“Most of my working life has involved doing menial jobs in Lilongwe [capital of Malawi] and subsistence farming, and now farming chicken on my own farm. At my age I can no longer do most of the jobs that I used to do. I was hand-washing people’s laundry or cleaning their houses for low pay. I decided to start a business that can support me because I do not have a state pension.”
These are the words of Asale Sigele, owner-manager of a poultry farm in Malawi. Born into a large, polygamous and poor family, Asale recalled how she was married off at a young age with no formal education. She has never been in consistent gainful employment, and her husband has now died. She was 56 when she began poultry farming.
Malawi is one of the poorest countries in the world, with 70% of the population living on less than $1.90 a day. Decent jobs are scarce. The United Nations Economic Commission for Africa says women in Malawi are “overrepresented in the most unstable, lowest-paid and lowest-skilled agricultural and non-agricultural work”, coupled with demanding domestic and child-caring responsibilities. An estimated 62% of small business owners in Malawi have only primary-level education or below; 9% have no formal education at all. Yet, women are more likely to be self-employed in Malawi than men: to escape poverty, Malawian women create and run their own businesses.
