Beatrice Mateyo Mkanda

Finding Ways of Saying No!: Investigating Social Processes, Gender Relations and Power in Malawian Marriages Beatrice Mateyo Mkanda

In an era of increased women's participation in employment, there has been speculation as to whether this has resulted in increased autonomy for working women within marriage. This paper examines marital power dynamics in Malawi for couples in which the wife is working and earns an income. This is to determine whether wives with resource advantage are able to exercise more power in marital relationships as compared to their husbands. This study theorized that when wives bring money into the household, intra-household relations between the spouses should change to reflect this change. A survey conducted in Malawi targeting married women found that the issue of intra-household power relations is a contentious one and is influenced by gender values of the people in the household. This study has shown that although entry point of money alter gender relations within the household, it is not easy to demonstrate that these changes translate into women's autonomy. The study concluded by arguing that for real transformation to occur in the public sphere, there is need for change in the balance of power relations within the domestic sphere.