The Dance of Politics: Gender, Performance, and Democratization in Malawi (African Soundscapes)

Election campaigns, political events, and national celebration days in Malawi usually feature groups of women who dance and perform songs of praise for politicians and political parties. These lively performances help to attract and energize throngs of prospective voters. However, as Lisa Gilman explains, “praise performing” is one of the only ways that women are allowed to participate in a male-dominated political system. Although political performances by women are not unique to Malawi, the case in Malawi is complicated by the fact that until 1994 all Malawian women were required to perform on behalf of the long-reigning political party and its self-declared “President for Life,” Dr. Hastings Kamuzu Banda+. This is the first book to examine the present-day situation, where issues of gender, economics and politics collide in surprising ways. Along with its solid grounding in the relevant literature, The Dance of Politics draws strength from Gilman’s first-hand observations and her interviews with a range of participants in the political process, from dancers to politicians.

Election campaigns, political events, and national celebration days in Malawi usually feature groups of women who dance and perform songs of praise for politicians and political parties. These lively performances help to attract and energize throngs of prospective voters. However, as Lisa Gilman explains, praise performing is one of the only ways that poor women are allowed to participate in a male-dominated political system.

Although political performances by women are not unique to Malawi, the case is complicated by the fact that until 1994 women in this country were required to perform on behalf of the long-reigning political party-the Malawi Congress Party-and its self-declared President for Life, Dr. Hastings Kamuzu Banda. This is the first book to examine the present-day situation, where issues of gender, economics and politics collide in surprising ways. Along with its solid grounding in the relevant literature, The Dance of Politics draws strength from Gilman's firsthand observations and her interviews with a range of participants in the political process, from dancers to politicians to human rights activists.

Contents......Page 8 Acknowledgments......Page 10 1 Introduction: Gender, Power, and Performance......Page 16 2 Dance and Nationalism in the Independence Movement......Page 41 3 Dance and Social Control During Banda’s Presidency......Page 58 4 Dance, the Transition to Multipartyism, and Patronage......Page 92 5 Power and Performance in Political Rallies......Page 134 6 Why Do Women Dance?......Page 164 7 Gendering Democracy......Page 199 8 Gender at the Intersection of Politics, Democratization, and Tradition......Page 220 Appendix A: Brief Timeline of Malawi’s Recent Political History......Page 238 Appendix B: People Interviewed......Page 240 Appendix C: Political Functions Attended and Referenced......Page 244 Appendix D: Associated Multimedia Websites......Page 246 References......Page 248 Index......Page 264 Election campaigns, political events, and national celebration days in Malawi usually feature groups of women who dance and perform songs of praise for politicians and political parties. However, as Lisa Gilman explains, in The Dance of Politics, "praise performing" is one of the few ways that poor women are allowed to participate in a male-dominated political system in which issues of gender, economics, and politics collide in surprising ways. Along with its solid grounding in the relevant literature, The Dance of Politics draws strength from Gilman's first-hand observations and her interviews with a range of participants in the political process, from dancers to politicians. Gender, power, and performance Dance and nationalism in the independence movement Dance and social control in Banda's Malawi Dance, the transition to multipartyism, and patronage Power and performance in political rallies Why do women dance? Gendering democracy Gender at the intersection of politics, democratization, and tradition. Election campaigns, political events, and national celebration days in Malawi usually feature groups of women who dance and perform songs of praise for politicians and political parties. This book explains that 'praise performing' is one of the only ways that women are allowed to participate in a male-dominated political system. How gender and class intersect in Malawi through women's roles as political praise performers