THE EFFECTS OF SOCIAL CASH TRANSFER PROGRAMME ON WOMEN’S ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT IN MALAWI

Abstract

In 2006, the Government of Malawi initiated a Social Cash Transfer Programme (SCTP), which it called Mtukula Pakhomo which means ‘lifting up families’. Malawi’s SCTP are Conditional Cash Transfers (CCTs) which are combined with Unconditional Cash Transfers (UCTs) in order to increase school enrolment and attendance. They are designed to reduce poverty and hunger, increase school enrolment and attendance and improve the health, nutrition, protection and well-being of children by delivering regular and reliable Cash Transfers to ten percent of ultra-poor and labour-constrained. This study presents the findings from a qualitative and quantitative research, conducted in July 2018, on Malawi’s SCTP and its effects on women’s economic empowerment. The study explores the cultural dynamics, social and economic factors responsible for making SCTP effective or otherwise for empowerment of poor women by conducting interviews and focus group discussions on women beneficiaries and non-beneficiaries. Chikhwawa was chosen to be the focus district in this study because of its matrilineal and patrilineal characteristics, thus the need to better understand if different cultures can have different impacts on women’s economic empowerment. The study purposively sampled four T/As in which: T/A Kasisi and Mlilima were purely matrilineal and T/A Ngabu and Katunga were purely patrilineal with a total sample size of 64 women participants of which 32 were women beneficiaries and the other 32 were non-beneficiary women. The study also undertook a total number of 8 focus group discussions in which 2 focus groups were done in each T/A. Analysis of data was done using content analysis and Statistical Package for Social Sciences .The findings of the study suggest that SCTP is not the only cause for women’s economic empowerment, other sources of income can also have an impact on the same. In addition, women’s culture; women’s age and her marital status are said to be contributory factors that have led to women’s economic empowerment.