Abstract
This paper reports on Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) public participation in Malawi with a focus on the role of women from matrilineal and patrilineal marriage systems. Six rural ESIA projects are explored of which three are in areas of patrilineal and three are in areas of matrilineal systems. Participation space was found to be consistently dominated by men, with no obvious differences between both systems. The key reasons are likely to be lower educational and social status of women in rural areas throughout the country. This is associated with a number of challenges, including chronic poverty and food insecurity. Affirmative action is needed to achieve a better representation of women in ESIA processes.
Similar content being viewed by others
Notes
Extension workers in the context of Malawi are frontline workers working with the communities at local level
References
Adusah-Karikari A (2015) Black gold in Ghana: Changing livelihoods for women in communities affected by oil production. Extract Ind Soc 2(1):24. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.exis.2014.10.006
Agrawal T (2014) Educational inequality in rural and urban India. Int J Educ Dev 34(1):11–19. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijedudev.2013.05.002
Alesina A, Giuliano P, Nunn N (2013) On the origins of gender roles: women and the plough. Q J Econ 128(2):469–530. https://doi.org/10.1093/qje/qjt005
André P, Enserink B, Conner D, Croal P (2006) Public Participation: international best practice principles, Special Publications Series, 34(4). Available at: https://conferences.iaia.org/2008/pdf/IAIA08Proceedings/IAIA08ConcurrentSessions/CS5-4_Assessing-Public-Participation-Best-Practice-Principles_Enserink.pdf (Accessed:7 March 2018)
Anuar MINM, Saruwono M (2018) Obstacles of public participation in the design process of public parks. J Asian Behav Stud 3(6):147–155. https://doi.org/10.21834/jabs.v3i6.247
Anyanwu JC, Augustine D (2013) Gender equality in employment in Africa: Empirical analysis and policy implications. Afr Dev Rev 25(4):400–420. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8268.12038
Aucamp I, Retief FP, Sandham LA (2023) Best Practice Public Participation in Africa, In Sinclair, J and Burdett, T (eds.) Public Participation in Impact Assessment. Edward Elgar, London
Aziz A, Shams M, Khan KS (2011) Participatory action research as the approach for women’s empowerment. Action Res 9(3):303–323
Berge E, Kambewa D, Munthali A, Wiig H (2014) Lineage and land reforms in Malawi: do matrilineal and patrilineal landholding systems represent a problem for land reforms in Malawi? Land Use Policy 41:61–69. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landusepol.2014.05.003
Bisset R (2013) Methods of consultation and Public Participation, in Lee, N. and George, C. (eds) Environmental Assessment in developing and transitional countries.Available at: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/9781118685570.ch9 (Accessed: 4 June2019).
Chigbu UE (2019) Anatomy of women’s landlessness in the patrilineal customary land tenure systems of sub-Saharan Africa and a policy pathway. Land Use Policy 86:126–135. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landusepol.2019.04.041
Chifungo PF (2023) A biblical and Cultural Study of Women in the church in Central Malawi, Luviri Press
Chimombo J, Mwale L Ndalama L (2006) An assessment of schooling conditions and standard one achievement levels in pre-literacy, pre-numeracy, basic literacy and numeracy in Malawi primary schools PCAR standard 1 baseline study, Lilongwe: Ministry of Education
Chiweza AL (2021) Discursive construction of citizen participation in democratic decentralisation discourses in Malawi. J Humanit 29(1):23–55
Cornwall A (2002) Making spaces, changing places: situating participation in development Available at : https://cir.nii.ac.jp/crid/1130282272944594432. Accessed:12 April 2024)
Dagiliute R, Juozapaitiene G (2018) Stakeholders in the EIA process: What is important for them? The case of road construction. Environ Clim Technol 22(1):69–82
Davison J (1997) Gender, Lineage, and Ethnicity in Southern Africa. Boulder, CO: Westview Press
Djurfeldt AA, Hillbom E, Mulwafu WO, Mvula P, Djurfeldt G (2018) The family farms together, the decisions, however are made by the man-Matrilineal land tenure systems, welfare and decision making in rural Malawi. Land Use Policy 70:601–610. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landusepol.2017.10.048
Federici S (2018) Re-enchanting the World: Feminism and the Politics of the Commons. Pm Press, Kairo
Fischer TB, Welsch M, Jalal I (2019) Reflecting on the preparation of guidelines for strategic environmental assessment (SEA) of nuclear power programmes. Impact Assess Proj Apprais 37(2):165–178. https://doi.org/10.1080/14615517.2018.1560667
Fitzpatrick P, Sinclair AJ (2003) Learning through public involvement in environmental assessment hearings. J Environ Manag 67(2):161–174. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0301-4797(02)00204-9
GoM (Government of Malawi) (2015) The National Gender Policy, December 2017Available at https://cepa.org.mw/Library/governmentpublications/National%20Gender%20Policy%202015.pdf/view
GoM (Government of Malawi) (2013) Gender Equality Act of 2013 (GoM, 2013GOM (GovernmentofMalawi) GenderEqualityAct, 2013 https://malawilii.org/akn/mw/act/2013/3/eng%402014-12-31
GoM (Government of Malawi) (1997) Environmental Impact Assessment Guidelines. Available at: http://www.sdnp.org.mw/enviro/eia/chap1.html (Accessed: 6 June 2020)
Graef F, Hernandez LEA, König HJ, Uckert G, Mnimbo MT (2018) Systemising gender integration with rural stakeholders’ sustainability impact assessments: A case study with three low-input upgrading strategies. Environ Impact Assess Rev 68:81–89. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eiar.2017.10.004
Gottlieb J, Robinson AL (2016) The Effects of Matrilineality on Gender Differences in Political Behavior across Africa. Berkeley: University of California. Available at: http://cega.berkeley.edu/assets/miscellaneous_files/Gottlieb_Robinson_Paper.pdf (Accessed: 26 June 2021)
Götzmann N, Bainton N (2021) Embedding gender-responsive approaches in impact assessment and management. Impact Assess Proj Apprais 39(3):171–182. https://doi.org/10.1080/14615517.2021.1904721
Hanna R Karlan D (2017) Designing social protection programs: using theory and experimentation to understand how to help combat poverty, In Handbook of Economic Field Experiments (Vol. 2, pp. 515–553). North-Holland
Hickey S, Du Toit A (2013) Adverse incorporation, social exclusion, and chronic poverty. Palgrave Macmillan, UK, 134–159
Hill C, Madden C, Collins N (2017) A guide to gender impact assessment for the extractiveindustries. Availableat: https://oxfamilibrary.openrepository.com/bitstream/handle/10546/620782/gt-gender-impact-assessement-extractives-010117-en.pdf?sequence=1 Availableat: https://conferences.iaia.org/2008/pdf/IAIA08Proceedings/IAIA08ConcurrentSessions/CS5-4_Assessing-Public-Participation-Best-Practice-Principles_Enserink.pdf (Accessed:7 March 2018)
Heydari Barardehi I, Abdollah Milani M (2022) Iranian female-headed households’ material well-being during sanctions and post-JCPOA periods. Gender. Technol Dev 26(1):116–137. https://doi.org/10.1080/09718524.2022.2043987
Hill C, Namara C, Orcaya J, Bogrand A, Sellwood SA (2021) Hidden in plain sight: gender analysis of the environmental and social impact assessment of the East African Crude Oil Pipeline. Impact Assess Proj Apprais 39(3):229–239
Jayachandran S (2015) The roots of gender inequality in developing countries. Economics 7(1):63–88. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-economics-080614-115404
Johri M (2023) Feminist perspective on patriarchy: its impact on the construction of femininity and masculinity. N. Lit 4(2):1–9. https://doi.org/10.48189/nl.2023.v04i2.001
Kalinga OJM (1998) The production of history in Malawi in the 1960s: the legacy of Sir Harry Johnston, the influence of the society of Malawi and role of Dr Kamuzu Banda and his Malawi Congress Party. Afr Aff 97(389):523–549. https://doi.org/10.1093/Oxfordjournals.AfraF.A007969
Kanu EJ, Tyonum ET, Uchegbu SN (2018) Public participation in environmental impact assessment (EIA): a critical analysis. Archit Eng 3(1):7–12
Kayira GW, Banda PC, Robinson AL (2019) Ethnic associations and politics in contemporary Malawi. J East Afr Stud 13(4):718–738. https://doi.org/10.1080/17531055.2019.1678925
Kennedy E, Binder G, Humphries-Waa K, Tidhar T, Cini K, Comrie-Thomson L, Vaughan C, Francis K, Scott N, Wulan N, Patton G (2020) Gender inequalities in health and wellbeing across the first two decades of life: an analysis of 40 low-income and middle-income countries in the Asia-Pacific region. Lancet Glob Health’ 8(12):e1473–e1488
Kimotho W, Ogol D (2021) Exploring the drivers of gendered grievance mechanisms: examples from the agribusiness, extractive and wind power sectors in Kenya. Impact Assess Proj Apprais 39(3):240–250. https://doi.org/10.1080/14615517.2021.1906020
Knoblauch AM, Divall MJ, Owuor M, Musunka G, Pascall A, Nduna K, Ng’uni H, Utzinger J, Winkler MS (2018) Selected indicators and determinants of women’s health in the vicinity of a copper mine development in northwestern Zambia. BMC Women’s Health 18(1):1–11. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12905-018-0547-7
Kurien J (2000) Factoring social and cultural dimensions into food and livelihood security issues of marine fisheries: a case study of Kerala State, India (No.299). Centre for Development Studies, Trivendrum, India
Lahiri-Dutt K Ahmad N (2011) Considering gender in social impact assessments. New Directions in Social Impact Assessment: Conceptual and Methodological Advances, Edward, Elgar Publishing, pp.117–137.
Leuenberger A, Kihwele F, Lyatuu I, Kengia JT, Farnham A, Winkler MS, Merten S (2021) Gendered health impacts of industrial gold mining in northwestern Tanzania: perceptions of local communities. Impact Assess Proj Apprais 39(3):183–195
Lowes S (2020) Kinship structure & women: evidence from Economics. Daedalus 149(1):119–133. https://doi.org/10.1162/daed_a_01777
Lwesya-Sibale JJ Fischer TB (2023) Who is involved in environmental and social impact assessment public participation? Observations on urban and rural practices in Malawi. Impact Assessment and Project Appraisal, pp.1–13. https://doi.org/10.1080/14615517.2023.2220152 41, (4), 301–313
Lwesya-Sibale J (2022) A comparative analysis of effective public participation in Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) in decision-making processes between Rural and urban areas in Malawi (Doctoral dissertation, University of Liverpool). Doctoral thesis available at https://livrepository.liverpool.ac.uk/3166050/1/201302224_Oct%202022.pdf
Madimbo M (2016) Transformative and engaging leadership: Lessons from indigenous African women. Springer.
Maliro D (2021) A Gender Needs Assessment Across All Components of the second Malawi National Social Support Programme (MNSSP II: Final Gender Needs Assessment Report. European Union, Lilongwe
Mayer CH, Barnard A (2015) Balancing the scales of gender and culture in contemporary South Africa, Psychology of gender through the lens of culture: theories and applications, 327–349. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-14005-6_16.
Milner G, Chimombo J, Banda T, Mchikoma C (2001) The quality of primary education in Malawi: Some policy suggestions based on a survey of schools, Available at: http://www.unesco.org/education/wef/countryreports/malawi/rapport_2.html (Accessed 7 September 2020)
Mnimbo TS, Lyimo-Macha J, Urassa JK, Mahoo HF, Tumbo SD, Graef F (2017) Influence of gender on roles, choices of crop types and value chain upgrading strategies in semi-Arid and sub-humid Tanzania. Food Secur, 1007/s12571-017-0682-2
Mtika MM, Doctor HV (2002) Matriliny, patriliny, and wealth flow variations in rural Malawi, Afr Sociol Rev, 6(2). https://doi.org/10.4314/asr.v6i2.23215
Morrison-Saunders A, Early G (2008) What is necessary to ensure natural justice in environmental impact assessment decision-making? Impact Assess Proj Apprais 26(1):29–42. https://doi.org/10.3152/146155108×303210
Mukherjee S, Sundberg T, Schütt B (2021) Issues, dimensions and approaches of assessing urban water security in developing and emerging countries: an inclusive perspective, Environmental Management: Issues and Concerns in Developing Countries, 151–184
Nadeem O, Fischer TB (2011) An evaluation framework for effective public participation in EIA in Pakistan. Environmental Impact Assessment Review 31(1):36–47. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eiar.2010.01.003
Nguyen QN, Thi Phuong N, Le Hang DT (2021) Gender biases in resettlement processes in Vietnam: examining women’s participation and implications for impact assessment. Impact Assess Proj Apprais 39(3):206–217
NPC (National Planning Commision) (2020). Available at: https://npc.mw/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/MW2063-VISION-FINAL.pdf (Accessed: 29 January 2021)
NSO (National Statistical Office) (2019) Malawi Poverty Report 2018. Available at: http://www.nsomalawi.mw/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=226&Itemid=6. Accessed:12 April 2024
NSO (National Statistical Office) (2020) The Fifth Integrated House 1020 hold Survey (IHS5) 2020 Report. Available at: http://www.nsomalawi.mw/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=230&Itemid=111. Accessed on 12 April 2024.
O’Faircheallaigh C (2010) Public participation and environmental impact assessment: purposes, implications, and lessons for public policy making. Environ Impact Assess Rev 30(1):19–27. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eiar.2009.05.001
Palerm JAR (2000) An empirical-theoretical analysis framework for PP in Environmental Impact Assessment. J Environ Assess Policy Manag 43(5):581–600. https://doi.org/10.1080/713676582
Pattajoshi B, Das D, Mohanty (2020) Brand-image dimensions and bottom of pyramid-aholisticperspective’, Available at :https://www.mililink.com/upload/article/636294809aams_vol_202_dec_2020_a3_p211-226_biswajit_pattajoshi_and_sangeeta_mohanty.pdf (Accessed: 23 June 2018)
Peletz N, Hanna K (2019) Gender Analysis and Impact Assessment: Canadian and International Experiences. Available at. https://dspace.ceid.org.tr/xmlui/bitstream/handle/1/1360/FINAL_WEB_Gender_Analysis_-Impact_Assessment.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y (Accessed: 23 June 2018)
Phiri KM (1983) Some changes in the matrilineal family system among the Chewa of Malawi sincethe nineteenth century. Journal of African History 24(2):257–274. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0021853700021976
Pradhan SK (2018) Gender issues in project design: a case of Metro Rail in India. J Resour Energy Dev 15(1-2):13–23
Robinson AL, Gottlieb J (2021) How to close the gender gap in political participation: lessons from matrilineal societies in Africa. Br J Polit Sci 51(1):68–92. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0007123418000650
Retief F, Bond A, Pope J, Morrison-Saunders A, King N (2016) Global megatrends and their implications for environmental assessment practice. Environ Impact Assess Review 61:52–60
Retief F, Morrison-Saunders A, Geneletti D, Pope J (2013) Exploring the psychology of trade-off decision-making in environmental impact assessment. Impact Assess Project Apprais 31(1):13–23
Sainath NV, Rajan KS (2015) Meta-analysis of EIA public hearings in the state of Gujarat, India: its role versus the goal of environmental management. Impact Assess Proj Apprais 33(2):148–153. https://doi.org/10.1080/14615517.2014.964085
Sarkissian A (2012) Religion and civic engagement in Muslim countries. J Sci Study Relig 51(4):607–622. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-5906.2012.01677.x
Schneider, D Gough, K, 1961. eds. Matrilineal Kinship. Berkeley
Sikweyiya Y, Addo-Lartey AA, Alangea DO, Dako-Gyeke P, Chirwa ED, Coker-Appiah D, Adanu RM, Jewkes R (2020) Patriarchy and gender-inequitable attitudes as drivers of intimate partner violence against women in the central region of Ghana. BMC Public Health 20:1–11
Simpson NP, Basta C (2018) Sufficiently capable for effective participation in environmental impact assessment? Environ Impact Assess Rev 70(1):57–70. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eiar.2018.03.004
Sweetman C, Ezpeleta M (2017) Introduction: Natural resource justice. Gend Dev 25(3):353–366. https://doi.org/10.1080/13552074.2017.1395138
Subramanian RR (2024). Gate-Cane:(Un) tying the knots between climate, cane, and early marriage in rural India. Clim Dev, 1–14, https://doi.org/10.1080/17565529.2024.2326117
USAID (2018) Sociological analysis of traditional authorities in Malawi: democracy, rights and governance. USAID in partnership with the Department of Political and Administrative Studies, Chancellor College, Zomba, University of Malawi
Wood C (2003) Environmental impact assessment in developing countries: an overview. Paper for conference on New Directions in Impact Assessment for Development: Methods and Practices. Manchester: EIA Centre, School of Planning and Landscape, University of Manchester. Available at: https://www.academia.edu/3420793/Environmental_impact_assessment_in_developing_countries_an_overview (Accessed: 3 February 2019)
Yang S (2008) Public participation in the Chinese Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) system. J Environ Assess Policy Manag 10(1):91–113. https://doi.org/10.1142/s1464333208002932
Zeze WSD (2015) Democratic constitution and ethnic organizations in Malawi: preserving good culture or promoting regionalism, nepotism and tribalism. Hist Res 5(3):169–187. https://doi.org/10.17265/2159-550X/2015.03.004
Zhang H (2017) Opportunity or new poverty trap: rural-urban education disparity and internal migration in China. China Econ Rev 44:112–124. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.chieco.2017.03.011
Zhang Y (2015) Urban-rural literacy gaps in sub-Saharan Africa: the roles of socioeconomic status and school quality. Comput Educ Rev 50(4):581–602. https://doi.org/10.1086/507056
Zuhair MH, Kurian PA (2016) Socio-economic and political barriers to public participation in EIA: implications for sustainable development in the Maldives. Impact Assess Proj Apprais 34(2):129–142. https://doi.org/10.1080/14615517.2016.1176404
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Contributions
JLS: Conceptualization, data collection, analysis and original draft. TBF: Supervised the empirical research, reviewed and edited the paper.
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Competing interests
The authors declare no competing interests.
Rights and permissions
Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.
About this article
Cite this article
Sibale, J.L., Fischer, T.B. Does Matrilineality Reduce Gender Inequality in Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) Public Participation? Some Evidence from Malawi. Environmental Management (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00267-024-01971-9
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00267-024-01971-9