Malawi 2015-16

16.13 WOMEN’S EMPOWERMENT INDICATORS
Women’s empowerment indicators
Two sets of empowerment indicators, women’s participation in making
household decisions and women’s attitudes towards wife beating, can be
summarized with two indices.
The first index shows the number of decisions in which women participate
either alone or jointly with their husband or partner. This index ranges from 0
to 3 and reflects the degree of decision-making control that women are able to
exercise in areas that affect their lives and the level of women’s empowerment
in a society. The second index, which ranges from 0 to 5, is the number of
reasons for which a woman thinks that a husband is justified in beating his
wife. A lower score on this indicator reflects a higher status of women in the
household and society.
Sample: Women age 15-49
It is expected that women who participate in more decisions within the household will be less likely to
endorse wife beating. In Malawi, the percentage of women who disagree with wife beating under any
circumstance is highest among those who participate in all three household decisions (87%). In contrast,
women who do not participate in any decisions and those who participate in one or two decisions have
similar levels of support for wife beating (82% and 81%, respectively). It is expected that women who
more strongly endorse wife beating will be less likely to be involved in household decision making.
Women who agree with wife beating in one or more situations (between 39% and 42%) are less likely to
participate in household decision making than women who disagree with wife beating (48%) (Table
16.13).
16.14 CURRENT USE OF CONTRACEPTION BY WOMAN’S EMPOWERMENT STATUS
A woman’s desire and ability to control her fertility and her choice of contraceptive methods are affected
by her status in the household and her own sense of empowerment. A woman who is unable to control
other aspects of her life may be less able to make decisions about her fertility. She may also need to choose
contraceptive methods that are less obvious or do not require the approval or knowledge of her husband.
Participation in household decisions is positively associated with contraceptive use. As the number of
decisions in which a woman participates increases, so does the use of any contraception, including any
modern contraception. The data show that participation in one to two household decisions indicates a
noticeable increase in the likelihood the woman will use contraception. However, the relationship between
agreement with wife beating and contraceptive use is less clear (Table 16.14).
16.15 WOMEN’S EMPOWERMENT AND IDEAL NUMBER OF CHILDREN AND UNMET NEED
FOR THE FAMILY
A woman who becomes more empowered is more likely to have a say in the number of children (ideal
family size) she desires and the time at which she has her children. She has more control over her ability to
access and use contraceptives and to space and limit her family size.
Women who participate in household decision making have a lower ideal number of children and less
unmet need, both for spacing and limiting, than women who do not participate in household decisions.
Similarly, women who do not justify wife beating also have a lower ideal number of children and less
unmet need than women who agree with wife beating (Table 16.15).
260 • Women’s Empowerment