowledge, beliefs, arts, morals, laws, customs and other
capabilities and habits acquired or observed by man as a member of society.
A society culture consists of whatever it is one has to know or believe in order to operate in a
manner acceptable to its members.

EASTERN CULTURE
Characteristics of Eastern Culture
1. Family Structure
- Characterised by extended family systems. Joint families are quite common.
- Gender and age plays a big role in specifying responsibilities.

2. Food: Herbs and spices are part of everyday cooking.

3. Hospitality and greetings:

- Stress the importance of honouring guests.
- The host tries to ensure that guests are comfortable.
- Food for guests is normally served in excessive quantities.
- Strangers are often welcome in the home and treated nicely as they are often seen as
visitors sent by God.
- Greeting a female with a kiss is not acceptable.

4. Marriage Practice
- Arranged marriages are common.
- People often behave conservatively. Public display of affection between spouses is not
usual.

5. Religion: The Islam, Hinduism and Buddhism are very common religions.

6. Dressing styles
- In the predominantly, Moslem societies, women dress conservatively.
- Most women dress in clothes that cover their faces and hair. They have to wear long
garments from shoulders to the feet.
- Men wear long sleeved one piece dress that covers the whole body.

THE IMPACT OF EASTERN CULTURE

1. Muslim Religion
In Malawi, Muslim, Swahili - Arabs brought Islam to the Yao people along the
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lakeshore and the South of the country.
2. The development of Swahili language.
3. The style of building.

WESTERN CULTURE
1. Family Structure: The nuclear family and single parent family are common.

2. Food: - Rice, bread and pasta are common foods

- Meat and difficult types of vegetable are part of their diets.

3. Hospitality and greetings

- People from the western countries respect privacy very much. Strangers are often
cared with caution.
- Visitations are normally upon invitation or prior notification.
- If you are invited to dinner or lunch in a restaurant, it is customary that everyone pays
for themselves.
- Greetings with a kiss or handshake is common.

4. Marriage: It is common for people in love to publicly display their affectionate.

5. Major common religions: Common religion is Christianity.

6. Dress Style
- Men wear shirts and trousers or suits
- Women wear blouses and skirts, dresses, suits and sometimes trousers.

7. Languages
There are so many languages in western countries. These include English, French,
German and Dutch. English is widely spoken in many western countries and is a common
language e.g. communication through the world over.

IMPACT OF WESTERN AND EASTERN CULTURE ON MALAWI AND AFRICA

1. Changes in family structure
- The extended family system is traditionally the most common Africa and Eastern culture.
- The coming in of people from western countries has impacted on the African family
structure.
- Many people are now opting for a nuclear type of family. With the coming of
industrial development a lot of people are moving with their immediate families to
live in urban areas where they may be employed.

2. Coming of various forms of religions

- When people from western and eastern countries started coming to Africa, they
brought with them their religions.
- People from the West brought in the Christian religion. With them many Christian
churches came into Africa.
- Some of Christian churches common in Malawi and in the African countries include
the Roman Catholic Church, the Anglican Church, the Church of Scotland (or
Presbyterian church) the Seventh-day Adventist church, the Pentecostal churches and

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many others.
- People from the East also brought into Africa many religions. These include: Islam,
Hinduism and Buddhism.

3. Dissolution of traditional religions

- Many ethnic groups in Africa have adopted religions brought to the continent by
people from western and eastern countries.
- Christianity and Islam are the most common religions in most African countries today.
- Traditionally many African religions centered on ancestral spirits.
- Traditional African religions are almost extinct in most African Societies.
- In Malawi and most other Southern African countries Christianity is the biggest
religion. The Muslim faith on the other hand is more common in North African
countries like Egypt, Sudan and Algeria.

4. Review of certain beliefs and practices

- Some African beliefs and practices had to be reviews with the coming in of people
from other countries.
- This review was mostly due to the fact that many Africans embraced religions brought
from the other cultures.
- Some of the beliefs and practices reviewed include:
 Polygamy
 The circumcision of boys during initiation ceremonies. This is particularly
because it can be dangerous to health.
 The removal of sexual organs of girls
 Women bearing many children
 Customary law
 Use of traditional herbal medicine to treat diseases
 The role of women in societies
 Arranged marriages
 Farming for economic well being.
 Today education is seen as important for development of an individual or society.
5. Copying of western music and dance
Western music such as Pop, Jazz, Country and Western is very popular with many
Africans who also revere western singer.
Musical instruments are increasingly being put to use by many African singers.

6. Copying of Western and Eastern ways of dressing

- With westernization men wear suits and trousers while women wear dresses or
blouses and skirts.
- The wearing of trousers by women is one of the major cultural changes in some
African countries, including Malawi.
- Eastern ways of dressing has also impacted on some African way of dressing.
Muslim women for example are supposed to cover their heads in public. It is
common to see men in West Africa wearing head gear and robes.

7. Copying of Western languages

- English has become a common language used for easy communication across ethnic
and geographical borders.
- The education system in most African countries uses western languages e.g. Malawi

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and other countries like Zambia, Zimbabwe use English in classes and business
dealings.
- French, another western language is also commonly used in other African countries
such as the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Mauritius.

8. Copying of western and eastern ways of preparing food

- The effects of western culture are felt worldwide. Most towns have fast food
restaurants selling hamburgers of chicken and chips.
- A lot of Africans are now growing and consuming different types of spices. This is
due to eastern culture who prefer their food hot and spicy.
- A lot of recipe books come from western writers with western ways of preparing food.

PRESERVING OF CULTURE
- Cultural heritage consists of those aspects of the past that people preserve, cultivate, study
and pass on to the next generation.
- It includes both tangible and intangible aspects of culture.
- The tangible refers to what is felt, known and experienced. The intangible include such things
as paintings, other works of art and buildings.
Therefore: Cultural preservation is the preservation of cultural heritage as well as the
maintenance and sustenance of norms, beliefs, customs and practices of a society.
- The emphasis is on cultural continuity from the past, through the present and into the future.

THE IMPORTANCE OF PRESERVING CULTURE

1. It helps to give a sense of identity to people of a particular society e.g. our language,
beliefs, customs and music contribute to our pride in ourselves and in our community.
2. It promotes understanding of other people and respecting them.
- Understanding cultural groups prepares us to better listen to, speak with and celebrate
those who seem different.
3. It promotes cultural sustenance. This is more so with tangible cultural heritage such as
pieces of art and buildings. Tangible cultural heritage is sometimes in the form that decays
or deteriorates over time. Preservation helps
4. It allows the passing on of culture to other generations. These may include things like
initiation ceremonies, chains of commands within a family or village, proper modes of
dressing and addressing people and cultural skills such as basket weaving or mat
making.
5. It also promotes more effective use of cultural assets through increased access and public
understanding of their value to society.

STRATEGIES USED IN PRESERVING CULTURE

1. Using museums and cultural centers
- One common way of preserving culture is to collect objects and information about the
past and put them on display in a museum.
- Art galleries are used to exhibit pieces of arts.
- The national museums, libraries, universities and art galleries have helped in cultural
preservation through their work on research, restoration and preservation of cultural
change.
- Museums and art galleries help in provision of appropriate storage and display
environment.

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2. Using cultural events
- There are many places and occasions where people can listen to traditional music, hear
poetry and participate in singing and dancing. These include national holidays,
weddings, funerals and parties.
- There are also drama groups that perform traditional dances and displays depicting
cultural life of various ethnic groups.
3. Using books/stories/ songs
- Story telling is the ancient way in which societies pass on their culture from generation to
generation.
- In many African countries including Malawi those stories are being written down so that
children can read them at school, and so that they are preserved for future generations.
- These stories contain important cultural values.
4. Keeping language alive
- Language is fundamental part of culture.
- Use of local language should be promoted since language is often the aspect of their
culture that people feel most strongly about.
5. Using the Curriculum
- One way of preserving culture is to make sure that students learn about the culture of
their communities at school.
- Malawian school children also study books about the culture of various ethnic groups in
Malawi as part of Malawi heritage e.g. Mbiri ya Alomwe, Chikala cha Ayao, Kukula ndi
mwambo.
- Such books promote the appreciation of cultural heritage.
- In addition, raising the level of general understanding encourage a broader awareness of
nature importance and challenges facing a country's cultural heritage.

6. Using art and craft

It is through arts and crafts that people are able to express their way of life, beliefs and
traditions.

7. Using policy and registration

- Policy and registration can help to control the amount of imported cultural products.
- Some nations have enacted requirements enacted requirements that broadcast outlets and
cinema exhibit a certain percentage of domestically produced programming which is in
line with the cultural traditions of a country.
- Copyright laws are also important in relation to the artifacts associated with a given
society.

CONSTRAINTS FACED IN PRESERVING CULTURE

Preserving of social values traditions and ideals has presented a real challenge to many
African countries in recent years. Some of the constraints to the preservation of culture
includes modernization, changes in ideologies between generations, resistance of new
generations, the media, need to change, as well as lack of resources.

Modernization: The need to integrate cultural activities and values in all spheres of life has been
very loudly pronounced. However the clash between modernization on one hand, and the
traditional cultural values, on the other, cannot be easily avoided. People's ways of living have

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changed over time mostly

Through the UNESCO World Heritage Convention some sites in African have been declared World
heritage sites. These include the rock churches of Ethiopia, Ashante traditional buildings in Ghana
and the great Zimbabwe ruins. Under this convention international assistance can be
secured by governments to facilitate the protection of these sites.

Changes in ideologies: Ideologies refer to ideas or beliefs that are held by a particular person or
group of people. Even though the preservation of culture may be advocated, some people may not
be for the preservation of some cultural practices and beliefs because they are in conflict with their
present ideas and beliefs. For example some people may resist traditional religious ideologies
because they believe in modern Christian ideologies.

Resistance by new generations: Cultural preservation involves passing of beliefs or customs

from one generation to another. New generations often resist some cultural practices and beliefs
because they find them old fashioned and not in line with modern demands. Resistances by new
generations makes the preservation of culture a very difficult task.

The media: Cultural life is very much influenced by the mass media like the radio, television and
newspapers. Today's media environment enlarges choice, creates opportunities for diversity and
promotes the flow of information globally. The technological capability of modem media to beam
messages and images to virtually every corner of the globe poses concern to those interested in the
preservation of culture. Respect for standards of decency and morality is often difficult to
compromise. The media has brought into the Malawian and African cultural life new civilization
and technological standards that are easily accepted by the majority of the population.

Need for change: Some cultural practices can help promote or hinder rapid socio-economic
development. When cultural attitudes and institutions hamper socioeconomic development they
are to be eradicated.

Lack of resources: The preservation of culture requires resources. These resources refer both to
human resources and financial resoul,ces. Financial resources are needed to finance
performances, tours, broadcasting, publishing, distribution networks etc People who are ~Ve11
trained in conservation and preservation work are an assets in promoting the cultural heritage
of a nation. We need well-qualified people to work in museums. However lack of financial
and human resources makes the preservation and promotion of cultural heritage difficult.

CULTURAL PRACTICES WHICH HINDER DEVELOPMENT

1. Initiation ceremonies
- Many parents regard these ceremonies as so important that they remove their children
from school to take part in them.
- This can present problems because it may encourage you people to think that education
is not important.
- In addition, these ceremonies are also closely associated with he practice of early
marriage for girls.
- These early marriages usually bring a girl’s education to an end.

2. The ritual of fisi

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Ipyana2017MSCE
- This idea entice girls to early marriage, again ending girls educational prospects.
- It also promotes the spreading of HIV/AIDS.

3. The belief in witchcraft

- This presents people from succeeding in life.
- Those who fear they have been bewitched could feel there is no point in getting involved
in actions which could help development.

CULTURAL PRACTICES WHICH ENCOURAGE DEVELOPMENT

1. Use of vernacular language
- On the radio and in official communication.
- This ensures that everyone can understand important messages and feel included in
what is going on in society.

2. Traditional proverbs, folk stories and dances.These have been used to teach people vital
information in the area of family planning.

3. Traditional Crafts e.g. tinsmithing and iron working have been revived in many Malawian
villages.
4. Traditional leaders
- Help to solve development problems e.g. taking an active part in helping to conserve
fish stocks.
- Traditional leaders fisheries management Association have been set up on the lakes
and rivers of Malawi.
- The chiefs and headmen are using their influence to persuade the fishermen to act
responsibly.

5. Traditional herbs
- Are being incorporated in health care.
- In many countries there is now a partnership between western medicine and
traditional healers.

CULTURE AND DEVELOPMENT

The fundamental link between culture and development presents opportunities for
practitioners of cultural heritage preservation and of economic and social development to
realize their shared objectives. Creativity is the source of human progress, and cultural diversity,
being a treasure of humankind, is an essential factor of development. Although there are some
cultural practices that hamper socioeconomic development culture can and does contribute to
development. Culture enhances unity, helps to promote tourism and can help in employment
creation.

Unity: Understanding and respecting cultures offers us the opportunity to promote peace and
justice for all groups. Unity help promotes confidence, which fosters development.

Tourism: Culture is a driving force of tourism. Visitors who look for cultural experiences tend to
stay longer and spend more money in an area so help to generate foreign exchange.

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Employment creation: Trades like arts and crafts if promoted well can be a source of employment
for many people. Some people can be employed in hotel industries or as tour guides.

TOPIC THREE

GENDER AND DEVELOPMENT

HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE OF GENDER

The following is a brief summary of the UN approaches to Gender development worldwide.

1. Anti-poverty Approach (1960-1970)

2. Welfare Approach (1970-1980)
3. Women in Development Approach (1975-1985)
4. Gender And Development Approach (late 1980's)

The Anti-Poverty Approach (1960-1970): In the United Nations first development

decade (1960-1970) efforts concentrated on reducing poverty of poor countries. This
approach aimed at income generating activities that would help in creating increased
capital accumulation and increased per capita income. This approach however failed to
help reduce poverty especially of vulnerable groups in society like women and children,
the elderly, and the disabled.
The Welfare Approach (1970-1980): The approach was adopted in the second
development decade of the United Nations. It among other things focused on
redistribution of control over resources. Under this approach, special welfare
programmes were designed especially for vulnerable groups in society. In the case of
gender relations, the aim was to address the inequalities that existed, between men and
women. It was through the welfare approach that women-in-development approach
developed.

Women in Development Approach (1975-1985): This development approach aims at

increasing opportunities for women to participate in, contribute to and benefit from the
development of their societies and economies
The Women-in-Development approach however received a lot of criticisms mainly
because it:

1. focused exclusively on women in the development process

2. the approach assumed that women are passive recipients of development and not
active participants in the development process.

Gender and Development Approach (from late 1985): This approach was developed in the late
1980's and includes both men and women as agents of development. It is based on the fact that it is
only efforts that consider men and women as partners and not competitors in development that
can successfully bring about women's equality and empowerment.

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Ipyana2017MSCE
A. GENDER ISSUES IN AFRICA
Gender refers to the physical and social condition of being male or female.
It looks at the individual self perception of being male or female in a specific society or culture, as
well as the expectations that people in that society or culture may have one someone in relation to
roles and responsibilities because they are male or female.
Gender determines how women, men, girls and boys relate with each other and among
themselves. It has implications on an individual's personality, condition (material well being) and
position (status) in society.

B. MEANING OF DEVELOPMENT IN RELATION TO GENDER

Gender development is the process that involves the removal of social-cultural constraints to
mobility, access to resources and opportunities and an emergency of more just society.
Thus males and females influence the direction and pace of change through their active
participation in decision making, through their contribution to the desired changes and though
sharing the benefits based on individual's contribution.

EXAMPLES OF GENDER ROLES

1. For the woman:
- Crying at a funeral
- Taking care of children at home
- Cooking for the family
- Taking care of sick people

2. For the man:

- Digging at a funeral
- Being a bread winner for his family
- Heading the household but not helping in domestic chores

C. LAWS, RULES AND REGULATIONS IN MALAWI THAT ARE GENDER BIASED

1. Legacy laws
The laws place a much greater emphasis on the rights of the extended family in cases
where a man dies without leaving a will.
In a matrilineal system, when a man dies his kin are entitled to a share of the estate.
In a patrilineal system, emphasis is on the brothers and uncles' rights to inherit their
father's property

2. Maternity leave
The government allows civil servants to take three months maternity paid leave.
Private sector employers are reluctant because they say would make their business suffer.
Hence pregnant women have to negotiate with their employers to be paid maternity
leave.

3. Suspension of pregnant girls

In the past, it was common in Malawi for pregnant teenage girls to be expelled
permanently from school.

4. Religious laws
In some religions it is not acceptable for women to take leading roles e.g. women cannot
become priests in the Roman Catholic Church.
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Ipyana2017MSCE

5. Citizenship Act
A Malawian woman who marries a non-Malawian man has to renounce her Malawian
citizenship, unless she formally asks for permission to keep it. If she makes this request,
she is not allowed to take on her husband's citizenship.
The children of such a couple are not entitled to Malawian citizenship.
However, the same situation does not apply if a Malawian man marries a foreign woman.
He can retain his citizenship without problems. Steps are being taken to change this Act.

D. LAWS, RULES AND REGULATIONS THAT HAVE BEEN REVISED

Dress Act: This act made it possible for women to wear clothing appropriate for the tasks they are

doing.

The Wills and Inheritance Act: This is the most popular piece of legislation affecting women in all
African countries. The common problems of the wills and inheritance act in most African countries
relate to the failure of the act in many cases to protect the wife and children from rampaging
relatives of a dead man. It has been widely noted that in practice, as soon as a husband dies the
relatives of the man descend on his home and forcibly help themselves to any of his assets on the
pretext that they are his rightful heirs.

Citizenship laws: The Citizenship Act of Malawi, and many African countries, provides that upon
marrying a foreign man, the Malawian woman will lose her right to Malawian citizenship unless
she renounces the citizenship of her foreign husband by the first anniversary of the marriage. It
further provides that the children of a Malawian woman by a foreign husband cannot be Malawian
citizens by virtue of their mother being Malawian. A Malawian male marrying a foreign woman
faces no such problem. This piece of legislation is clearly discriminatory on the basis of sex.

Maternity Leave: Sometimes women face problems in getting maternity leave. Many times
women face discrimination in getting employment because some employers feel that a woman
would at one point or another be looking for maternity leave on top of the annual leave they get.
Bearing in mind that the number of children per mother in most African countries is significantly
higher than in western countries, the cost of martenity leave on an organization is also likely to be
high. Women may thus face discrimination based on this more especially if they are not
adequately protected by the law.

Suspension of Girls from schools when pregnant: In many African countries pregnancy in girls is
one of the major contributing factors to girls not continuing with their education. Girls are
suspended from school when pregnant and most of them do not. return to school after delivery
of a child.

Religious laws: Religion has a lot of influence on lives of many people. It is said to be one of the
most rigid systems perpetuating gender disparities because scriptures are often used out of context
to support partisan views.

Marriage laws: In many African countries men are by law allowed to have more than one wife.
This is mostly done even without the consent of the wife. It would be proper for the laws to be
revised so that it can only recognize one woman as a legitimate wife. If thisos not possible then a
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Ipyana2017MSCE
law requiring the parties to state at the time of marriage whether or not the marriage they are
contracting is intended to be monogamous would be helpful. This will guard against unwilling
women being forced into polygamous marriages by the unilateral actions of their husbands years
into marriage.

Travel regulations: In some African countries a woman's right to acquire travel documents are
restricted by her marriage. In such countries a husband for example is supposed to consent if the
wife is to be given a passport. This in a sense limits the freedoms of a woman as some fail to
engage in business activities because they do not have the support of the husband.

Support of children born out of wedlock: It is included in the laws of many African countries that
mothers who have children out of wedlocks should receive financial support from the responsible
father for the child's upkeep. The problem however is that the amount of support required to be
provided is not regularly updated and is therefore often significantly less than one would need
for a child's up keep. For example in Malawi it was set at MK250 per month in 1999. This amount is
inadequate and needs to be reviewed regularly.

With the promotion of gender balance in many African countries, a lot of countries including
Malawi have taken significant steps to revise the laws and regulations. Some of the revised laws
and regulations are discussed below.

Anti discriminations laws: Many countries in Africa have got laws against discrimination on any
ground including sex. This law gives women an opportunity to do be engaged in any legal
activity that they w,)nt just as men. In Malawi for example in the past women were not allowed to
pursue certain courses at the University of Malawi such as engineering. These days a woman can
apply for any available course and stands the same chance of being selected as men.

Re-admission of girl mothers after delivery: In many African countries now girls are encouraged to
continue school even when they are pregnant up until delivery time. They are also encouraged to
come back to school after delivery of their child.

E. RIGHTS
The government of Malawi has agreed to a number of international conventions such as
Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). This
convention sets out internationally accepted standards for achieving equal rights for women.
This was done in 1987 and all reservations were lifted in 1990.
The government has also set up institutions to promote women's affairs. One of these is the
Ministry of Gender, Youth and Community Services. This Ministry encourages support for
income generating activities for women, credit schemes and training for women.
In 2000, the Malawi government launched a National Gender Policy. Development after a
consultation period, this identifies six areas of action. These are: education and training;
reproductive health; food and nutrition security; natural resources and environmental
management; governance and human rights; poverty eradication and economic
empowerment.

There are also many non-governmental organizations (NGOs) which deal with issues relevant
to women and children.

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Ipyana2017MSCE
Among these NGOs are the Forum for African Women Educationists in Malawi (FAWEMA),
the National Association of Business Women in Malawi (NABW) and Women and Law in
Southern Africa (WLSA).

F. GENDER ISSUES IN AFRICA

1. Gender and Education
All children have the right to education. It is through education that boys and girls learn the skills
and knowledge which enables them to improve their lives and contribute to the development of
their countries.
However, in many African countries it is common for boys and girls to be treated differently
when it comes to education.
2. Gender and Marriage
 In many African countries, girls are brought up to be quiet and demure. They are advised by
older women on their roles as wives and mothers, and are expected to be obedient and
submissive.
 In the rural areas of Africa, marriages are mostly arranged according to customary or traditional law.
 In Patrilineal societies, the man's family is expected to pay lobola to the woman's family. This is
regarded as a thank - you to the parents of the bride for bringing her up.
 Lobola gives the husband rights over the woman. She is expected to work in his fields and to
bear his children.
 In Patrilineal societies, the children and not the widow are regarded as the main heirs.
In either of systems the widow finds herself isolated, and often without rights to her late
husband's property.

3. Gender and Employment

 Because girls receive less education than boys, more African women than men are illiterate. This
makes it more difficult for women to find paid work.
 Women are under-represented in government and business, particularly in senior positions.
 They are also heavily out numbered in Science and technology, engineering, medicine and
banking.
 Women are often paid less than men, and have little job security.
 Most women in rural areas of Africa work on the family farm. They grow food for the family,
prepare and cook food, fetch water, collect firewood and look after children. They work very
hard averaging 12 hours a day (men work on average 6 hours a day).

4. Gender and religion

 All religions regard the family as the cornerstone of society. They support the idea that women's
most important roles are as wives and mothers.
 Muslims believe that the sexual division of labour is natural and God-given, and encourage
wifely obedience.
 Hindus want their women to be faithful, dutiful and devoted.
 Christian beliefs about gender focus particularly on the letters of St. Paul, which supported the
idea of male domination.
 However, women do often play an important role in the worship in both African, Traditional
religion and in African Christian churches.

5. Gender and Rights

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Ipyana2017MSCE
The constitutions of many countries give men and women equal rights. According to the Malawi
constitution (1995) women have the right to:
a. regulate their fertility (meaning that they choose how many children they have)
b. inherit property
c. be educated
d. have equal pay for equal work
e. have access to equal economic opportunities
f. be protected from all forms of abuse, cruelty, discrimination and exploitation.
However, most women are not aware of their rights. Customary law, religion and culture
combine to keep women in an inferior position to men.

6. Gender and Culture

 Attitudes to gender are deeply embedded in African cultures.
 In some societies, including Malawi, both girls and boys go through initiation ceremonies.
These ceremonies play an important part in teaching young people about the customs of
their communities but, the emphasis in the initiation of girls is on teaching them how to be
wives, and mothers. Very often the initiation of girls is linked with their early marriage.
 In the past many African societies were polygamous. This meant that the woman would
work in the man's field and help to make him wealthy that he could then afford new
wives.
 Polygamy is generally now condemned by women and many men.

G. WAYS OF ACHIEVING GENDER BALANCE IN AFRICA

 Enable more women to become members of parliament and take part in government.
 Give boys and girls equal opportunities for primary education.
 Change community attitudes toward the education of girls.
 Hold civic education campaigns to inform people of women's rights.
 Provide legal help for women when dealing with customary law.
 Ban initiation ceremonies
 Help women learn about better farming techniques
 Make sure that women can obtain loans for equipment for agriculture or other small
businesses.
 Make sure that women participate in government programmes as men's equals.
 Change cultural attitudes towards female inheritance of property and the early marriages
for girls.
 Make it possible for more girls to attend secondary schools.
 Encourage the development of labour saving devices which would be useful for rural
women such as maize mills.
 Ensure that there is a policy of equal pay for equal work.
 Encourage the medial, especially newspapers and radio, to incorporate the positive
gender messages into programmes such as soap operas.

H. EFFECTS OF GENDER BIAS ON DEVELOPMENT

a. It is likely to slow down the development of a country, the community and the people in
general.

b. It results in unequal participation and contribution of women and girls to development

activities, as women will have unequal access to the power structures that control society
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Ipyana2017MSCE
and determines development issues.

c. It promotes unequal access of women and girls to opportunities such as education,

employment and business opportunities. This likely results into a shortage of skilled
human resources.

d. It leads to unequal access to economic resources like credit. More women and men will not
be able to start small businesses and this would lead to high levels of unemployment.

TOPIC FOUR

CIVIL SOCIETY AND DEVELOPMENT

Meaning of Civil Society
Civil society refers to all the non-government or state organs and institutions that participate, in a
relatively organized manner, towards the exercise of power by the state.
The objective of such organs and institutions is to get the participation of grassroots communities
in government decisions that affect the people's lives.
Such decisions mainly involve social, economic, technological or even cultural development as it
affects the rest of the people.

TYPES OF INSTITUTIONS OF CIVIL SOCIETY

TYPES OF INSTITUTIONS OF CIVIL SOCIETY
Civil society institutions may be classified into three maj groups: influential non-government
individuals, membership-based organisations and intermediate institutions or agencies.

Influential non-government individuals

These are influential individuals such as academics, church leaders or professionals whose
statements or observations are regarded as being representative of the civil society. Local church
leaders, university lecturers or economists when they speak on their own behalf in the private
sector fall in this category of civil society. World leaders such as South Africa's Nelson Mandela,
because they are no longer in government, may fall in this category of civil society.

Membership-based organisations
These are civil society organisations that operate on voluntary membership dealing with non-
stock or non-profit activities. Membership-based organisations are subdivided into two major
groups: one group involves professionals, academics and civic organisations, and the other
involves people's organisations that are grassroots groups in communities, work areas or other
sectors. The latter group distinguishes two subgroups: these are the government-run/initiated
people's organisations - organised either directly or indirectly by government agencies or
politicians, and autonomous people's organisations which are primary groups that may be of
marginalised communities and sectors.

Institutions or agencies
These are intermediate agencies that operate with full-time staff and provide a wide range of
services to people's organisations. It is important to distinguish four main types of agencies or
institutions based on the nature of services they provide and the directions to which their activities
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Ipyana2017MSCE
are geared. These four subcategories are: development, justice, and advocacy non-governmental
organisations; traditional non-governmental organisations; funding agencies, and mutant non-
governmental organisations (NGOs).

Development, justice and advocacy NGOs

These are more commonly called development NGOs and function primarily to service the above
autonomous people's organisations by articulating and undertaking concrete experiments to
foster an alternative social order that is just, participatory and sustainable. Although this type of
organisations depend on donor funding, they insist on autonomy and their activities reflect
political neutrality.
Traditional NGOs
These are charitable, welfare and relief organisations that perform valuable services for the poor
through orphanages, feeding programmes, rehabilitation, homes for the elderly, persecuted and
others. Although they interact with development, justice and advocacy NGOs, their primary
focus is on individuals and families that are unable to cope with poverty situations.

Community-Based Organisations (CBOs)

These are organization run by people in a particular geographical area. The strongest forms of
community based organizations are those which are focused on a particular interest or which
support the development of community.
Some examples are Community Development Committees, Village Health Committees, and
Parent-Teacher Associations.
Cooperatives are also a good example of this organization.

Funding agencies
These are foundations and grant-giving agencies which have no direct link to grassroots groups
but function largely to support, through loans and donations, the activities of various groups.

Mutant NGOs
These are special consultancy organisations which provide advice and direction on the use of
donor funds. These include government initiated firms, and private business corporations and
the various short-time organisations which usually masquerade as NGOs but only survive for a
short while on specific projects, hence, their mutant or ever changing nature.

The institutions of civil society are the organizations and associations formed by citizens.

National Organisation
There are a number of national organizations in Malawi which promote the rights of various
groups.
A few examples are:
1. The Public Affairs Committee (PAC)
2. The Centre for Human Rights and Rehabilitation (CHRR)
3. The Civil Liberties Committee (CILIC)
4. The Council for Non-Governmental Organisations of Malawi (CONGOMA)
5. The Malawi Human Rights Resource Centre (MHRRC).
6. The Centre for Youths and Children Affairs.(CEYCA)
7. Women and Law in Southern Africa (WILSA)
8. The Consumer Association of Malawi (CAMA)
9. Passengers Welfare Organisation (PAWA)

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THE ROLES OF THE INSTITUTIONS OF CIVIL SOCIETY
1. They provide education in such areas as health, human rights, environment, drug and
substance use and abuse, democracy and good governance and the electoral process.
2. They empower grassroots people through provision of economic opportunities,
selective targeting of development, e.g. focus on women or war veterans.
3. They may assist government in the enforcement of some of its own policies. Such
organizations include Human Rights Organisations which serve as watch dogs against human
rights abuses.
4. They monitor government activities in specific areas and provide reports that are aimed at
sensitizing people to the issues involved, or assisting government in the formation or
modification of its policies.
 This aspect of documentation may also include resource facilities where civil society may
access information related to specific areas. In Malawi, there are a number of legal
resource centres where such services are provided.
5. They work forward sensitizing people on their rights and freedoms in the democratization
process.
 This sensitization may focus on the electoral process, identification and treatment of cases
of human rights violations, interpretation of cases of national constitution and others.
6. There are other institutions whose main focus are issues that deal with social, economic,
technological and cultural development. Such institutions may provide expertise, financial
and technical resources in order to facilitate a particular aspect of development.
7. They act as an arbitrator. At times of disagreement, for example between political parties and
citizens, the institutions of civil society have an important role in trying to solve the problem
e.g. the Civil and Political Rights Committee has called on political leaders not to use
inflammatory language when carrying out voter education.

THE IMPORTANCE OF CITIZEN PARTICIPATION IN CIVIL SOCIETY

 Civil Society can only carry out its role if people participate. If people are apathetic and
see no point in taking part in civil society, democracy of a strong civil society.
 Similarly, the institutions of civil society must work to achieve their aims and objectives.
Otherwise, the citizens will withdraw their support. Often a community can come
together to solve a problem. It may need help from an established organization, such as a
church or non-governmental organization. When the appropriate civil society institution
does not respond to such an initiative, the community becomes frustrated.
 Cooperation is important in development. When people come together to discuss ways of
solving their problems they learn to cooperate in new ways. When a project is started in
which the community is fully involved, the people feel motivated to help. When a project
is completed, the community feels a sense of ownership, which ensures that new facilities
will be well cared for.

Such community action promotes development as well as strengthening civil society.

HOW TO PARTICIPATE IN INSTITUTIONS OF CIVIL SOCIETY

The main way in which citizens can participate in the institutions of civil society is by joining in
the activities of the organizations and associations of their community.

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Only a few can become leaders; most will play their part by being members that are actively
involved. It is this membership, this participation, which matters.

TOPIC FIVE

THE STATE AND THE GOVERNMENT

Meaning of the State
The state is the system which makes and enforces decisions for society. It includes the
government, the civil service, the army and the judicial system.
It is made up of the people who make decisions in a country, that is:
 Members of Parliament (MPs)
 Ministers
 Judges and Magistrates
 Civil Servants
 Police
 Army Officers

MEANING OF GOVERMENT
Government refers to the group of persons governing the state according to a given constitution.
A constitution is a legal document that describes how the country or state should be governed. It
describes the institutions of the government and state the rights and responsibilities of the
citizens.

FUNCTIONS AND DUTIES OF THE STATE

1. To actively promote the welfare and development of all people. It does this by progressively
adopting and implementing policies and legislation aimed at achieving a number of goals.
2. To obtain equality for women and men through full participation of women in all spheres of
society.
3. To achieve adequate nutrition for all in order to promote good health and self-sufficiency.
4. To provide adequate health care, commensurate with the health needs of all people in the
society and with international standards of health care.
5. To make sure that the environment is being managed responsibly.

 Proper management of the environment helps to prevent the degradation of the

environment and provides a healthy living and working environment for all the people.
 It also helps to accord full recognition to the rights of future generations by means of
environmental protection and sustainable development of natural resources.

6. To provide adequate resources to the education sector.

 It needs to devise programmes that would eliminate illiteracy; offer greater access to
higher learning and continuing education; and promote national goals such as unity and
he elimination of political, religious, racial and ethnic intolerance.
7. To make agreements and treaties with other nation-states and international organizations on
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behalf of its people.
 In this regard it sends to various countries or states representatives often referred to as
ambassadors or high commissioners.
 Examples of such agreements are:

i. Beijing Platform of Action - which is about gender balance

ii. Amnesty International - which promotes the respect of human rights by
governments of the world.
8. To promote the economic development of its people.
 The goal is to achieve a sensible balance between the creation and distribution of wealth
through the nurturing of a market economy and long-term investment in health,
education, economic and social development programmes and infrastructure.
9. It has a duty to introduce measures, which will guarantee accountability, transparency,
personal integrity and financial probity and which, by virtue of their effectiveness and
transparency, will strengthen confidence in public institutions.
 One of the ways is through instituting laws and regulations that promote good
governance.

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE PRESIDENT

The powers and functions of a president vary from one country to another. The president's role in
a country normally include:

1. To defend and uphold the constitution as the supreme law.

2. To appoint the cabinet of ministers
3. To convene meetings of the cabinet
4. To provide leadership in the interest of national unity in accordance with the constitution
and the laws of the Republic.
5. To sign death warrants
6. To pardon convicted offenders
7. To assent to bills passed by Parliament
8. To appoint Malawi's ambassadors to other country and to receive
ambassadors from other countries
9. To negotiate and sign international agreements
10. To give honours to brave and hard working people in a country e.g. in Malawi, the
Distinguished Service Medal. Awarded to people who have offered a distinguished
service to their country.

THE ROLE OF THE DEFENCE FORCES

The Defence force of a country includes the Army and may include other institutions like the
Navy and police.
The are required to operate at all times under the direction of civil authorities. This means they
can go into action only when ordered to do so by the President as Head of State.
The role of Defence forces include:

a. Upholding the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Republic and guard against
threats to the safety of its citizens by force of arms.
b. Upholding and protecting the constitutional order in the republic and assist civil authorities
in the proper exercise of their functions under this constitution.

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c. Providing technical expertise and resources to assist the civilian authorities in the
maintenance of essential services in time of emergency e.g. natural disasters.
d. Perform such other duties outside the territory of Malawi as may be required of them by
treaty entered into by Malawi in accordance with the prescription of international law.

SYSTEMS OF GOVERNMENT
1. THE UNITARY SYSTEM
A unitary system of government is when the central or national government is given superior
power over regional or local government. Examples include the Malawi, South Africa and
Kenyan governments.

2. THE FEDERAL SYSTEM

A federal system of government is when both central and regional governments are supreme
regarding certain powers. Federations have to:
a. House written constitution setting out which functions belong to which level of
government.
b. Have a special court to settle disputes between different levels of government.
c. There has to be a nation legislature which includes a second chamber in which all the
states are represented.
Examples include, the Unite States, India where each state has its governor, legislature of
judiciary.
 Federation is a good form of government where the country is very large, and/or
where it contains people from a wide range of ethnic backgrounds.

3. MONARCHY
In a monarchy a King or Queen inherits the right to rule, and is both head of state and leader of
the government e.g. Britain, Swaziland and Lesotho.

4. REPUBLIC
A republic is a form of government in which the supreme authority is the people and their
elected representatives. These elected representatives normally form a Parliament or National
Assembly. The head of state of a republic is a President e.g. Republic of Malawi.

THE ELECTORAL PROCESS IN MALAWI

Meaning of Elections
An election is a procedure for choosing officers or making bound decisions concerning policy by
the vote of those formally qualified to participate.
Elections are widely held in private organization such as companies, church groups or labour
unions.
Public institutions also hold elections to select offices and to choose representatives.

FUNCTIONS OF ELECTIONS
 They are the formal procedure by which public officers are filled or specify policy
measures decided.

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 Elections have a symbolic function. Citizens derive a sense of satisfaction from participating in
the selection of their governmental or political leaders.

TYPES OF ELECTIONS
1. GENERAL ELECTIONS
A general election is an election that is held throughout a country to make a final choice among
candidates for all public offices to be filled at that time. In Malawi, general elections are held
every 5 years.

2. PRIMARY ELECTIONS
This is a method by which a political party chooses its nominees for public office. Winners of
primary elections run against nominees of other parties in the general elections.

3. RUN-OFF ELECTIONS
These are elections held where no candidate wins with a clear majority in a general election.

4. BY-ELECTIONS
These are elections held where a public office is vacated by the incumbent through death,
retirement and resignation or because the incumbent has joined another political party.

5. LOCAL ELECTIONS
These are elections held to fill a wide variety of officers on the local level. In Malawi, these
elections are held to elect councillors for their respective wards. These are held every 5 years.

6. REFERENDUM
A referendum is an election in which an issue is submitted directly to a popular vote. Example
in 1993 Malawi held a referendum to decide whether the country should have a multiparty
system of government or continue with one party system that we had.

THE CONDUCT OF ELECTIONS IN MALAWI

Elections play a central role in all democracies. This is when the citizens are able to choose who
will represent them in both the National Assembly or Parliament and in local government. To
ensure that elections are free and fair, it is vital that they are organized and carried out
efficiently.

ESTABLISHMENT OF THE ELECTORAL COMMISSION

The Electoral Commission is an independent body with a judge as its chairperson. The
responsibilities of this body are set out in the constitution, and in the Parliamentary and
Presidential Elections Act of 1979.

THE DUTIES AND FUNCTION OF THE ELECTORAL COMMISSION

1. Deciding on the number of constituencies.
2. Drawing up the boundaries of the constituencies.
3. Organizing the registration of voters

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4. Establish a procedure for the nomination of candidate
5. Producing and distributing voters' registers and ballot papers
6. Making sure there are ballot boxes in each polling station
7, Organizing officers to register voters, and to operate polling stations
8. Ensuring that elections are free and fair
9. Organizing political debates in which candidates from different political parties tell people
how they will help the constituency if elected
10, Taking measures to ensure that there is an appropriate level of security
11. Promoting the civic education of voters.

REGISTRATION OF VOTERS
 Before an election can take place, citizens have to register as voters. To do this, they go to a
registration center in their constituency.
 They need to be over the age of 18, to be citizens of Malawi and to have proof of their
identity.
 Upon registering a person is issued a voter's registration certificate.
 A period of at least 30 days has to be allowed for registration.

NOMINATION OF CANDIDATES
 There is a special procedure for nominating candidate. Only candidates who complete this
process are included in the list of candidates for a constituency.
 The agreement of at least 10 registered voters in a constituency is needed before a candidate
can be nominated. They all sign the nomination form. The candidate also signs it.
 This form must indicate if the candidate is to be sponsored by a political party or he/she is
an independent candidate.

ESTABLISHING CONSTITUENCIES
The Electoral Commission on takes a number of factors into consideration when drawing up the
boundaries of constituencies. These include:
 The population density of an area
 The geographical features for an area
 Ease of communication, as well as the wishes of the people.

Each constituency is represented in Parliament by its own elected Member of Parliament.

SETTING UP POLLING STATIONS

Polling stations are established throughout the area where elections are to be held. They are
managed by the returning officer. He/she is responsible for ensuring that all voters are able to
cast their vote freely.
Voters need to come to the polling station in person.
The actual voting process is as follows:
At the end of a polling day, the returning officer for each polling station draws up a
summary to show the number of' people who have voted. This is done in the presence of
various observers. He:/she sends the ballot boxes and all the papers to the District
Commissioner. This office declares the results for the constituency.

THE VOTE AND VOTING PROCESS

 In an election voters use ballots to vote. A ballot is any object usually a sheet of paper, by
which a vote is cast. The Electoral Commission ensures that enough ballot papers and ballot
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boxes are printed and distributed in readiness for the election.
 A person is allowed to exercise his/her right to vote at a polling station located at the
registration center where he/she registered.
 The voting is by a secret ballot and any voter is required to cast his/her vote only once.
 In Malawi, on the polling day voting begins at 6 o'clock in the morning and closes at 6 o'clock
in the evening.

TABULATING, REPORTING AND CERTIFYING RESULTS

In Malawi, what happens is that after the close of the polling station, the presiding officer in the
presence of other polling station officers and representatives of political parties if present,
open the ballot box and order the counting of votes to proceed.
Results from the different polling stations would then be added and that winner found.
The Electoral Commission of Malawi is the body that certifies the election results.
 Most of the times, elections are observed by members of the International
community as well as the locals.
 Observers help to add credibility to the electoral process as being transparent.

COMPLAINTS AND APPEALS

 Any complaint submitted in writing alleging any irregularity at any stage, if not satisfactorily
resolved at a lower level of authority, shall be examined and decided on by the commission and
where the irregularity is confirmed the commission shall take necessary action to correct the
irregularity and the effects there of.
 An appeal shall lie to the high court against a decision of the commission confirming
or rejecting the existence of the irregularity.

THE ROLE OF THE VOTER

To be a voter in Malawi, a person needs to be:
- A citizen of Malawi (or to have lived in Malawi for seven [7] years)
- Over 18 years of age
- Mentally competent

Voters have a role to play in an election

o To register in the constituency in which they want to vote. They can only be registered to
vote in one constituency.
o To attend civic education activities that are going on in their areas just to make sure that they
know what will be expected of them on the Election Day.
o To make sure that they do not incite violence during an election.
o To vote at the polling station in the constituency they registered on the election day.
o To make a formal complaint to appropriate election staff if they observe any form of
misconduct in the electoral process.

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TOPIC 6

HUMAN RIGHTS
IDENTIFYING SPECIAL GROUPS
 The UN's 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights makes provision, under Article 2, for the
protection of the rights of people considered as belonging to special groups: The article states
that:
Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration,
without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion,
political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status.

MEANING OF SPECIAL GROUPS

Special groups of people are those people who share certain characteristics or traits,
biological, social and others.
These people are considered as belonging to special groups because the nature of their
characteristics demands special consideration or treatment, which they would be denied if they
were to be considered along with people who do not share such traits.

CHARACTERISTICS OF SPECIAL GROUPS

Some of the factors are as follows:
a. Biological make-up, such as children and women
b. Legal status such as citizens, such as prisoners and accused persons.
c. Social status such as people with disabilities and women
d. Geographical location, such as refugees.
e. Culture, such as people who belong to a particular ethnic or racial group.
f. Professional, such as migrant workers.

ABUSED RIGHTS OF SPECIAL GROUPS

1. WOMEN
Some of the abuses and perceptions (violations) that put women on unequal footing with men are
as follows:

Lack of Education
 The right to education is a fundamental right for girls and boys in the UNDHR and the
Malawian Bill of Rights.
 As a result, where sources are scarce, societies usually prefer to educate the boy child or
man at the expense of a female counterpart.
 There is also sometimes a fear for safety of girls if they have to travel far to school

Domestic Violence
 Domestic violence often takes the form of beating by their husbands or other relatives
but also takes the form of sexual violence such as rape or incest.
 Women are often reluctant to report such violence as they depend on their male
relations for security.
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Forced Early Marriages

 Some Societies especially in the rural areas may force women and young girls into
marriage in order to respect certain traditional provisions.
 This may also include forced initiation practices such as genital mutilation or husband
inheritance.

Inability to acquire or retain property

 In the past, it was difficult for Malawian women to inherit property. The recent Wills and
Inheritance Act has helped to improve this situation.
 Women throughout the world frequently experience similar problems. They may not be
able to inherit land or other property from their parents, or from their deceased
husbands.
 They may not be able to buy property, especially if they do not have a male guarantor.

Sexual harassment in the workplace and school

 Women entering the workplan face the hazard of sexual harassment. This sexual
harassment may take the form of:
 joking and teasing from male colleagues
 comments on the woman's physical characteristics
 invitation to have sexual relationships with male superiors in return for job
security, promotion or other perks.
 Domestic workers or office workers experience this kind of sexual harassment. Two -
thirds of these came from their bosses who threaten them with dismissal if they refuse
his sexual advances.
 Sexual harassment, assault and rape on the way to and from school, from teachers,
fellow students and community members and the attendant risks STDs including
HIV/AIDS and pregnancy. Can also have devastating effects on the schooling and lives
of girls in Africa.

2. CHILDREN
The United Nations Convenant on the Rights of the Child (CRC) define a child as any
person who is below the age of 18 years. The Malawi Constitution however recognizes
any person under the age of 16 years as being a child.

 According to the CRC, Children belong to a special group because they are vulnerable
as well as dependent.
 Children are vulnerable because of their young age and low level of physical,
emotional and social maturity - all of which may contribute to abuse by especially
adult people.
 Children are said to be dependent because most of them are still depending on their
parents or legal guardians for their needs.

SOME OF THE FORMS OF CHILD ABUSE ARE AS FOLLOWS:

Sexual exploitation
 Adult people may entice children with money and other economic opportunities in order
to have willful sex with them. This is sexual exploitation.
 Where the child is forced into sex without his/her consent, it is called rape or defilement.

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 The CRC therefore provides for rights that aim at protecting children from sexual
exploitation.

Child Labour
 Because of their tender age and maturity, children may be vulnerable to enticements of
work that may eventually be hazardous to their health and well being without them
realizing it. This is called child labour.
 Children work as casual farm labourers on estates producing tea, tobacco, maize,
coffee and other crops some of them sell foodstuffs, clothing and miscellaneous
items in town centres.
 Any work that is given to a child must therefore take into consideration, the child's age
and maturity.

Victims of divorce/Orphanage
 Children depend on parents for their everyday needs until such time that they are
capable.
 This status makes them vulnerable to a lot of suffering when their parents are separated
either through divorce or death, leaving them as orphans and helpless.
 There is therefore need for special rights to ensure that children are protected from
suffering that may arise as a result of losing their parents or guardians.

Decision - Making
 In most societies, children are not allowed to participate in decisions that relate to their
well being because of their age and maturity.
 Such kind of regard for children makes them vulnerable to and dependent on decisions
that reflect adult wishes and aspirations.
 The above forms of abuse and biased perceptions on children, therefore, recognize
children as belonging to a special group needing special human rights.

3. PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES

Almost in every society in the world, people with biological challenges such as deafness,
blindness, dumbness, physical deformity, mental retardation and others are subject to a lot of
biased treatment by other people.

Some of the biases are as follows:

Employment
 Most employers are biased towards people without disability. This is because people
with disabilities may be seen as economically unproductive, risky and offering non-
competitive skills.
 Such kind of regard often puts people with disabilities at an economic disadvantage in
society, and exposes their economic status to dire poverty.

Education
 People with disabilities may not be perceived as being as academically competent as
normal ones, therefore may be denied access to education that is available to normal
people.
 But experience has shown that people with certain disabilities especially those not related
to mental capabilities can do as well as, if not better than normal people.
Marriage
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 People with physical disabilities may be perceived as being incapable of getting into and
managing of family because of their biological characteristics.
 This kind of bias puts them at a disadvantage in society where freedom to choose who to
marry is a concern.

Biased priorities
There are a number of situations where the needs of people with disabilities are
considered after those of normal people. For example, during a war, evacuation of people
may consider people with disabilities last; similarly, during a natural disaster such as
famine or flooding, the priority may be on the survival of people without disabilities first.

4. REFUGEES (STATELESS PEOPLE)

A refugee is a person who has been forced to leave his/her country usually because of war,
famine or any other disaster.
Refugees may often be subjected to a lot of abuse or harassment by the other people in the host
country. Some of the cases that justify refugees as belonging to a special group needing special
human rights are as follows:

Forced labour
Refugees may be forced into marriages in order to gain acceptance into the host country.
This kind of treatment may involve either children or adult refugees.

Forced nationalities
Refugees may also be subjected to forced nationalities. This may be done in order to
conceal their original nationality for the gain of the host citizen involved.

Forced allegiances
In a war situation, refugees may be forced into political allegiances in order to be
protected from one kind of abuse to another.

Poor education and healthcare services

 Refugees are people first and therefore need adequate health services and good education just
like the host country's citizens.
In most cases, the residence status of refugees may be seen as temporary, and therefore not
justifying provision of full education and health services.
This is wrong since refugees too are entitled to the benefits of a normal citizen even in times of
war or forced settlement.

5. ACCUSED PERSONS/PRISONERS
 A person who is being tried in a court of law is only a suspect and is entitled to
treatment equal to that accorded to any person.
 Very often, most societies regard accused persons as prisoners and treat them with the
same contempt and ridicule usually reserved for prisoners.
 Prisoners are people first and therefore require all the entitlements that will enable them
live like normal people.
 Very often, prisoners are regarded as beasts that are incapable of reasoning or being
reformed. This kind of perception may expose them to the following forms of abuse:

Starvation

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Some prison environments may not provide enough and nutritious food for
prisoners as a form of punishment. Some prisoners who are not strong may
eventually starve to death.

Poor health facilities

The health of a prisoner to most societies comes last after that of a free person. As a result,
many prison environments do not have adequate health facilities as a way of punishing
the prisoners.

Contact with relatives and legal services

Prisoners are sometimes barred from seeing their friends, relatives or lawyers. This is
because some prison environments may consider the prisoner as less human, not worthy
of legal representation, and therefore deserving condemnation and helplessness.

6. WORKERS
All over the world, workers are exposed to various forms of ill-treatments and
abuses which require special human rights to address.

Some of the abuses and forms of ill-treatment are as follows:

Low wages
Most workers are paid wages that are not consistent with their skills, experience,
qualifications or amount of work done.
In Malawi, the group that is Vulnerable to this kind of abuse is that employed in estates
and in domestic service.

Hazardous work environments

Many workplaces, especially those in the manufacturing industry, expose workers to
products and situations that are hazardous to their health.
Workers may need special human rights to make them aware of and protect them
from such exposure.

Lack of legal mechanisms to represent workers’ rights

Some employers prohibit workers from being involved in unionism fearing
arrogance, low productivity, and a higher wage bill.
 Most political systems especially those involving military, political or royal
dictatorships discourage a demonstration of worker's rights through unionism,

Unfair dismissal
Most workers are subjected to dismissals without following standard procedures or
accompanying terminal benefits.

INTERNATIONAL LEGAL INSTRUMENTS FOR PROMOTING AND

PROTECTING SPECIAL HUMAN RIGHTS
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Human rights are realized, documented and accepted through a process which involves some
legal instruments.
There are international instruments which bind and are observed by a specific number of nations
belonging to a particular region. The legal instruments include the following:

1. TREATY
A treaty is an international agreement between two or more governments e.g. the Southern
African Development Community (SADC) Treaty, and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization
(NATO).

2. CONVENTION
A convention is a treaty intended to bind and be observed by most countries. An example of a
convention is the UN`s Convection on the Rights of the child (CRC).

3. COVENANT
A covenant is a more specific treaty intended to bind, and to be observed by more states. An
example of a covenant is the UN's International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

4. PROTOCOL
This is an additional agreement intended to be part of a treaty that is already in force. An example
of a protocol is the Additional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political
Rights.

5. DECLARATION
This is a set of principles declared as desired standards for states and other parties but not
standards for states and other parties but not intended to be binding.
An example is the Declaration on the Rights of the Child

6. RECOMMENDATION
This is a set of standards suggested to be followed by states in order to realize agreed standards
or those in a convention.
An example of this is the International Labour Organisation's (ILO) Recommendation Number
119 on the termination of employment

VIOLATIONS OF THE RIGHTS OF SPECIAL GROUPS

There are various forms of human rights abuses or violation against special groups of people
committed at local and international levels. These are:

1. GENOCIDE
Genocide is the deliberate killing of a large group of people. It is the most terrible violation of
the right to life.
- Usually such wholesale acts of violence are directed against one ethnic group killing and
trying to terminate another ethnic group.
- An example of acts of genocide is the notorious Rwandan 1990 killing of about one million
Hutus by a Tutsi - dominated army. Another classical example is that of the Nazi
extermination of Jewish people in Germany during the Hitler regime.
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2. CHILD LABOUR
Child labour is when a child has to work either full-time or part-time and misses out his/her
education.
- The International Labour Organisation (ILO) is working to end the worst abuses of child
labour namely:
o slave labour
o forced prostitution
o working with poisonous substances.
- The worst area for child labour is Asia, where it is estimated that over 44 million children
are employed.
- In Malawi, cases of child Labour have been reported where children are employed as domestic
servants; there are also cases of child employment especially on tea and tobacco estates.

3. DISCRIMINATION
- Discrimination of some kind occurs in every country everyday. Treating people unfairly
because of their colour was a frequent theme of the history of the 20th century.
- In United States of America and South Africa, there was discrimination of blacks in the form
of segregation, meaning for example there were separate schools for black and white
children.
- It was only after the civil rights campaigns that segregation was ended and black people
were accorded the same rights as whites.

4. FORCED PROSTITUTION
- All over the world including Africa and Malawi, there have been reported cases of women
and small children being forced into having sexual acts for money. This is known as forced
prostitution.
- The victims are usually enticed by promises of high economically - rewarding
employment in Western countries only to be forced into prostitution in the
country concerned.
- Both the Convention on the Rights of the Child and Convention on the Elimination of all
forms of Discrimination against women make various provisions against acts related to
prostitution.
- Article 34 of the CRC provides for all states to undertake to protect the child from all forms
of sexual exploitation and sexual abuse either through coercion, exploitative use through
prostitution or through pornographic material.
- Similarly, Article 16 of CEDAW provides for the right of the woman to choose a spouse and
to enter into marriage only with their free and full consent and includes "the right to choose
a family name, profession and an occupation".

5. SLAVERY
- A slave is a person who is legally owned by another person and works for the owner without
any payment. This arrangement is known as slavery.
- The United Nations slavery convention signed at Geneva on September 25, 1926 and entered

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into force on March 9, 1927 emphasized the need for all states to "prevent and suppress slave
trade".
- In many cases, modern slavery takes the form of bonded labour. This happens when a person
takes out a loan and to pay off the loan they are forced to work long hours, seven days a
week, everyday of the year. They receive food and shelter but not payment.
- There are reports of trading in adult and child slaves in Sudan and in West Africa.

6. TORTURE OF PRISONERS
- Freedom from torture is a fundamental human right. Despite this, prisoners are tortured in
many countries around the world.
- The torture may take the form of beatings, electric shocks or other physical assaults. It may
also take the form of depriving the prisoner of sleep or of food.
- Amnesty International is an international organization that campaigns for human rights. It
finds that acts of torture are common in many countries.
- Examples include torture of prisoners in Egyptian Police stations and detention centres and
torture of prisoners in northern part of Afghanistan by the Taliban regime.

7. TERRORISM
- In some parts of the world, individuals or groups of people with a common cause resort to
certain acts of violence in order to press for, especially political demands.
- The use of violence such as bombing, hijacking, kidnapping, shooting etc in order to obtain
certain demands is known as terrorism.
- The use of violence on other people whether innocent or accused of certain perpetrations is a
violation of human rights provisions.
- There are almost daily reports of acts of terrorism in the Middle-East conflict through car
bombs, suicide bombs, shootings and kidnapping perpetrated both by the Israelis and
Palestinians as each tries to press for political demands.

8. FEMALE GENITAL MUTILATION

This is a violation of the human rights of girls and women. Genital mutilation is often referred
to as female circumcision.
- There are various kinds of procedure but they all involve the partial or total removal of
external female genital organs. Female circumcision may be performed at any age but most
of the victims are adolescent girls.
- This practice has serious effect on the health of the females concerned. It affects their ability to
have children, and their mental health. It seriously damages the female sexual organs and
can harm the woman's health throughout her life.

TOPIC SEVEN

INTERNATIONAL CONFLICT AND THEIR RESOLUTION

Meaning of the term International Conflict
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A conflict is usually a disagreement or difference over a view point between individuals or
groups of people.
It may come about because of ideological differences i.e. because one party of the conflict
holds a different view over the other or because of a misunderstanding over a certain issue.
Conflicts may arise between two individuals, groups of people, political parties, countries or
groups countries.
International conflicts are therefore those disagreements whether within a country or between
countries but which eventually seek the intervention of the international community.

CAUSES OF INTERNATIONAL CONFLICTS

1. Political Differences
- The conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo is principally between reconciled
political factions within the country.
- The rebels are fighting for a multiparty democratic political system through elections
while the government is demanding the withdrawal of foreign troops from the DRC as
a condition towards holding multiparty elections.
- Another example, in former apartheid South Africa, the whites believed that the country
could best be managed by segregating the three main racial groups: whites, blacks and
other races.
- The blacks however, believed the best way for a country like South Africa to live in harmony
was to have a multiracial society where blacks, whites and other races lived together as
one unified society.
- This ideological difference led to a protracted armed conflict between the white South
African government and various anti-apartheid groups championed by Nelson Mandela.

2. Religious Differences
- Some conflict emerge as a result of religious differences.
- The major conflict based on religion is currently that is between Muslims and Christians
all over the world.
- In Malawi, there are on-going disagreements which could lead to a major conflict between
the Quadria and Soukoto Muslim sects over certain Muslim rites. This has led at-times
to members of one Sect crushing openly with that of another.
- The Middle East conflict between the Israelis and the Palestinians is basically a religious
conflict where one group is claiming sovereignty over the holy city of Jerusalem
based on historical interpretations of the Bible and the Quran.

3. Ethnic Differences
- A conflict may arise because of ethnic difference. In this case, one ethnic group may
either try to impose its superiority over another, or may reject ethnic traditions
presented by another group. In especially Africa, where most societies are multi-ethnic
differences.
- An example of a conflict caused by ethnic difference is the Rwandan 1990 genocide where
the majority Tutsi and moderate Hutus were massacred by the minority Hutus..

4. Cultural Differences
The colonization of Africa by Western Europe was marked by a cultural conflict where the
Africans rejected the imposition of Western European cultural traditions on them. This
often lead to violent conflicts led by liberation movements.
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5. Individual Lust for Power

In Africa, most military governments have come about more as a result of lust for power and
worth than ideological differences.
In such cases ideological differences have been created in order to justify such individual
drives for power.

EFFECTS OF INTERNATIONAL CONFLICT ON DEVELOPMENT

1. Loss of Life
In most recent conflicts, women, children and the old died due to bombs dropped on the other
and these may fall on populated areas rather than military targets.

2. Wastage of Resources
Fighting a modern war is very expensive. Weapons have to be bought, soldiers have to be
paid and fed.
- Countries in areas of conflict will spend a large proportion of their financial' resources on
guns, tanks and other war materials. There will be less money to spend on the social and
economic development of the country and thus the standard of living of the people is
likely to decline.

3. Refugees
- No one wants to live in an area which is being bombed or attacked, so people flee to
wherever they think it is safe - usually in neighbouring countries.
- Many refugees had to flee their home countries to escape violence and repression.

4. Disruption of Social and Economic Life

- It is very difficult to live a normal life in war-torn areas. People may be frightened to go to
work, or to go to the fields. Essential services such as water and power supplies may stop
altogether or become scarce.
- It is difficult for people in the towns to get food, because transport is also disrupted. Schools
close down. Hospitals and clinics may have to look after those who are injured because of
the difficulties of distribution, they may run short of medicines and other essential
equipment.

5. Destruction of Property
- In areas of conflict, property is likely to be destroyed. This property may be housing,
factories, shops, offices, farming land, crops of animals.
- It may take many years for people to restore this property.

6. Creation of a violent society

A protracted civil conflict may breed youths who have known of nothing other than violence
in their lives.
These may lack education and proper upbringing, and their adult life may degenerate into
unruly and ungovernable society.
7. Limitations of Human Rights
If a country is at war, it may pay less attention than usual to the right of assembly, freedom
of movement or freedom of expression.

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CONFLICT RESOLUTION
This is when two conflicting parties have reconciled either through their own peaceful
negotiations or through intervention by a third party.

STRATEGIES FOR RESOLVING INTERNATIONAL CONFLICTS

The main strategy for resolving an international conflict is through peaceful negotiation, which
in turn uses the principles of contact and dialogue.
- It is important to note that a conflict can never be said to have been resolved successfully
where one party has succumbed to violent confrontation on.
- When an international conflict is at ideological level without any violence, it has the chance to
respond to discussions between the two conflicting parties without any external
intervention. In this case, there is need for the two parties to establish contact first before
engaging into negotiations.

CONTACT
Once contact has been established between the two conflicting parties, the next step is to engage
into the actual negotiations also known as dialogue.
- The negotiators are selected according to the nature of the conflict.
- For instance, if it involves a border dispute, then experts in international land disputes or
international law may be involved; if it involves the repatriation of a notorious criminal
from one country to another, the negotiation involve experts in international relations.

EXTERNAL MEDIATION
Sometimes in an international conflict negotiations between the two may not yield any solution.
In which case, there is need for an external intervention.
- This external intervention may be in several ways. It may be in form of a representative of
another country, usually a head of state; it may be a renowned international figure whose
capabilities both sides of the conflict trust and respect; it may also be an international organ
whether regional (e.g. SADC) or international body (e.g. UN).

INTERNATIONAL ORGANISATIONS THAT ASSIST IN CONFLICT

RESOLUTION
1. The United Nations Organization
The main world body dealing with international conflict is the United Nations organization
commonly known as the UN. It has its headquarters in New York.
The United Nations is a family of over 30 organizations.
The part which focuses on conflict resolution is the Security Council. This has 15 members of
which five are permanent members: China, France, Russia, Britain and the United States. The
other 10 member countries change every two years.
This council discusses new conflicts and tries different strategies to bring the conflict to an end.
When these diplomatic efforts fail, the Security Council can impose sanctions on a country.
Sanctions are a punishment. . - It can also send peace keeping forces to an area of conflict to try
and keep the peace.

2. Regional Organs
a. The Southern Africa Development Community (SADC)

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(SADC) is a grouping of Southern African countries which among many objectives, also
addresses conflicts that may affect the member countries in one way or another.

B. Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS)

In west Africa, there is the grouping of a number of countries called the Economic
Community of West African States which aims principally at addressing the economic
issues regarding the countries concerned.
ECOWAS has been instrumental in addressing the civil wars in Sierra Leone and Liberia
through either mediation or military intervention.

C. North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)

In Western Europe, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization is a grouping of countries with
the aim of responding to military conflicts developing with the region.

D. The European Union (EU)

The European Union (EU) is a more recent all even passing organization which looks at
the economic issues related to Western Europe, as well as international aid to developing
countries.
The EU may intervene on a number of issues that threaten the economic stability of the
region

E. North Atlantic Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)

In North America, NAFTA is a grouping of the United States of America, Canada and
Mexico aimed at addressing trade and commerce issues.
This organ may also be used to address mainly conflicts that emanate from in balance of
trade between the three countries.

INTERNATIONAL PEACE INITIATIVES

1. The Treaty of Versailles and the League of Nations.
- In 1919, the year after the First World War ended, a peace conference was
held in Paris. Germany and other defeated countries were not allowed to sit at the
conference table.
- Instead the four victorious powers - Britain, France, Italy and the United States
dominated the conference. They agreed on the terms of the Treaty of Versailles,
which Germany had to sign.
- The terms imposed on Germany were harsh. It had to give up some of its territory and
get rid of its weapons, among other things.
- The peace conference also made arrangements for the setting up of the League of
Nations.

2. Setting up the United Nations

The United Nations was formed to replace the League of Nations.
The draft chapter was drawn up at the Dumbarton Oaks Conference of 1944. At the
conference in San Francisco in 1945, attended by delegates from 50 countries, the United
Nations was established.
In 1992, the UN Secretary General prepared a report, called 'Agenda for Peace', setting forth

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the organization's objectives.
i. To seek to identify, at an earliest possible stage situations that could produce
conflict and to try through diplomacy to remove the sources of danger before
conflict begins.
ii. Where conflict erupts, to engage in peace making aimed at resolving the issue
that has led to conflict.
iii. Through peace keeping, to work to preserve peace, however fragile, where
fighting has been halted and to assist in implementing agreements achieved by
peacemakers.
The United Nations also uses the term "peace enforcement' which means the use of force
against one of the parties in a war to bring about the end of hostilities.
An example of peace enforcement, might be the NATO bombing of' Yugoslavia in 1999 to
bring an end to Yugoslavia attempts to ethnic cleansing, of opposition ethnic groups.

3. Peace Initiatives in the Middle East

The Middle East has been affected by many conflicts. But there have been important
peace initiatives too.
One in 1978 when the United States took the lead in trying to end the conflict. The leaders
of Israel and Egypt signed the Camp David Accord. This marked an important step
towards peace because in the treaty Egypt recognized Israel as a country for the first time.
A further important step was taken towards peace in the Middle East in 1993 when the
leaders of Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) signed the 'Declaration
of Principles'. This recognized each other's right to exist. However, in more recent times,
this peace process has been broken down.

4. A Peace Initiative in the DRC

The war in the DRC broke out in 1998. In 1999, after some pressure from the UN, the
warring sides agreed to a ceasefire and signed the Lusaka Peace Accord, which aimed to
end the war permanently, However, after the treaty had been signed the ceasefire was
broken many times

HOW EFFECTIVE ARE PEACE INITIATIVES?

Most conflicts have more than one cause and are very complicated to resolve. Peace
organizations can only do this effectively if they have power to make all parties to the conflict to
what they say.

- In many of the most vicious conflicts taking place today, the UN has had limited success
in its diplomatic efforts to achieve peace, because it has to rely on promises made by
the warring parties, who seem to have little incentive to keep their word.
- And when the UN attempts to increase pressure on aggressive country by imposing
sanctions, it does not often have the desired effect. Although few peace initiatives are
completely successful, individuals and organizations will always place a high priority
on trying to bring about and maintain peace in international conflict, because the
effects of war are so devastating that it is worth almost any effort to prevent it.

TOPIC EIGHT
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SOCIAL JUSTICE AND INJUSTICE
Social justice is when everyone in society is treated fairly and their rights are respected
particularly by institutions such as the government in the police and the law courts.
Social injustice can be said to occur when people are not treated fairly and then - rights are not
respected. Often in a society or community some people receive more favorable treatment than
others.
Some common forms of social injustice are:
1. Bribery and corruption.
2. Favoritism and nepotism (which may include unfair distribution of resources).
3. Preference for one ethnic group over another.
4. Preference for one gender over the other.
5. Discrimination against various groups of people, such as street children people with
disabilities or ex-prisoners.
6. Underpaying workers.
7. Oppression.

THE EFFECTS OF SOCIAL INJUSTICE ON THE AND COMMUNITY

1. People who have been treated unfairly are bitter and resentful. They may lose confidence in
themselves and develop an Inferiority complex. They may feet there is no point in working
hard and obeying society's rules and instead may turn to crime.
2. Social injustice in the community has negative effects. If a group of people is treated unfairly
because they are of a different religion, then those will feel oppressed and bitter.

CAUSES OF SOCIAL INJUSTICE IN AFRICA

1. Poverty
Poverty is seen as the lack of basic necessities in life such as food, shelter and clothing. The world
is divided between the poor and the rich, poverty is therefore seen as a result of social injustice.
It could be because; some people control more resources than they need or that those who are
rich do not want to share with those who are poor.
2. Corruption
Corruption and the abuse of power are among the more serious causes of social injustice in
many African countries. Some of the worst cases of corruption in Africa have involved the
presidents or prime ministers of countries.
Senior civil servants often make sure they benefit personally from large contracts from
overseas suppliers. These contracts may be for the construction of large projects meant to aid
the development of the country.

3. Cultural and Social Practices

 Some cases of social injustice in Africa occur because of unwise or outdated cultural practices
that harm or discriminate against certain people. Examples include local cultural practices
such as the ritual of fisi and widow cleansing.
 Sometimes old people are discriminated against or even abused because they are
suspected of being witches or sorcerers. They may be tortured or even chased away
from their community, and forced to live in isolation.

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EFFECTS OF SOCIAL INJUSTICE IN AFRICA
a. Poverty
b. Conflict
c. Lack of development
d. Crime
e. Oppression of minority groups
f. Violation of human rights

THE IMPORTANCE OF SOCIAL JUSTICE

Social justice is very important for development. There can only be development in a country if
the following conditions relating to social justice are met:
1. The human rights of all are respected
2. Resources are allocated fairly
3. Citizens are treated fairly by the authorities and the legal system.
4. There are equal opportunities for all to participate in economic development.
5. Citizens can participate in making decisions.
6. There is peace and security.

ORGANISATIONS THAT DEAL WITH INTERNATIONAL SOCIAL JUSTICE

1. International Court of Justice
This world court meets at the Hague in Netherlands. It makes legal decisions where there are
disputes between countries.

2. International Police (lnterpol)

This is an international security organization which helps countries to deal with criminal suspects
that operate in more than one country.

3. Amnesty International
This is an independent human rights watchdog established in order to investigate and report
cases of human rights violations all over the world.
4. United Nations
Is an international organisation which aims at promoting and protecting the integrity of all
people in the world. The UN has a court in Hague in the Netherlands which tries
international cases of injustice.

TOPIC NINE

SOCIAL AND PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT

COURTSHIP
Courtship is the process by which a girl and boy who have fallen in love get to know and
understand each other with the intention of marrying.

Different ways of Courting

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a. Direct Approach
o Through writing a letter
o Talking directly to the girl/boy
o Exchanging small gifts
o Visiting each other's home

b. Through a friend
If a boy is frightened to approach a girl directly he asks a friend to do so. The friend then talks
to the girl. If the girl gives a positive response the pair of them may start courting.

c. Media advertisement
It has become popular recently for men and women to place advertisements in newspapers.
They state the qualities they want in a marriage partner and people of the opposite sex are
invited to write to them.

THE IMPORTANCE OF COURTSHIP

Courtship is important because it is when the young people get to know each other.
They can find out about the other's personality, values and beliefs.
They can also learn about the other's attitude to work, about his/her goals in life. It is important
that courting couples go through this process of discovery, because it is unwise to get married
without resolving any important differences between yourselves.
The period of courtship is also the time when the couple get to know each other's families.

TRE MEANING OF MARRIAGE

Marriage is the legal union between a man and woman living as husband and wife. They
promise to stay together for the rest of their lives.

REASONS FOR MARRIAGE

Among the most common reasons for marriage are:
a. To have children and bring them up
b. To share sexuality with one's wife or husband in an exclusive relationship
c. To enjoy lifelong friendship, companionship and emotional security
d. To make a commitment to the person you love.

CHOOSING A MARRIAGE PARTNER

There are some things you need to find out about your boy friend/girl friend. Here are some of
the important ones:
1. Character or Personality/Appearance
The person you marry should not only have a pleasant and good character but also one
that suits your own character so that you will get on well together. It is also important
that you should look after their appearance and should try to be clean and well
groomed. This shows that they have a positive attitude about themselves and care about
how they appear to others.

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2. Religious Beliefs
Knowing a partner’s religious beliefs is of fundamental importance. In some cases,
marriage partners might be expected to adopt their partner's religion. You need to find
out if your prospective partner holds very strong religious views, how will they affect
your marriage? Are you prepared to be tolerant of his/her beliefs? Do you have
religious views of your own which may clash?

3. Educational Background
It is possible for a couple to be happy even if their educational backgrounds are very
different. However, young men and women with similar educational backgrounds are
likely to have more in common, and there is unlikely to be much conflicts about their
work, social or economic status.

4. Health Status
The period of courtship is useful for finding out whether your intended partner has
health problems. If he/she does have problems; you need to ask yourself some questions
such as:
o Is it a short-term or long-tern health problem'?
o Are there treatments available?
o Is it going to make it difficult for him/her to work?
o Am I prepared to look after someone who is often ill?

5. Skills and knowledge

In the rural areas, young men and women deciding on marriage partners will look for
particular skills. Some of these could be:

a. For men
 Building a house, storage barns and fences.
 Making and using agricultural tools and implements.
 Working hard for his family.

b. For women
 Knowing how to grow crops
 Preparing food
 Looking after chickens
 Running a household

WAYS OF PREPARING FOR MARRIAGE

There are a number of factors that need to be taken into consideration before partners can get into
marriage. Some of them are as follows:

l. Abstinence from premarital sex

Courtship relationship does not necessarily involve sexual activities.
Pre-marital sex may lead to the female partner to get pregnant. It may also lead to
contraction of sexually transmitted infections including HIV/AIDS which may lead to death.

2. Long Courtship period

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This helps them to prepare adequately for the marriage.

3. Building a home
Married partners need to have a home where they will make various decisions concerning
the type of life they want to lead and number of children they want to have.

4. HIV/AIDS testing
Knowing their HIV status will help them to make decisions as whether to proceed with
the marriage arrangements or to look for another marriage partner.

5. Ensuring a sound financial base

Modern life depends almost entirely on money. Marriage partners should therefore verify
the sources of their income before they get into marriage. In other words, it is not
advisable for partners to get into marriage when none of them is employed or runs any
business that could bring some money.

WAYS OF GETTING INTO MARRIAGE

There are five main ways in which people enter into or celebrate a marriage.

1. Traditional or Customary marriage

 When a man has identified a woman as a potential marriage partner, he informs his
uncle or aunt who in turn form a delegation to go and officially propose to the woman
through her parents.
 When the two have agreed on the proposal, they arrange for a day when they could
celebrate the marriage.
 On the day of the marriage ceremony, the woman's parents present her to the
prospective husband through a celebration which may involve dancing and feasting.
 After this ceremony, the two spouses may live together as husband and wife.
2. Christian marriage
This is a type of marriage that is celebrated under Christian law by a priest in a church.
Although this is the case, according to Malawian traditional marriage customs, marriages
are entered into by the traditional ceremony and the religious institutions only confirm
what has already been accepted by the traditional system. This means that every religious
celebration of marriage demands the initial celebration through the traditional system
first.

3. Muslim Ceremony
In this ceremony, the bridegroom has to sign a contract with the bride's father or
guardian before two Muslim witnesses. The ceremony usually takes place in a mosque.
The imam will usually read from the Quaran and talk about the importance of marriage,
and the couple will exchange rings. Then a wedding feast follows.

4. Civil Marriage
This is conducted by the Registrar of marriages and demands witnessing by parents
from both spouses.

5. Elopement and Co-habitation

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Elopement is an arrangement where a man and a woman arrange secretly to get
married.
Co-habitation is an arrangement where a man and a woman live together in a house,
sometimes they go ahead to have children, but are not officially married.

FACTORS WHICH HELP TO PRESERVE MARRIAGE

Honesty
Discuss problems openly without hiding anything e.g. if one of the partners already has a child,
it is important to explain to the other about it and the nature of the relationship that was
responsible for the child.

Free choice of marriage partner

Marriage involves essentially a love relationship between two people. It is therefore important
for the two to understand each other before and not when they get into marriage. This kind of
understanding can only be achieved if the two are allowed to contact each other before a
marriage arrangement.

Fidelity
One of the legally accepted reasons for a marriage to break under any law is when one of the
partners commits adultery or a sexual relationship with another person outside the marriage. It is
therefore important for marriage partners to be faithful and remain loyal to each other by
practicing fidelity.

Forgiving and forgetting

→ All human beings are not born perfect.
→ Disagreements are possible during a marriage even when adequate preparations have been
made. These disagreements may involve financial expenses, the use of family planning
methods, suspicions over secret lovers, parental opinions over the direction of the marriage or
the keeping extended family dependants.
→ Where there is a conflict or disagreement, the two partners should sit down, discuss it openly,
and where one is guilty or an of an offence, an apology should be given and the offended
should extend some forgiveness.
→ Most marriages break up because the two conflicting spouses do not want to give in to each
other.

Perseverance
Because marriages must live until separation by death, it is clear that there is need for a lot of
perseverance. There are trying moments during marriage where a break up may be imminent,
but if one perseveres, one may discover that the problem was not worth the value of the marriage
in the first place.
A lot of marriages break up because the partners think they cannot take any more problems in the
family.

Mutual Care
Partners need to care for each other in all aspects of their marriage life. The care may involve
looking, after the household, looking after children and also looking after each other when one
of them is sick.
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Communication
One of the underlying factors in marriage problems is lack of communication.
 Communication breakdown may happen because either one of the spouses tries to mislead
the other or one of them is not responding to dialogue or because one of them is not frank
enough.
 Communication problems may also arise when one of the spouses uses language that is
considered unacceptable by the other.

IMPORTANCE OF MARRIAGE
1. Procreation
Marriage constitutes a union where children are born legally and thereby ensuring the
continued existence or procreation of the human race.

2. Child development and protection

Marriages ensure a safe haven for the growth and development of children. It is
believed that children who are raised in marriage families especially with both parents
around develop better socially than those that are raised otherwise.

3. Partnership
Marriage may also be considered as offering the answer to partnership problems that
every person may have. This is to say that human nature requires partnership such as
the kind offered by marriage.

RESPONSIBLE PARENTHOOD
→ A parent is a person who is either the father or mother of another person.
→ A biological parent is the one who is responsible for the conception and birth of another
person either as a father or mother.
→ A foster parent is one who adopts a child born to another person, and looks after him/her as
his/her own.

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF A PARENT DURING PREGNANCY

a. During pregnancy, the female parent is supposed to eat nutritious food which needs to be
provided with assistance from the male parent. This nutritious food ensures that the child is
born is health.
b. Both partners are supposed to ensure that they are faithful to each other by not involving
themselves in affairs outside their relationship.
c. Both partners should ensure that they maintain good relationship that is free from quarrels
and emotional pressures.
A good emotional balance for the female parent ensures that she is healthy and that the unborn
child also grows healthy.
d. Both the mother and father must support the pregnancy by ensuring that the woman looks
clean and healthy and attends ante-natal visits to monitor the growth and development of
the child.

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DURING CHILDHOOD
a. Both parents must ensure that they provide it with food, clothes and a good place to live.
b. They should also ensure that the child continues to attend under five clinic to monitor its
growth and development.
c. When the child has reached a school-going age, both parents must ensure that the child
goes to school and that the child has enough materials to enable him/her learn adequately
at school.
d. It is the responsibility of both parents to encourage the child to go to school and stay there
until he/she is properly qualified and starts leading an independent life.
e. They should also advise children about social problems such as the dangers of engaging in
pre-marital sex and getting into early unplanned marriages.

TOPIC TEN

POPULATION AND DEVELOPMENT

I POPULATION CHANGE
Characteristics of population change
The total population of any society or country can change either through increasing or
decreasing.
 The total population of the world has been increasing over the years. This is because many
individual countries of the world have been experiencing an increase in their total
population.
 There are however many other countries that have experienced a decline in their total
population figures.

FACTORS THAT LEAD TO POPULATION CHANGE

1. BIRTH RATES
Birth rate refers to the number of live births in one year for every 1,000 people. High birth rates
have the potential of changing the total population of an area by increasing it.
→ In 2000, the birth rate in Malawi was estimated at 36.49 per thousand. This number is in turn
affected by fertility rate.
→ Fertility rate is the average number of children each woman has.
→ There are four main factors affecting the fertility rate in Malawi. These are:
i. The use of modern methods of contraception is low.
ii. Most females in Malawi start having children when they are under 18.
iii. The period between births may be less than two years, often less than three years.
iv. Cultural expectations in Malawi are for large families.

2. DEATH RATE
Death rate refers to the number of deaths in one year per thousand of a population.
 Higher death rate has the effects of reducing the total population of a country
 This mortality rate is affected by a number of factors:

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a. Infant Mortality
It is the 0 - 5 age group that is often at the highest risk of disease and death.

b. Maternal Mortality
When they are pregnant or give birth, women are also at risk of death. This is
particularly the case where:
i. The women are very young (less than 18)
ii. They are older (over 35)
iii. They have had several children
iv. They have had complications in previous pregnancies or have other
medical problems.
c. Life expectancy
The life expectancy of Malawi is falling because of deaths caused by HIV/AIDS.
The 2000 statistics revealed that the expectancy was 40 for men and 45 for women. This
is among the lowest figures in Africa.

3. EPIDEMICS
The outbreak of epidemic diseases has the impact of reducing the population of' community or
country at a faster than usual pace.
 This is because epidemics kill a lot of people within a short period of time.
 The HIV/AIDS epidemic for example, has contributed very much to reducing the
levels of population growth in many African countries.

4. NATURAL DISASTERS
Natural disasters such as floods, volcanic eruptions. and earthquakes etc have the impact of
killing many people at the same time and making people’s habitants unlivable.
They have thus the effect of reducing the population of a place as many people die and many
others who survive may it difficult to live.

5. UNEMPLOYMENT
Unemployment is one of the important factors that often lead to population change.
 People are often attracted to areas where they are likely to get employment such as urban and
semi - urban areas.
 High levels of unemployment may thus force people to leave the place of normal residence.
 This will can result in decrease of the total population in those areas with high
unemployment levels while areas with high employment levels are likely to experience
increase in population.

6. WARS
 War causes people to flee from their areas often to other countries as refugees. Thus countries
involved in war tend to experience a reduction in their population levels as people flee.
 War has also the effect of increasing the population of those areas or countries where refugees
go and seek refugee.
 Migration is the movement of people from one area to settle in another. Migration can occur
within national or international boundaries and it affects the total population of an area.
 The movement of people across international borders is referred to as either emigration or
immigration.
 Emigration has the effect of reducing the population of a country while immigration has the

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impact of increasing the population of a country.

THE EFFECTS OF POPULATION GROWTH

Rapid population growth has many effects on individual families, countries and regions as well
as in the physical environment. Especially in poor countries, it can lead to increased poverty and
social upheaval. Some effects of population growth are:

1. Pressure on individual households

High fertility rates and short intervals between births have immediate effects on the individual
household concerned.
o The mother's health is at greater risk when she has had a high number of pregnancies.
o Also the more children there are, the more the pressure on land resources, food supplies,
housing and on water supplies and sanitation. Households with more children are therefore
more likely to experience poverty and a lack of food security. There is also a higher
likelihood of low attendance at school and poor health.

2. Pressure on Land
According to the 1998 census, 86% of Malawians live in the rural areas. Most of these people are
dependent on farming the land for survival.

Population growth increases the demand for land. Since about 40% of the country is unsuitable
for cultivation, it is the remaining land which is under pressure. This pressure is more serious in
some parts of the country than others.

3. Implications for food supplies

 Malawi's main food crop is maize. The Human Resource Development Unit (HRDU) of the
Malawi Ministry of Health estimated that each adult needs about 270 kgs of maize a year for
adequate nutrition.
 However, if fertility rates remain high, the population would increase and would also require
maize supplies to be increased as well.
 Food production would increase if agricultural productivity was greatly improved, with a
higher use of fertiliser, new varieties of seeds, and technological advances.
Otherwise, valuable foreign exchange would have to be spent importing food supplies.
4. Pressure oil Social Services
a. Education
With the launch of the free Primary Education system in 1994/95, primary school
enrolments in Malawi increased substantially to 3,2 million. Assuming the
continuation of high fertility rates the HRDU estimates that there could be 5.2 million
children in primary schools by the year 2022. Schools need buildings, equipment and
books, teachers. In 1992, there were 27, 600 to 85, 800 teachers if there were 5.2 million
children in school. The challenges involved in training such high numbers are massive.

b. Health Care
An increasing population requires more health professionals.
 Ideally, there should be far more if the health need of the people is to be met.
 Again resources will be extremely stretched to find the recruitment and
training in health professionals for the future.

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5. Increasing Urbanisation
 With increasing pressure on the land and the consequent risks of poverty, more people
are already moving to the towns.
 In I998 it was calculated that 14% of the total population live in town of Blantyre,
Lilongwe, Zomba and Mzuzu. This migration to town is likely to accelerate with a
high population growth.
 This rapid rate of urbanisation will greatly increase the demand for housing, basic
services such as water and sanitation and employment.
 Any rise in the unemployed population whether in rural or urban areas, has inevitable
impact on crime figures.
 It also leads to a rise in the number of squatters in urban centres and the growth of
shanty towns.

6. Pressure of the Environmental

An increasing population puts pressure on the country’s natural resources such as its
supplies of wood, its land, fish stocks and wild life.

As the population grows, it exerts great demand on resources to such an extent that the
resources be limited to cater for all the people. Resources will end up being used up in
unsustainable manner.

THE IMPACT OF POPULATION GROWTH ON DEVELOPMENT

Population growth has serious effects on developments.

1. Population growth leads to the lowering of quality of services such as education and
health.
High population growth means more children enrolling in schools which do not have
enough resources in terms of classrooms, teachers and teaching aids.
It also means more people needing health care, safe water and sanitation yet these services
are in limited supply. The quality of such services is thus likely to be lowered due to
pressure that the large population will exert on them.
2. High levels of poverty associated with population growth results in high incidences of
morbidity (ill health) and mortality both of which have negative impact on development.
 People who are sick cannot contribute effectively to the development of their areas.
Sick people also require other people to look after them.
 The guardians as well cannot contribute effectively to development activities as much
as they ought since a lot of time is spent on caring for the sick.

3. Environmental degradation is a common problem that comes about due to high levels of
population growth.
 Human beings produce a lot of waste materials through their consumption activities
and this contributes to pollution of the environment.
 Pollution causes ill health and thus impacts negatively on development.

4. Peace and security become difficult to achieve in the face of high population growth. Loss
of security acts as hindrance to developments as people do not feel free to go about doing
their business and investors shun away from areas with high incidence of crime.

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CONTROLLING POPULATION GROWTH

Population control refers to attempts to reduce the size of the population by any natural or man-
made factors.

WAYS OF CONTROLLING POPULATION GROWTH

NATURAL METHODS
1. Disease
 There are a large number of diseases that can cause premature death. These include
tuberculosis (TB), cancer. HIV/AIDS, heart disease, strokes and malaria.
 In addition outbreaks of diseases such as cholera kills many people; mainly in the
developing world.

2. Infant Mortality
 A high proportion of premature deaths are those of infants before they reach their first
birthday.
 Diseases which affect babies and young children particularly are measles, diphtheria and
whooping cough. Diarrhea is also a common cause of death among babies.
 Some babies also die of malnutrition due to poor eating habits as a result of poverty.
3. Natural Disasters
Some parts of the world suffer from natural disasters such as:

i. Earth quakes, volcanic eruptions, avalanches and mudflows.

• These can cause serious loss of life.
 Many natural disasters come about because of the weather e.g. droughts and floods.
 Tornadoes and hurricanes cause many deaths and do a lot of damage in certain parts of
the world.

ii. Drought
 Drought is common in areas where rainfall is unreliable.
 Drought conditions mean that the crops wither and die be fore harvest.
 Once the food from the previous harvest has been eaten, people begin to starve.
 In Africa droughts are common in the Sahara countries, the countries in the Horn of
Africa e.g. Ethiopia and the countries in Southern Africa.

iii. Floods and mudflows

 Some countries frequently experience serious flooding. These floods cause loss of life
and wide spread homelessness.
 In 1991, Malawi experienced a flush flood and a rock avalanche down mass
mountain on the north-east edge of the Phalombe plain.
 Some parts of the world that receive heavy rain fall are prone to mudflows, where
heavy rain loosens soil and forces it to slide down hill, burying home and people
with it.
 The worst mudslide happened in Venezuela, South America in December 1999.

iii. Earthquakes and Volcanoes

 Some parts of the world, such as Southern Asia, Western Asia and Japan, are prone

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to earthquakes. The worst earthquakes happened in Turkey in August 1999, when
17,000 people died and in Gujarat, in India in January 2001 which left between 20,000
and 30,000 dead.
 The death tolls and damage from volcanoes are not as extreme as in earthquakes,
because they do not affect such a wide area, but nonetheless volcanoes can cause
massive loss of life.
• A famous volcano known as Krakatau in Indonesia erupted in 1883.

MAN - MADE WAYS OF POPULATION CONTROL

i. Wars
Wars are responsible for the death of millions of people every year. Wars are not
natural as they result from human conflict.

ii. Family Planning

 Family planning refers to the conscious effort of couples to regulate the
number and spacing births through artificial and natural methods of
contraception.
 Family planning connotes conception control to avoid pregnancy and abortion,
but also includes efforts of couples to induce pregnancy.
• Family planning is the most advocated way of controlling population growth.
IMPORTANCE OF CONTROLLING POPULATION GROWTH
1. Population growth need to be controlled to reduces overcrowding in many places.
Overcrowding brings about many problems, including making it easy for infectious
diseases to spread very rapidly.
2. Controlling population growth is also important in order to avoid environmental
degradation.
 More people demand more environmental resources and generate a lot of waste. The
waste ends up polluting the same environment that people live in.
 It ensures the sustainability of the worlds' vast resources.

3. It also ensures the availability of resources.

 A large proportion of the populations are supported through subsistence agriculture.
As populations grow, competition for fertile land and the use of limited resources
increases.
 Meeting the increasing demand for food and other social and economic services is
most times impossible, creating the need for controlling population growth.

4. It is also likely to help in reducing unemployment levels. T his is also likely to help in
reducing unemployment levels. This is also likely to result in less people looking for jobs.
With population control the rate of job creation in an economy way may also be
possible as to keep up with the numbers of job seekers.

ENVIRONMENTAL CONSERVATION
It refers to the principles and practices that help to keep the environment safe and in good
conditions. It encourages principles and practices that do not destroy the environment but
keeps and maintains it in a sustainable way.
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WAYS TO MAINTAIN ENVORONMENT

 Planting new trees
 Avoiding grazing animals on hilly areas
 Avoiding cultivating along river banks
 Planting trees along river banks
 Proper disposal of waste material
 Practicing appropriate fishing practices e.g. using recommended catching material.

IMPORTANCE OF ENVIRONMENTAL CONSERVATION

Environmental conservation is important in the following ways:

1. Preservation of species
Environmental conservation helps the preservation of both plant and animal species by
making sure that their habitant is not destroyed.

2. Avoiding Degradation
Land and soil degradation is averted when people practice environmental conservation practices.
3. Maintaining Diversity
Since environmental conservation practices help to ensure that the plant and animal habitat
is not destroyed. It also helps to make sure that diversity in animal and plant life is
maintained.

4. Improving Productivity
Environmental conservation ensures that nutrients in the soil are maintained by checking soil
erosion and over use of land. It can thus help in improving the productivity of land.

POPULATION POLICY AND PROGRAMMES IN MALAWI

FACTORS AFFECTING THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE POPULATION POLICY
The introduction of this population policy was prompted by an awareness of the negative that
high population growth were having on the country's development and on the 'rd of living of
people.
The main factors thus affecting the development of the policy were as follows:
i. The growing pressure on land resources and social services
ii. Environmental degradation and soil erosion
iii. The unsustainable use of the country's forest resources
iv. The demands placed on already over-stretched social services
v. Lack of employment opportunities
vi. Increasing poverty
vii. High fertility rate
viii. Rapid population growth
ix. High dependency burden

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ELEMENTS OF THE POPULATION POLICY
Goal of Malawi's population policy is to improve the standard of living and quality of life of
Malawi people. The policy's central feature is to ensure that the country's population growth is
keep within manageable and sustainable bounds, while still maintaining the right of ea individual
and couple to decide for themselves the number of children they wish to bear.

The National Population Policy also has some principal sectoral objectives in relation to five main
elements.

1. Demographic and family planning

a. To achieve a lower population growth rate which is compatible with the attainment of the
country's social and economic objectives.
b. To lower fertility, and infant, child and maternal mortality.
c. To reduce adolescent marriages and unwanted teenage pregnancies.
d. To slow down the high rate of urbanisation.

2. Information, Education and Communication

a. To enhance programmes which increase awareness of the population problem and
facilitate free access to information about contraception and benefits of small family sizes.
b. To improve access, quality, efficiency and vocational relevance of primary school and
informal education systems.
c. To systematically integrate population education in the formal school system and other
institutions of learning.

3. Gender and development

a. To improve the status of women and youth in all spheres of development.
b. To ensure food security and adequate nutrition for mothers and children.

4. Research and environment

a. To improve the collection, analysis and dissemination of population data, disaggregated
by gender.
b. To promote environmental education among various population groups.

5. Employment
a. To improve entrepreneurial, managerial and other relevant skills for the country's labour
force for self-employment.
b. To increase productive employment and more equitable distribution of resources.

PRACTICES WHICH AFFECT THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE POPl1LATION POLICY

1. Cultural and social attitudes
 One obstacle to the implementation of the population policy takes the form of cultural practices,
such as chokolo (inheriting wives or husbands) hlazi (where the parent of a man's wife give him
the wife's younger sister as a gift) and fisi (cleansing rituals for newly initiated girls).
- Initiation ceremonies are also associated with practices that discourage girls from continuing
their education, encouraging their early marriage and encourage unprotected sex.
- Changing these practices and the attitudes which encourage them are fundamental to the
success of the policy.
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2. Polygamy
This practice is most likely to work against the objectives of the population policy. Polygamy
makes it easy for sexually transmitted diseases to spread fast. If one member of the family is
infected with HIV/AIDS or any other sexually transmitted diseases the chances are high that the
other members will get the disease and all may die of the same disease.

3. Religious beliefs
Some religions prohibit its members from using certain contraceptive methods making it difficult
for some people to practice effective child spacing.
Issues of gender balance also touch on many religious beliefs. Some religious beliefs are
patriarchal often putting women as second class citizens.
This often works against the objectives of gender equality and development.

4. Initiation ceremonies
 Initiation ceremonies per se are no bad. The problem often comes about because of some
practices associated with initiation ceremonies.
 Practices such as fisi are likely to negatively impact on the success of the population policy as
they put girls at risk of contracting sexually transmitted diseases.
 The practice can also lead to unwanted pregnancies

5. Moral decay
Moral decay in most communities, as evidenced by such practices as prostitution and drug abuse,
works very much against the population policy.
Prostitution is the biggest contributor of the transmission of sexually transmitted diseases.
Drugs contribute heavily to mental illnesses among boys and girls.

ERADICA'TING PRACTICES AFFECTING POPULATION POLICY

IMPLEMENTATION
Eradication practices that affect the implementation of' the population policy cannot be done
overnight.

1. Effective eradication of such practices requires public awareness campaigns that aim at
sensitizing the members of the public on the negative effects of such practices.
2. Empowerment of women can also significantly help in eradication of some of the
practices. This is because a woman who is empowered knows her rights and is therefore
able to say no to things she does not approve of woman who is empowered is also able to
support herself and is likely to find practices such as chokolo to be unnecessary.
3. Use of legislation is very crucial for effective eradication of some practices e.g. use of fish
and domestic violence.

STRATEGIES FOR IMPLEMENTING THE POPULATION POLICY

1. Information, Education and Communication (IEC)
o The achievement of the objectives under IEC depended on the development of clear,
unambiguous and locally sensitive messages tailored to specific audiences.
o The messages developed were then to be disseminated through person-to-person as well
as person to group communication.
o Equally important in the use of drama, dances, posters and the mass media, especially the
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radio. The messages were to help increase awareness at the national and household levels
about the relationships between population changes, available natural resources, as well
as essential services and family well being.

2. Research and training

The strategy was to undertake operational research in areas that were considered necessary for
sound implementation of the policy. This included research that would help to identify the social,
cultural and physiological factors affecting fertility, morbidity and mortality levels, trends and
differentials; to study the social, economic, cultural and demographic impact of rural urban -
migration on both sending and receiving areas; and to explore constraints on the generation of the
employment opportunities in both the rural and urban sectors.

3. Population and environment

The environment consists of living and non-living things. Living things include as vegetation,
animals, and human beings. Non-living things on the other hand include such things as land, air,
water, minerals and buildings.

HUMAN PRACTICES THAT DESTROY LIVING AND NON-LIVING

THINGS
1. Pollution
 Land, air and water are the major components of the environment that are vulnerable to
pollution.
 Human practices such as disposal of domestic waste into rivers or streams, construction
of pit latrines near rivers or wells, using the bush as latrine, smoking in public places and
practices of catching fish by poisoning with herbs all contribute to pollution of the
environment.

2. Careless cutting down of trees

 Trees are a source of fuel wood, charcoal, timber and poles for both domestic and
industrial use.
 Careless cutting down of trees involves cutting trees in unsustainable manner. The rate at
which trees are cut is far greater than the rate at which they are replaced.

3. Poaching
Poaching is the illegal hunting of wild animals. Poachers kill wild animals because they want the
meat for food, concoctions for medicinal use or other by products from such animals such as
ivory from elephants.

4. Over fishing
Fish are a source of food and income for many people.
 Due to high demand for fish, many fishermen continue to kill fish even during breeding
season thereby giving fish no chance to breed.
 Sometimes fishermen use herbs/plants to poison and kill fish. This method kills both
young and old fish and can easily lead to extinction of many fish species.

5. Overstocking and overgrazing

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Overstocking is the keeping of more domestic animals than a piece of land can sustainably hold.
With increasing population, the availability of grazing land has decreased. This has resulted in
too many animals grazing on a small area continuously, leading to over grazing.

CONSEQUENCES OF DESTROYING THE ENVIRONMENT

Climate change will cause unpredictable weather, with more climate extremes.

 The effect will be longer periods of extremely hot or extremely cold temperatures, droughts,
unexpectedly heavy falls of rain, and more natural disasters caused by floods, storms and
landslides.
 Global warming is causing the warming of the icy regions in the Arctic and Antarctica. The
melting of ice is making the sea level rise, some low lying countries can expect more
frequents floods. Some of' these which are islands, may disappear altogether.
 The heavy use of energy particularly in the western world is rapidly using the non-renewable
energy resources of the world, such as fossil fuels (coal and oil).
 As the world population increases, water will become such a precious resource that wars will
be fought over it.
 The loss of trees will not only contribute to climate change, but will also increase the areas of
soil erosion and desertification. It will also contribute to the siltation of rivers and other
important water sources.
 The loss of soil fertility will make it more difficult for people to feed themselves, leading to
poverty, ill health and starvation.
 Many species of flora and fauna will become extinct, some of which could have contributed to
national development as well as people's social-economic empowerment.

ENVIRONMENTAL CONSERVATION
Environmental conservation refers to the principles and practices that help to keep the
environment safe and in good condition.
It encourages principles and practices that do not destroy the environment but keeps and
maintains it in a sustainable way.

There are many ways in which the environment can be conserved. These include:
i. Planting new trees to replace those that have been cut down.
ii. Culling excess animals
iii. Avoiding grazing animals on hilly areas.
iv. Avoiding cultivating along river banks
v. Planting trees along river banks
vi. Proper disposal of waste materials
vii. Practicing appropriate fishing practices such as using ended catching materials.

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