Malawi is a landlocked country. It is bordered by Tanzania to the north-east; Mozambique to the east, south, and west; and Zambia to the north-west. The country is 901 kilometres long and ranges in width from 80 to 161 kilometres. The total area is over 118,000 square kilometres, of which Lake Malawi takes up about a third.2 The lake is about 475 kilometres long and runs down Malawi’s eastern boundary with Mozambique. According to the recent Malawi Demographic Health Survey (MDHS) 2015 2016, Malawi’s population is estimated to be 18.1 million, with more than 70 percent below the age of 30. It has a population density of 161 per square kilometre3. Malawi is divided into 28 districts within three regions: Central (9 districts), Northern (6 districts), and Southern (13 districts).
Despite advances in gender equality over the last decade, Malawi ranks 145/188 on the Gender Inequality Index (GII), reflecting high levels of inequality in reproductive health, women’s empowerment, and economic activity. Additionally, violence against women and girls (VAWG) and harmful practices (HP) remain serious issues.
According to the MDHS 2015-16, 38 percent of ever-partnered women aged 15-49 years experienced intimate partner physical and/or sexual violence at least once in their lifetime. Twenty four percent of ever-partnered women aged 15-49 years experienced intimate partner physical and/or sexual violence in the last 12 months.
Thirteen percent of Malawian women age 15–49 are in a polygynous union. This practice is most commonly affecting women with no education (21 percent) and those residing in rural settings.5 One in ten women in their 40s is widowed, which in most cases leads to property seizures and evictions by the late husband’s family, thereby exposing the widow to poverty. Among the factors contributing to widowhood is the prevalence of child marriage and the practice of marrying off young girls to much older men.
Almost two-thirds of the women have had their first sexual experience before age 18, one in five before age 15.6 The median age at first sexual intercourse is 16.8 years for women aged 25Age at first marriage is widely considered a proxy indicator for the age at which women begin to be exposed to the risks inherent to sexual activity.