Reporting of Aniva and Natasha experience of harmful cultural practices in Malawi

Picture Source: http://www.nyasatimes.com/
Malawi makes headlines again for the wrong reasons. From the abduction and killing of people with albinism, to a missing president, and its back at the ritual of sexual initiation again called ‘Fisi’ again. This time with an exclusive interview with one Natasha Annie Tonthola on BBC outlook. I always wonder where is the international media, when something good happens in Malawi? I mean when Noel Chalamanda succeeds in keeping Blantyre clean or when the Malawi Queens beat England.

Then, I remember that the international media has been running a single narrative of doom and gloom story of Malawi and African countries for some time. I know they are in the process of repenting from those sins, but that will take time. I am yet to understand why we have such selective coverage.

Anyway, back to Natasha Annie Tonthola account on BBC. As I listened to the interview by Natasha Annie Tonthola, I couldn’t help but wonder if I have been living in another Malawi altogether. It sounded like fiction, but like Albert Camus wrote ‘Fiction is the lie through which we tell the truth.’

I had several questions with the account that Tonthola gave and funny enough, I am not the only one who has issues with the account.

‘There were a lot of women who refuted Natasha’s story about her Hyena experience, this was a lady who approached BBC to sell her story!’-Tendai Banda

‘Don’t make it your story if it isn’t yours. You can represent the voice but don’t try to make it your narrative.’-Verepi Hope Madise

Of course, I can already hear someone saying, those are women who have been indoctrinated with patriarchy, so they would indeed have problems with an account of an honest lady. Some would even argue that they are women and girls who are urban dwellers, therefore, they might not have a full grasp of rituals and practices that take place in rural and peri-urban areas.

Just like with Natasha’s story, similar questions were also raised with the account of Aniva run on BBC on the same issue, which also enjoyed global media coverage, but locals had questions too with the account of Aniva.

Of course, the BBC account of the ‘Fisi’ in Malawi had to force the government to order the arrest of Aniva, who is currently in police custody.

The effect of the Aniva report to push for ‘justice’ presents a clear scenario of where the means justifies the end. If, justice took place at the end, then inaccuracies of the account are part of collateral damage. This makes me ask: is it impossible to advocate for justice with accurate and credible information?

The people who had reservations with the account of both Aniva and Natasha did not have issues with the fact that the ritual discussed took place in Malawi because it does. However, it is the generalisations, the manipulation of some information and sometimes lies that found themselves in these accounts that people had problems with.

For example, in the recent Tonthola interview, the woman claims that All Girls in Malawi go through this ritual when the truth is ‘Chinamwali’, is a cultural practice present in some ethnic groups in Malawi. Within that ethnic group, it’s not all girls who go through it it’s some. With urbanization and education, some girls do not undergo initiation ceremonies in Malawi. They are also questions with the 40-day duration of Chinamwali. But hey! As long as, we are raising awareness about these issues, we can ignore these minor inaccuracies.

This makes you ask, did the author of the report do his/her homework to get at least an accurate account of what happens? Was the author searching for the truth, or he/she was searching for a certain kind of truth? Even better, did the author find the story, or he/she already had the story and he/she went out to find soundbites to fill those blank spaces?

Of course, some have argued that Journalist does not need to dot every i and cross every t when it comes to reporting of stories. As long as they raise awareness about the injustice that is taking place in the world. Awareness to who?

What have people in Malawi been doing to deal with harmful cultural practices? Education and Health have been key sectors that have worked to address harmful cultural practices in Malawi.
Studies about harmful cultural practices in Malawi go as far back as the 1990s. With the 1990s studies, which revealed that initiation ceremonies have a negative impact on girl’s education. That is initiation ceremonies, affects schools’ attendance, academic performance and it then leads to school dropout. Studies further revealed the dilemma girls face of education and marriage after they come out of initiation ceremonies. This has also been a contributing factor to child marriages and teenage pregnancies. Since, they have been organisations that have been working to get rid of initiation ceremonies.

However, getting rid of initiation ceremonies has been like ‘throwing the baby out with the bath water.’ As it has been argued by gate-keepers (traditional leaders), although initiation ceremonies have had their negative impact, they also equip the people who attend with essential skills about life. Therefore, the approach has changed from elimination to revising harmful cultural practices.

Per UNICEF, the revised cultural practices are leading to an increase in school enrolment and staying in schools. Initiation ceremonies now take place during holidays, this way girls can go to school and still get the benefits of initiation ceremonies.

HIV/AIDs programmes have also strongly focus on working against harmful cultural practices. Chapter six of the HIV/AIDs Policy focuses on all harmful cultural practices in Malawi. The practices covered in the policy include: widow and widower inheritance, death cleansing (kupita kufa), forced sex for young girls coming of age (fisi), new born baby cleansing (kutenga mwana), circumcision (jando/mdulidwe), ablution of dead bodies, consensual adultery for childless couple (fisi), wife and husband exchange (chimwanamaye), temporary husband replacement (mbulo), and tattoos (mphini).

Was the 2016 account then, a revelation? certainly not, but it was a wakeup call that the practice is still present in some areas in Malawi. What progress has been made since the development of Malawi National HIV/AIDs policy to ensure that the practices are eradicated or reduced?