What would give a woman the confidence to stand and mediate even in issues involving leaders? The simple answer is a woman who is empowered and knows her place in society.

36-year-old Edna Zuze from Traditional Authority (TA) Mizinga in Machinga district, is a secretary of the Women forum under the Sustaining Women’s Movement for Peace building and Response to Humanitarian Crisis Project in her area, which is implemented by Youth Net and Counselling (YONECO).

Established in November 2024, the forum’s primary aim is to enhance women’s participation in conflict prevention and humanitarian response efforts.

As part of the forum, Zuze, together with other women and girls, were trained as facilitators in leadership, peacebuilding, humanitarian response, economic empowerment as well as sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) prevention and response,

Equipped with such skills her women’s forum group hit the ground running, ensuring that they are not just figureheads but bringing necessary change to their community.

Their main achievement involved mediating and resolving a civil dispute between TA Mizinga and his brother who disagreed over religious differences, which affected his entire jurisdiction area.

The fight between the T/A and the brother took a long while without any sensible mediation, until the women’s forum intervened and ensured that peace reigned between the two and among the villagers as well.

Culturally, traditional leaders are the ones entrusted to bring peace and order in their area, but in this case, women took charge and acted.

“The training equipped us with negotiation skills and impacted us with confidence that enables us to reach out even to our leaders when there’s need for mediation, which is something we would never have dreamed of,” Zuze proudly explains, revealing that only a woman who has discovered her capabilities would do as such.

The women forum in T/A Mizinga, is now a household name in the village as they also mediate in family issues as well as advocate for peace to ensure prevention before violations or disagreements occur. Since November 2024, the forum has helped resolve at least 13 marital disputes in their area.

“Often times, women are just compassionate and understanding of situations. For a long time, we have been made to believe that is a weakness, however, I and the rest of the women in my group, have been groomed to look at these traits as strengths we may use to reach out and bring peace in our homes and the entire community.” Zuze added.

In Machinga’s Kalinde Village T/A Kaduya, there is another formidable Mediator; 32-year-old Mary Somanje. She is also a member of the UN Women Peacekeeping forum in her area and like Zuze, Somanje was equally trained as a facilitator and equipped in areas of SGBV prevention, leadership, peacebuilding and humanitarian response.

Somanje’s first intervention was personal. Her home was plagued by daily quarrels with her husband, “The forum came at the right time,” she says. “It helped salvage my marriage. We were both abusive, but that’s now a thing of the past. We live in peace and harmony.”

Inspired by her own transformation, Somanje now helps other women and families in her area, working to eliminate SGBV.

“The Forum and training came to the right community and at the right time,” she acknowledges.

She observes that her personal intervention in her marriage has motivated her to reach out to more women and families in her area and ensure that cases of SBGV are minimized and at best eliminated.

Mable Msefula, focal person for FemWise Malawi, a network of women in conflict prevention and mediation, emphasizes the importance of involving women in peacebuilding.

“Women and children are the most vulnerable in conflict. Cultural norms and intimidation often deter women from leading, but we’ve seen what they can achieve when given a platform.” She says

Mbanandi Saka Mahala, project coordinator for the Sustaining Women’s Movement for Peace building and Response to Humanitarian Crisis Project in YONECO, echoes this sentiment saying the evidence from participating women shows how successful a community and country can be when women are involved in important issues.

The two-year project, is targeting 1750 women in Phalombe and Machinga districts to promote dialogue on harmful cultural and social norms that fuel Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV/GBV) in their communities with funding from Women Peace in Humanitarian Fund.

The UN security resolution 13 25 urges Member States to ensure increased representation of women at all decision-making levels in national, regional and international institutions for the prevention, management, and resolution of conflict.