Africa | Malawi | Leadership

Malawi’s first female president says “Western assertiveness” does not work for African women

Malawi’s first female president, Joyce Banda, says that African women should not follow the “Western route” of assertiveness and confrontation as a way to gain a voice in politics. “If you want to take the Western route, all you will get is rejection, frustration. Confrontation will never work,” said Banda, Africa’s second female head of state, while speaking at the Sheroes Forum for female African leaders in business and politics in Dubai today (May 9). The former president described a women’s leadership training session in New York where she was given tips on being asse

International | Malawi | Culture

If These Two Teenagers Ran The World, We’d All Jump For Joy

Source: NPR

Listen to Memory Banda, 18, from Malawi and 16-year old Achie (whose last name is not provided because of her age) from Ethiopia, and you'll hear an earful about a lot of things you wouldn't expect. They're talking about how tough it is to be young and female in Africa. They're discussing how child marriage and female genital mutilation are just two of the obstacles to girls getting an education. They're commiserating about the challenge of getting health care and of finding jobs that will let them lead a better life. But they're not just griping. Memory and Achie each push for change in th