Abstract

This study aims at establishing why Malawi is struggling to domesticate and implement international gender instruments that she ratified. The specific objectives for the study were: to explore the status of domestication of international gender instruments in Malawi; to identify the roles of different stakeholders in domestication of international gender instruments; and to find out factors that impede domestication of international gender instruments in Malawi. The study adopted a mixed methods approach although qualitative approach was more dominant. In total, 30 key respondents were interviewed. Various documents were also reviewed to establish the instruments that have so far been mainstreamed in the national legal framework and analyzed their implementation process. Content was analyzed by grouping emerging themes from unstructured questions of the interview guide as well as the reviewed documents. The study has found that while Malawi is doing fairly well on domestication of gender instruments, its main gap is the implementation aspect of it. This thesis therefore, argues that the international law is not widely invoked in Malawian judicial decisions despite the country having the constitutional framework and institutions for the promotion of human rights, such as the Malawi Human Rights Commission, the Human Rights Unit of the Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs, and Ministry of Gender, Women Development and Social Affairs. This gap is evident by the harmful cultural practices that continue to restrict women in Malawi from fully enjoying their rights, and are often the cause of several human rights violations against them.

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School	: School of Law, Economics and Government
Issued Date	: 2022

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