Beyond Presidency: Joyce Banda and the Power of Women

Throughout history, the patriarchy has established a system through which women struggle to claim authority, particularly in political fields. However, one unique trailblazer by the name of Joyce Banda changed this when she became the first female president of Malawi. While her time as president was brief, her impact as a female leader permanently altered the world’s idea of women’s empowerment.

Prior to her focus on politics, Banda founded and directed various businesses and organizations, including the Joyce Banda Foundation, an organization dedicated to rural development and improving the lives of women and children. The president’s transformative policies and efforts primarily targeted Malawian women, who are the backbone of their communities yet remain unrecognized in economic and political systems. Banda herself was shaped by her former abusive marriage. Thus, her goal of strengthening women was a passionate one, and she ensured that her country knew this.

In 2004, Joyce Banda entered Malawi’s National Assembly. After later serving as minister of gender, child welfare, community services, and foreign affairs, she went on to be elected as vice president, officially becoming the first woman to hold office in Malawi. However, Banda ended up being expelled from the DPP (Democratic Progressive Party) in 2010 after clashing with President Mutharika. Later on, she founded the People’s Party in 2011, ensuring that her popularity did not weaken due to her passionate stance against government corruption and support for gender equality. Despite efforts by President Mutharika’s inner circle to block her constitutional mandate after the former leader’s death from a heart attack, Banda resiliently claimed her status as Malawi’s first female president on April 7th.

During her presidency, Banda was presented with a highly difficult challenge. Malawi was ranked as one of the world’s poorest countries and was faced with a deepening political crisis intensified by economic needs that included a chronic fuel shortage and rising food prices. Despite what may seem like a hopeless situation to many, Banda remained confident and was determined to provide the best for her country. She firmly stuck to constitutional principles regarding political succession and worked to improve relations with foreign donors, allowing her to prevent a political disaster. Although much of the country remained in poverty, Banda’s policies resulted in a significant increase of the economic growth rate during her first two years of presidency. This groundbreaking accomplishment from a female president instilled optimism in the country’s hearts regarding a variety of matters. Reform efforts commenced as Banda pledged to overturn Malawi’s law banning homosexual activities. However, as a result of an economic governmental corruption scandal that Banda was unable to prevent, she lost significant legitimacy and finished third in the next presidential election.

Regardless of this ending to her presidency, it goes without saying that Banda transformed the lives of women worldwide. In fact, she was recognized by Forbes as one of the most powerful Black women and as one of Africa’s most powerful women. To this day, Banda represents a major step forward in having the world recognize impacts made by women of color.

by NIHASHI NAG

Views expressed above represent the opinion of the author and are not intended to represent Lexspects editorial staff or Lexington High School.