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Gender, Gays and Gain: The Sexualised Politics of Donor Aid in Malawi

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  • Emmie Chanika
  • John L. Lwanda
  • Adamson S. Muula

Abstract

Many Malawian politicians have exploited religious and cultural discourses, encouraging the discourse of the “God-fearing Malawi nation” while also acknowledging the country as a secular state. This discourse – which most recently underwent further development in the early 1980s when Christians and Muslims, funded by donor money, accelerated their evangelical drives in the context of a one-party Malawi – resonates with a patriarchal, conservative political dispensation. This paper traces the evolution of the “God-fearing nation” discourse in Malawian politics. It posits that the government used the “gay rights issue” as a strategy to disorient human rights activists and donors. Gay rights were de-linked from other civil rights, forcing a binary approach toward gay rights, which were seen by government supporters as “anti-Christian”, “anti-Malawian” concepts. The debate with donors enabled the government to claim “sovereign autonomy” and galvanise the population into an anti-aid mentality (better no aid than aid that supports homosexuality).

Suggested Citation

  • Emmie Chanika & John L. Lwanda & Adamson S. Muula, 2013. "Gender, Gays and Gain: The Sexualised Politics of Donor Aid in Malawi," Africa Spectrum, Institute of African Affairs, GIGA German Institute of Global and Area Studies, Hamburg, vol. 48(1), pages 89-105.
    • Handle: RePEc:gig:afjour:v:48:y:2013:i:1:p:89-105
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    File URL: http://journals.sub.uni-hamburg.de/giga/afsp/article/view/601/599
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Chipiliro Kalebe-Nyamongo, 2010. "Mutual Interdependence between Elites and the Poor," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2010-117, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    2. Chipiliro Kalebe-Nyamongo, 2010. "Mutual Interdependence between Elites and the Poor," WIDER Working Paper Series 117, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
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