in Africa (1994), 9. 2. 61-69

Journal of Social Development
Family Planning and the Malawian Male
PAUL KISHINDO *
ABSTRACT
indicating the need for contraceptive
Malawi's
and family planning methods. However,
rate among
high degree of risk: concerning pregnancy. The conse-
women and a consequent
quences of high fertility have a negative effect, both at the family and wider societal
in relation to family size and
levels.
family planning scheme should be targeted at the male.
therefore
any successful
The article emphasises
that men need to be made aware of the value of family
planning in order

their wives to use contraceptive methods.

fertility rate is a cause for concern,

there is a low contraceptive

It is men who tradionally

take key decisions

to encourage

Introduction

population

period, compared

to 2,9% during the 1966-77 intercensal

has been growing at the rate of 3,7% during the 1977-87
Malawi's
period
intercensal
1993a: viii). It is believed that if the population continues
(Malawi Government,
to grow at this rate, it would double in 19 years. Although the influx of refugees
from the Mozambican
to the rapid population
growth, when Mozambican
refugees are excluded it is still high in the context of
the country's

civil war contributed

significantly

resources.

natural

approved

the establishment

then viewed family planning

as part of an overall Maternal

In 1982 the Malawi government

of the National
and Child Health
Child Spacing Programme
Programme. Attempts had been made in the 1960s to introduce family planning
services
in the country, but these had to be abandoned following misunderstand-
ings between Ministry of Health officials on the one hand, and the public on the
other. The public
at birth
control which ran counter
cultural values which stress the value of
children to society (University of Malawi/UNFP A 1987:9). The central goal of the
National Child Spacing Programme
and child
mortality by lengthening
birth intervals so as to promote the health of the mother
and child (Malawi Government,
are
supposed to reduce the number of children born to a woman during her reproduc-
tive life, which in turn means smaller
total fer-
tility would in the long run reduce the country's
* Associate Professor of Rural Sociology, Chancellor College, University of Malawi,

families. A reduction in women's

1993b:13). The lengthened

is to reduce maternal,

birth intervals

as a disguised

to traditional

growth rate.

population

attempt

infant

Zomba

62

Paul Kishindo

The central argument of this paper is that in Malawi family planning will largely
depend forits success on the active involvement of men, since it is men as husbands
and brothers who ultimately control women's fertility. The family planning pr0-
gramme should therefore target both men and women.

Malawian Society and Fertility

Malawi is a multi-ethnic country. However these ethnic groups can be placed into
two broad categories: patrilineal and matrilineal social systems. The northern
region is predominantly patrilineal, while the central and southern regions are
predominantly matrilineal. In patrilineal social systems descent
is reckoned
through the male line. A man's legitimate heir is his eldest son. Villages normally
consist of patrilineages: brothers, their wives, unmarried daughters, and sons.
Women born into the patrilineage leave at marriage to live in their husbands'
villages. A marriage is legitimised by the transfer of wealth, traditionally cattle, to
the bride's family. This is called lobola. Lobola effectively transfers a woman's
reproductive capacities from her own lineage to that of her husband's agnatic
lineage. Inthe event of the death of her husband, one of the brothers is traditionally
expected to marry her to 'perpetuate
(University ofMaIawi/
UNFPA,1987:37). This means that the living brother fathers more children for his
deceased brother. Barrenness in a woman is a valid reason for divorce and a man
may demand the return of his cattle should his wife fail to bear him children. A
woman's worth in partriIineal social systems is reckoned in terms of the number
of children she is able to produce for her husband's agnatic lineage.

the name of the dead'

In matrilineal social systems descent is reckoned through the female line.
Villages are traditionally made up of people tracing descent from a common
ancestress. Traditionally men leave their own villages at marriage to live in those
of their wives. This means that localised matrilineages lose their male members to
other lineages in the neighbouring or distant villages. The departing male members
of matriIineages are replaced by male members of other lineages who marry the
women and father their children. Village headmen and lineage leaders whose
positions require them to remain in contact with the people they lead, are exempt
from the uxorilocality rule. Although traditionally a man is expected to live in his
wife's village until divorce or death of the wife, there are certain circumstances
when he may be allowed to take away his wife from her village to settle in his own
village, or any other place of their choice: these are, for example, shortage of land
for food production, frequent child deaths and perpetual conflicts with other
members of the wife's family.

A woman in a matrilineal social system produces children for her own matril-
ineage. The children born in a marriage or even outside it belong to the mother's
matrilineage. This may explain why there are no large transfers of wealth made to

brother

A, 1987:22).

in a matrilineal

Family Planning and the Malawian Male

63
the wife's group as part of marriage formalities. A husband in this setting is looked
a stranger whose duty is largely
down as the typical man without prestige:
procreative
Itmust
be pointed
resident husbands may eventually
that uxorilocally
assume important
in the local community after a long stay. There are
cases of such uxorilocally married men who have become advisors to village head-
men (nduna).
A woman's

(Mitchell, 1971: 184; UniversityofMalawi/UNFP
out, however,
positions

social system is a very special person in her
in all matters social and juridical. All
life: he is her guardian, helper and defender
these roles are summed up in the title nkhoswe. As nkhoswe he is answerable
for
the conduct of his sister and her children. His sisters and their children constitute
his mbumba and are subject
to his overriding authority (Mitchell, 1971:147). A
man's
social system is not his own son, but his eldest
sister's eldest son. It is this person who inherits the chieftaincy or village headman-
ship if the deceased held such a position, as well as his other property. The heir,
however, may not inherit his deceased uncle's agricultural holdings if these were
acquired in the deceased's wife's village by virtue of marriage. This system of in-
heritance often causes conflicts between cousins, especially when the deceased's
own children
of the
property.

the inheritor did not play a part

legitimate heir in a matrilineal

in the accumulation

feel

in the patrilineal

To a man in a matrilineal

a potential basis of political power. Segmentation

a dissatisfied nkhoswe to gather his dependents

social system, having a large mbumba is a desirable
and
leads to splits, hence to village break-up and
(Mitchell, 1971:153). Conflicts within the matrilineage

thing since it constitutes
differentiation within the matrilineage
the birth of new villages
usually stimulates
together. and to
move off to found a new village. Given the fact that a large mbumba is a potential
basis for a new village and a political position, some politically ambitious nkhoswe
put pressure on their brothers-in-law and sisters to have many children ("kukuza
mtundu").
Whether

and
nurturing are regarded as a woman's prime responsibilities. Women are socialised
into these roles at a very early stage through various initiation ceremonies
such as
msondo and chinamwali among the matrilineal
and more informally
the
among the patrilineal
It is not clear why matrilineal peoples prefer
more formal approach to the socialisation of women into their child-bearing
and
nurturing
to do this more
informally.
To fulfil

pregnant. This can be achieved through sexual
outside it. However
of procreation
child outside marriage fetches lower lobola than one who has not.

roles in society, women need men to make them
intercourse within marriage, or
in most Malawian ethnic groups the socially accepted means
social systems a girl who has had a

their reproductive

In the patrilineal

the patrilineal

or matrilineal

roles, while

social

system,

child-bearing

social

systems

prefer

peoples.

peoples,

is marriage.

64

PaullrishindO

Marriage, however, entails the cession of a woman's autonomy over reproduc-
tive decisions to her husband. The husband asswnes control of his wife's reproduc-
tive capacities and makes the reproductive decisions. The woman, who has been
socialised to be subservient to her husband, is often powerless to question his
decisions (see, eg Lappe and Collins, 1977:34). A woman in a matrilineal social
system is up against two forces regarding her reproductive responsibilities: her
own husband, and her own matrikin in the person of her nkoswe. These two forces
may sometimes clash over a reproductive decision, for example,
in a situation
where a sister's husband prefers a small family, and the wife's brother, her
nkhoswe, wants a large mbumba. This conflict may resolve itself in divorce if the
wife agrees with her brother; or the departure of the couple from the village to the
husband's village, or some other place where they can live without interference, if
the wife does not agree with her brother's attitudes.

Marriage exposes a woman to sexual intercourse and enhances her chances of
falling pregnant, provided she is not infertile, not on contraception, and the
husband is not impotent Age at marriage, and the proportion married in a
population of women, are believed to be fundamental determinants of fertility in
a society (Hawthorn, 1970:19). The 1987 population census in Malawi indicates
that almost 57% of Malawian females aged 10 and above are married (Malawi
Government, 1993a: xvi). For women aged 25-29 years, marriage is almost
universal (Malawi Government, 1993a:xix). The mean age at marriage for females
is 18years, while that for men is 23 years. The mean obscures major variations in
age at marriage of women in the various ethnic groups: among the matrilineal Y30,
and Lomwe of the southern region, and also among the Tonga of the northern
region, a girl may get married soon after the onset of menses, which may be about
13or 14years. Such early marriage gives a woman a reproductive span of30 years
or more, hence high fertility. In 1993 the national total fertility rate (fFR) was
estimated at 7,6 births per woman (Malawi Government, 1993b:3). In that same
year it was estimated that 11%of all women and 13% of currently married women
were using a method of family planning, either traditional or modern. However
only 7,6 of currently married women were using modern methods of family
planning which include contraceptive pills, condoms, injections, intrauterine cer-
vical devices (IUCDs) and female sterilisation (Malawi Government, 1993c:7).
The low contraceptive rate (CPR) among married women means that they are
constantly at risk of pregnancy.

Ministry of Health officials attribute the low contraceptive prevalence rate to a

number of factors:
(a)
(b)

lack of knowledge about contraceptive technologies
poor or intermittent availability of contraceptive technologies, eg
contraceptive pills
belief that children come from God and nothing should be done to interfere
with procreation

(c)

Family Planning and the Malawian Male

65

(d)
(e)

belief that children are the mortar that binds the couple together
refusal by husbands to countenance the use of conlIaception by their wives
since contraceptive technology allows women to be promiscuous 'without
being caught' , ie no pregnancy would result from the extramarital affair.

Itis not possible at the moment to assign relative weights to thecontribution of each
of the factors above to the uptake of contraceptive technologies among women in
the country; however, what is certain is that even if the married woman was aware
of methods of conlIaception, it is unlikely that she would use any of them without
the consent of her husband, because to do so would invite divorce if the husband
is opposed to any form of family planning. In a society where the primary function
of women is reproduction and their education is given low priority by families,
most women have no independent means of economic support; divorce in this
situation threatens the basis of a woman's economic support, thus making it
difficult to go against her husband's wishes.

Consequences of High Fertility

High fertility of women results in large families and ultimately rapid increase in a
country's population. The consequences of high fertility can be felt at the level of
the household as well as the level of the national economy. At the level of the
household the following are some of the negative consequences:
(a)

the family may not be able to clothe and feed a large number of children
adequately on a low income. Undernourished children are physically weak
and may not work hard at school or in farm activities
a low income family with many children may not be able to send its children
to school; uneducated children cannot get jobs and therefore are unable to
escape the poverty lIap
parents may not be able to maintain close supervision of a largenumber of
children, resulting in poor discipline and delinquency
as children grow up and get married they will need their own pieces of
land resulting in the subdivision of family holdings into tiny plots that may
be too small to produce enough food for a family's subsistence (see, eg
Malawi Government, 1988: 22) (1).

(b)

(c)

(d)

"

Economists see several reasons to be concerned about rapid population growth,
viz:
(a)
(b)

it has an adverse effect on the growth of per capita income
there is the possibility of increased unemployment and under-employmentas
the economy fails to absorb an ever-growing labour force
rapid population growth, combined with limited employment opportunities
in agriculture, creates a demographic explosion in cities, thus exacerbating
social problems such as crime and squatter settlements.

(c)

Paul Kishindo

l

rapid population growth results in a population age structure heavily weighted
toward the dependent, or non-labour
productive
resources may have to be shifted from productive
into providing
social services such as more schools and more health units for the rapidly-
growing population (Zuvekas, 1979: 74, 86).

force age groups, which are not

investment

66
(d)

(e)

the problems

described

above:

for

is a response

as government

in the schools
to meet

fail
of squatter

three cities; and shortage.of

organisations
the development

is already experiencing many of

1993b: 6-9). The child spacing programme

rates as the economy fails to absorb an ever-growing

and school dropouts; overcrowding
and non-governmental

Malawi
example, high unemployment
and
army of schoolleavers
the
hospitals
settle-
increasing demand for those social services;
arable land (see, eg Malawi
ments in the country's
to these
Government
the programme has tended to concentrate on women attending
problems. However,
ante-natal
of
frequent child bearing to the health of the mother as well as the child, and the
methods of contraception
that
the informa-
the women will on return to their homes discuss with their husbands
tion imparted to them at the clinics. If the husband is agreeable
are
expected to return to the clinic for advice regarding
form of
the most
contraception for them. This approach assumes that the women will pass on to their
husbands
listen to
the maternal and child health argument and respond to it positively.

information acquired at the clinics, and that the husbands will

clinics. These women are advised

the couples
suitable

that are available to control

fertility.

It is expected

on the dangers

and post-natal

Targeting the Male

social system,
In Malawi, whether one is discussing a patrilineal or a matrilineal
to females
and
males are brought up to believe that
they are inherently superior
from females,
therefore tend to downplay the importance of new ideas originating
and family size
much more so when those ideas touch upon issues of reproduction
is often
social status. The number of children a man fathers
which affect a man's
is
'job'
taken as an indicator of his virility; and in a context where a woman's
traditionally seen as that of having children,
the health argument does not seem to
be convincing to husbands when they can point out their own living mothers who
have given birth to many children.

In order to succeed,

the child spacing programme in Malawi must shift emphasis
away from women to men who are the key decision makers both at the family and
societal
the necessity of child spacing
before they can begin to accompany their wives to family planning clinics. This
calls for an educational
the

level. The men must be made to appreciate

to create awareness

among men about

campaign

Family Planning and the Malawian Male

67
between large families and some of the economic and social problems
relationship
that their families experience.
that as head of family who has toprovide
shelter, provide clothes, buy or produce food, pay school fees and meet other fman-
cial costs, a man is more likely to be persuaded by arguments of an economic and
social nature than arguments
the health of the mother and the physical quality
of children.

It is thought

about

to target

In Malawi

smallholder

differentially,

and infonnal

socioeconomic

it is necessary

Since different

sectors. Professionals

these groups would be low-income

farmers, and small-scale businessmen

families
specific groups.
skilled urban workers,
the formal
doctors have higher
more varied sources of infonnation.
planning through newspapers,
to get advice
therefore,
indicates
than low income
living (Hawthorn,
the same in Malawi.

groups are likely toexperience problems of large
the family planning campaign at
skilled and semi-
both in
and
levels of education than the avemge Malawian and access to
on family
pamphlets, books and mdio and would know where
the same sources or social networks. There is no need,
from elsewhere
families
earners because
standards of
1977: 110), although there isno firm evidence the trend could be

to target
that high income earners and professionals

They would acquire infonnation

them in a systematic

campaign. Evidence

tend to have smaller

such as teachers,

their higher

they want

to protect

through

lawyers

The messages

communicated

tothe males' cultum1ly defmedrole

appeal
makers. The following messages
depending
farm occupation:
(a)

upon whether

to the various

socioeconomic

groups need to
as family heads, providers and decision-
need to be conveyed, with varying emphases,
group is in agriculture or non-

the specific socioeconomic

(b)

it is
for low income earners to feed and buy clothes for a large

are constantly rising:

The price of food, clothes and other commodities
therefore difficult
family without
A low income
malnourished
hard at their studies or in farm activities.

falling into debt
family cannot buy all the food that makes healthy children:
children are prone to diseases and therefore they cannot work

(cJ When a family has many children the land is SOOB shared out, resulting in

for a family's

annual subsistence

that may be inadequate

and sale, resulting in food insecurity and poor or non-existent

holdings
requirements
farm incomes.
Inmodern times it ispeople with good education who get good jobs and good
salaries: parents who expect
their children to help them in their old age must
give their children a good education, which is quite a burden if there are many
of them.
A large family requires a big house to avoid overcrowding:
has to be constructed,

or rented, which, given present prices,

this bigger house
is expensive.

(d)

(e)

68

PaulKishindo

The 'Man to Man' campaign mounted by the health non-governmental

organi-
sation (NGDs) BanjaLa Mtsogolo (BLM) is a step in the right direction in creating
awareness among men about their responsibility
in family planning. The approach
involves visiting workers in their places of work and discussing with them family
planning issues. However because of fmancial
has
in the
been limited to Blantyre and Zomba,
Inour view the 'Man to
country.
be
Man' programme
strengthened. The government
so that
more staff can be recruited and logistics improved to enable it to expand to the other
cities.
types
already exist there is in our opinion, no real need to create a special cadre of family
planning motivators:
into existing
agricultural

In the case of rural areas where extension programmes

It will take a long time to reach the rural areas.

family planning messages could be incorporated

and other donors should help out fmancially

two of the four major urban centres

under BLM should remain

extension and functional

literacy programmes.

the programme

urban-based,

of various

constraints

it should

but

The extension workers and litemcy tutors will obviously need to be given some

education to equip them for the additional

responsibility.
training in population
is that it enables extension workers
The advantage of using existing programmes
to relate the messages
experienced
For
to specific problems
example, as the agricultuml extension worker teaches his farmers about good land
husbandry pmctices, he should be able to point out the link among large families,
shortage of amble land, continuous cultivation,
loss of soil fertility and poverty. He
should also be able to point out the link among large families, mpid population
growth, deforestation and changing minfall patterns. This may help family leaders
to appreciate
of
poverty, desertification

too many people on the land can contribute

by the community.

to problems

that

and poor minfall.
already

contain

problems

learners

so that

on good

Functional

information

literacy primers

in their community.

that they experience

them with the other

for example, under a topic on 'Child Care'

the relationship between large families and some of the socioeconomic

fanning
practices, nutrition and child care and it should be easy to incorporate
population
issues. But the important point here is that the learner should not just read these
facts, but must able to discuss.
they can
appreciate
or environmental
possible,
causes of poor child care. Learners,
appreciate
properly by their mothers, who have so much other work to do. Similarly
topic on 'Farm Land'
situations
declined, and yields have been reduced.
would come to appreciate
problems. Under the approach being advocated here,
goes beyond the teaching of numemcy and reading skills,
learners

It should be
the
to
for them to be looked after
under a
to look back to their own
to see how their holdings have shrunk over the years, how fertility has
the learners
to their
the role of the litemcy tutor
the

to relate some of the topics to their own real situations.

that too many children make it impossible

learners could be encoumged

In the process of discussion

the discussion, would

to discuss
come

of mpid population

to one of guiding

the contribution

for learners

through

growth

Family Planning and the Malawian Male

69

Conclusion

This paper has argued that efforts tobring down Malawi's population must involve
both men and women. The present system which has tended to concentrate on
women as change agents is inadequate because women, especially married
women, who are most exposed to the risk of pregnancy, do not really control their
own reproductive capacities: it is males as husbands and brothers who have the de-
cisive voice in the fertility of women in Malawian society. Since the balance of
power relating to procreating is in favour of the male members of society, it is
important
that they are made to appreciate the value of family planning for the
quality of life of the families that they head. Only when they appreciate the need
for smaller families will they begin to encourage their women to seek contracep-
tive advice.

Footnote
(1) In patrilineal social systems land is traditionally subdivided among male children; while

in matrilineal social systems it is subdivided among female children.

References
Hawthorn, G (1970) The Sociology of Fertility, Collier Macmillan, London.
Hawthorn, G (1977) "Some Economic Explanation of Fertility", in A H

Halsey (ed) Heredity and Environment, Methuen and Company, London.
Lappe, F M and Collins, J (1977) Food First: The Myth or Scarcity, Souvenir

Press, London.

Malawi Government

(1988) "Statement of Development Policies 1987-1996",

Department of Economic Planning and Development, Lilongwe.

Malawi Government

(1993a) "Malawi Population and Housing Census, 1987:

Volume II", National Statistical Office, Zomba.

Malawi Government

(1993b) "National Population Policy", Department of

Economic Planning and Development, Lilongwe.

Malawi Government

(1993c) "Malawi Demographic Health Survey", National

Statistical Office, Zomba.

Mitchell, J C (1971) The Yao Village: A Study in the Social Structure or a

Malawian People, Manchester University Press, Manchester.

University of Malawi/UNFPA (1987) "Report on the Workshop on the Value of
Children and Child Spacing Practices in Malawi", held on October 12-15 and
December 7-10, 1986, Zomba and Lilongwe.

Zuvekas, C (1979) Economic Development: An Introduction, Macmillan,

London and Basingtoke.