If you travel to Mulanje, Malawi, you’ll find girl graduates, male feminists and a community united in the fight for gender equality.
This progressive scene isn’t the story of most other communities in Malawi — only 35% of girls in the country are enrolled in secondary school. And, more than 40% of girls are married before age 18. For boys, it’s 7%.
But things are a bit different in Mulanje, because here, a remarkable woman is in power: Chief Kukada.
Village chiefs in countries across Africa are the main drivers of community leadership and development. While the role of village chief has often traditionally been passed down from father to son, Chief Kukada is showing her community that to advance gender equality, only the wearer of the shoe knows where it pinches — women know the problems firsthand, and deserve the opportunities to work with men to drive change.
For Chief Kukada, uplifting humanity begins with girls’ rights. Namely, preventing child marriage.
She tells Plan staff that when girls in her community become brides, they’re forced to abandon their education, expose themselves to violence and have children before their bodies are ready. For a girl, becoming a wife is akin to losing her future.
“My responsibility is to get children back to school,” Chief Kukada says. “I take responsibility because some girls in my community died [during childbirth].”
Preventing child marriage is tough work, so Chief Kukada doesn’t do it alone. Together with young advocates in the community, she hosts a weekly club for other children who are out of school. The club, which is supported by Plan, creates a safe space for girls and boys to talk with the young leaders about the issues they face in accessing education, and discover ways they can get back in the classroom.
For one girl in Mulanje named Bertha, Chief Kukada’s work has meant everything. Here, Bertha tells her story, in her own words:
“I had a boyfriend — we were planning to get married,” Bertha says. “He was promising me that if we get married, we will be in love and people will be admiring us. But when we got married, everything changed.
“We were lacking basics like soap, clothes, food. My husband did not stop having other partners. And, if I told him there that there was nothing at home, he would say that it was not his responsibility. He started abusing me … I felt so much pain because when we were in a relationship, these things were not happening.”
“When a child is about to be married off, I write a letter to the parents, inviting them to gather at my place and discuss,” Chief Kukada says. “Parents should also be responsible — they should not accept when they hear that their child is getting married. That’s violating our children’s rights. As a group village head, I do not want any girl in my community to get married at 16 years old.”
“So, I stayed,” Bertha continues. “And when the labor started, we went to the hospital. But it was a still birth. When we came home, my husband continued to abuse me. It caused me so much pain. That’s when the village head, together with male [advocates], came to visit me at home.
“When they visited me, they told me that I could get help — that I should go back to school. My mother also went to the chief’s house to tell her that she had asked me to go back to school, which I accepted. When I went to school on the first day, I was so shy, thinking that the girls who are at school are gathering around and talking about me. So, I was doubting myself. But the group and my mother helped me a lot, telling me to forget about what happened in the past and to focus on the future. Then I just told myself not to look down on myself. Instead, I should do what I have come here for.”
With help from Chief Kukada, Bertha was able to leave her marriage and return to school full time.
“Right now, I don’t want to get married,” Bertha continues. “I want to finish my education first. After finishing secondary school, I want to go to college. I want to become a nurse. When I become independent, I will decide whether to get married or not.
“If I have a daughter, I will tell her about my story. If she follows my advice, then I know she will have a bright future.”
Because of Chief Kukada’s leadership, Bertha certainly won’t be the last girl in Mulanje to reclaim her power. “As a chief, I am so confident that child marriages will end in my community,” Chief Kukada says.