Beyond the byline

Following Malawi’s September 2025 General Elections, the national conversation about women in power is shifting.

With official Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) figures confirming that women made up an influential 57 percent of registered voters, their electoral might is now undeniable.

The question is no longer if women hold the power to shape leadership, but how they will translate their dominance at the ballot box into tangible representation and influence.

But this time around, it’s not just women voters shaping change at the ballot box. It is women journalists shaping the stories that define power itself.

Inside a packed conference hall at Ubunthu Lodge in Salima, over 90 female journalists have gathered for the Association for Women in Media (AWOME) Annual General Meeting under the theme: “Beyond the Ballot: Sustaining Women’s Voices in Governance.”

Their mission is clear: to ensure that women’s visibility in governance does not fade when election headlines do.

For years, Malawi’s newsrooms have been male dominated, particularly in political reporting and editorial decision-making.

Female journalists often find themselves sidelined from major political beats or subjected to online harassment when they step into the public eye.

According to a report by WAN-IFRA (2025), women’s representation in top editorial leadership such as Editor-in-Chief, has stalled at 30% between 2022 and 2024, despite the overall number of women in these roles increasing slightly.

But through AWOME, women are pushing back. The association was established to champion women’s leadership in media and has become a hub for mentorship, training, and solidarity.

One of the AGM participants, Bertha Chirwa, a journalist working for Mibawa Television says female journalist are undermined and that they cannot report on hard hitting stories, but rather on fashion and other ‘soft’ issues.

She however believes the perception is slowly changing, “ We are changing the narrative, taking the spaces to rise above the noise. AWOME has played a huge role in empowering and developing female journalists. This AGM is a great space for learning, both as an individual and a professional.”

According to AWOME Chairperson Dorothy Kachitsa, the goal is not just professional development but transformation.

She says AWOME is about giving women the tools, voice, and confidence to tell powerful stories.

Kachitsa further says it is not only about looking at women that are contesting in the parliamentary or in the local government positions, but also looking at how much the media is doing in terms of content.

“So the theme will help us to look into our flaws, challenges and also the strengths that we have so that we can advance our agenda to be leaders or to govern various positions in the country as a whole.”

AWOME trustee who is also a seasoned journalist, Jane Gogodus concurs with Kachitsa, calling for more coverage beyond elections.

“We have a bigger role to play now that the elections are over and we need to continue to sustain this talk and these interviews with those who won and those who did not.”

Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) Chairperson, Justice Annabel Mtalimanja commended the female journalists for their effort in amplifying women during the elections, but called for continued reporting beyond the ballot box

*we need to have specific and deliberate programming*

“For us to have meaningful participation of women in the elections and then in the governance space, we need to have specific and deliberate programming to ensure that.”

Her words struck a chord with many in the room, especially those who had reported tirelessly during the 2024 elections to make women candidates more visible in a male-dominated political landscape.

Data from AWOME’s monitoring efforts show that women’s visibility in election coverage improved markedly during the 2025 polls. However, the data does not depict the actual number of stories.

Female-led stories about women candidates appeared more frequently across both radio and digital platforms.

Despite these gains, structural barriers remain. Few women hold senior editorial positions, and decision-making spaces in newsrooms still tilt heavily male.

Former President Joyce Banda received some media attention as the sole female presidential candidate, but an article by DW Africa on the September 2025 elections indicates that discussions around her candidacy still focused on broader gender dynamics and her past legacy, rather than being female-led narratives.

Another 2025 DW Africa report on the elections discussed how several presidential candidates chose women as their vice-presidential picks.

Imbalances limit the ability of women journalists to influence coverage of women’s issues. Cultural stereotypes, domestic responsibilities, and online harassment continue to discourage many from advancing into leadership roles.

Still, women in Malawi’s media are pushing boundaries.

The AWOME AGM in Salima represents more than a professional gathering as it is a space for self-development, networking, and reclaiming authority.

For many like Bertha Chirwa, it’s a turning point, a reminder that beyond the byline lies the power to reshape narratives, influence governance, and hold power to account.