EMAM Spearheads Women Empowerment for Neno’s Artisanal and Small-Scale Extractive Miners

International Women’s Day (IWD), commemorated on March 8^th, usually sets the tone for Women’s Month. This year, the United Nations’ theme for IWD was “Invest In Women: Accelerate Progress“. The official website for the IWD campaign, on the other hand, themed the 8th of March as a day to “Inspire Inclusion”. According to them, we forge a better world when we inspire people to understand and value women’s inclusion. When women themselves are inspired to be included, there’s a sense of belonging, relevance, and empowerment. 

The flip side of the coin of women’s inclusion and empowerment indicates the destructive nature of gender inequalities, specifically how they serve as a massive hindrance to the growth of economies. This is especially true in countries like Malawi where patriarchal perceptions and beliefs run so rampant, they impact women’s ability to both function and grow in the industries in which they work, more so if those industries are male-dominated.

It is uncommon knowledge that women dominate Malawi’s artisanal and small-scale extractive mining industries. Despite this truth, women’s growth is often hindered by men’s perceptions of women’s role in society and their determination to ensure women stick to these roles, despite women’s adamance and desire for non-conventional contributions to society. This was reflected during the “Her In The Mines” Neno District Dialogue hosted by the Ex-Miners Association of Malawi (EMAM) on the 13th of March in Zalewa district. EMAM, having received funding from the Southern Africa Trust to implement the Women Empowerment in Malawi’s Extractive Industry (WEMEI) project, has been working with small-scale miners in Neno district for four years. While a significant portion of their work centers on human rights and good working practices, there sprout the revelation of uncanny and disheartening realities of women in the extractive mining industry. In a bid to amplify and seek solutions for these realities, EMAM hosted the progressive dialogue and invited artisanal and small-scale miners from Kanono Village in Neno to present and share their stories in front of an audience that included representatives from the Neno District Council, Village Headmen from villages across Neno, representatives from the Southern Africa Trust, the Malawi Women in Mining Association (MAWIMA), the Neno Active Youth Development (NAYODE), the local government, Mpatamanga Hydro Power Project, and members of the press. 

Among the presentations were stories from women like Shalifa Ben, a gold miner, who bemoaned her inability to realise the full potential of her work due to restrictions placed on her by men.  She said once she finds gold, men seize her mine because “women shouldn’t do heavy work”, or because her work is disruptive to their ecosystem, despite explicit consent from authorities in the villages in which she mines. Her mines, she said, are located where the Lirangwe and Diamphwi rivers meet in Shire river.

Caroline Ian, who mines for terrazo stones and tar, said she is more worried about her inability to set prices for her own stones. While explaining the gravity of her work, Ian said that after breaking the stones, they have to break them further to make quarry, and after removing their quarry, grind the remaining stones to make terrazzo, which then has to be sieved into the small heaps of white and black stones travelers see along Neno on the M1 road . Ian said despite this work, she does not earn enough to improve the quality of her life. 

Eva Mkwanda, who is also a terrazzo miner, said she has mined for over twenty-four years but has nothing to show for it. She told the audience her house is dilapidated and that her income only affords her a bar of soap and other basic necessities.

Both women admitted they work without protective gear because they cannot afford it. They said they often injure themselves while working but continue to expose themselves to these dangerous working conditions to feed themselves and their children. Mining, for them, is a lifeline, and they would rather die trying than die with the hunger that results from having chosen comfort.

Richard Tamva, the Program Manager for EMAM, explained that Neno district is a rich reserve of mineral resources such as lime, quarry, terrazzo stones, and gold. Neno also has a lime factory, the Zalewa Agricultural Lime Company (ZALCO), which produces lime for construction and animal feed production. Neno’s mineral reserves have attracted large-scale miners and heightened the prevalence of artisanal and small-scale mining activities, thus underscoring the need for the protection of miners’ rights and the lives directly impacted by mining activities. 

Take, for instance, the story of Mary Aluba Moyo, who fell victim to a fraudulent land sale to Lime Company in a purchasing debacle that started in 2014 and was concluded last year. Mayi Moyo said she lived on 12-hectare land enriched with limestones. She was forced to sell her land after her husband died because a Lime Company representative told her that the government would seize her land. Her initial proposition of 15 million Kwacha was negotiated down to 3 million Kwacha, new land and a new house. However, Mayi Moyo received that 3 million in three instalments during those nine years, and got a small two-bedroom house on self-purchased land that she is unable to farm on to feed herself and her children. The land purchase was finalised by a contract that had, among other loopholes, no witnesses. While commenting on Mayi Moyo’s story, Brightone Mphinga, an official from Neno District Council’s Lands Office, said the contract was fraudulent, unjust, and could be disputed in a court of law.

The EMAM dialogue also highlighted that the effects of developmental activities in Neno transcend mining. Residents of Kanono Village explained that much-welcomed developments like the Nacala Railway have caused significant hurdles in their communities. Funny Chilundu, one of the villagers, explained that it is difficult for them to access hospitals and markets, among others, because they have to use longer routes to avoid passing through the railway – a feat that is near-impossible anyway because the trains have a minimum of 120 passenger bogies and take several hours to pass. She explained that they have to cross rivers, and in cases of dire disease, enlist the help of men to carry them across said rivers. 

She said children have not been made exempt from the effects of the railways, since most of them have to cross the railway to get to the other side of the village where their schools are located. But, once the train starts passing, the children are forced to wait for it, often making them tardy for school. She explained that most children from her village have dropped out of school and that those who have persevered are getting low grades. She suspects the main culprit is the children’s inability to access their schools at their convenience.

Moses Chabuka, a representative of the Neno Active Youth in Development (NAYODE), drew attention to the socio-environmental aspects of mining and other developmental activities that impact environmental health, such as those that require the digging of ball pits. He said while Neno’s naturally high temperatures facilitate deforestation, the phenomenon has increased due to charcoal burning, necessitated by high youth unemployment rates in the district. He said youth and community involvement in Environmental and Social Management Plans (ESMP) would ensure the sustenance of those restorative practices and alleviate issues that the women from Kanono Village highlighted. ESMPs outline restorative guidelines post-project implementation to protect and sustain the flora of areas in which project-implementing companies have worked.

Emma Adam, President of the Malawi Women in Mining Association (MAWIMA), emphasised the importance of creating cooperatives for artisanal and small-scale miners. She said these can help the miners achieve financial empowerment, since the women would determine their own prices, practice ergonomics, and have access to loans and other opportunities. 

Artisanal and small-scale miners are a significant aspect of Malawi’s 2063 vision, which promotes mining activities. If there is anything you should take from EMAM’s Neno District Dialogue, it’s that it is not enough to highlight women’s often-overlooked and undermined injustices; their welfare must be tabled for improvement on personal, organisational, and governmental levels. The empowerment of women at grassroots to corporate levels (and every level in between) would be the true measure of inclusion, and the pinnacle of Malawi’s development. 

Access full report below:

EMAM – Her In The Mines Report