What does life as a woman or girl look like in your country / city / town / village? Any issues / challenges / exciting milestones?

Wow. Where to start. My life as a woman, or in my case a young woman, has been a very interesting one indeed. For twenty years, I have been not only a young black woman, but a young black African woman.

Life as a young Malawian female is honestly very very limiting. I love my African culture and I appreciate the values that I have been taught growing up, like how to cook ( e.g how to cook a popular traditional meal called Nsima which is known as pap in other areas), how to build and take care of a home, how to be a mother, a wife, a caretaker and the list goes on and on and on. But is that all I am good for?

Growing up, I have always been told that I can be whatever I want to be. My father was not one to limit my abilities or stop me from doing certain passions. For example, I have always been a lover of art. Drawing, painting, even writing. My father always encouraged me and still does to this day to pursue these passions. But that is my father. Many girls in Malawi struggle with the choices they are allowed to make. Mainly because most of them don't have a choice.

I've been privileged enough to be able to go to school. But that is not the case for many females in Malawi. Some girls are derived of the most basic rights because they are not given a choice. Many are set to be given away for marriage; hence, the early child marriages all across my country.

Even those of us that have been given the chance to learn will still be asked that question. 'When are you going to get married?'. Because that is what they think of when they see an African girl. That this girl is good for marriage.

So because of this, many of us are underestimated. Many of us are not taken seriously. 'Her? How can she be a CEO, she is a woman'. Such comments that are heard every where. Some even coming from a fellow woman herself. All due to social conditioning. Every member of the community has been conditioned to think of a woman as a helper. Not a do-er. And never a leader. Our society has been conditioned to make us think twice about what we wear, about how we talk, how we walk and even how we look at others. Because nobody will want to marry a female that can't cook. So society says.

Life as an African female.

Don't even get me started on rape and sexual assault. We have no say in that. When one of us is raped we are told that it is our fault. What did you wear? What were you doing? Did you drink? Don't walk outside by yourself, always be around females. Don't talk to boys. Social conditioning.

Many females are even afraid to speak out after they have been raped. Why? They are afraid they will be blamed. Here, we are taught how NOT to be raped. How to dress and act around males. That's how the world sees us.

It's not all bad though. We have many people male and female, that have started encouraging female empowerment in Malawi. Many organizations and NGOs that look to help the girl child and The Malawian female.

Always remember that being female is your super power, and not your flaw.

What are you most passionate about and what are you doing with that passion?

I am most passionate about helping and empowering others. Any gender.

I always say that in my life I have been extremely blessed and I have no reason not to help others get their blessings. I feel that it is extremely important to help and empower the youth. Being a young person myself, I know how hard it can get, and we are the future of tomorrow, so it is very important to be equipped with the right tools for our success. Whether it's arts, business, education, everybody has a place for them. So I am currently involved with an organization called Timutukule, which is a Malawian organization that mainly aims at empowering the youth.

Describe yourself in one word: "I am...

Blessed.

Complete this sentence: "To be a girl or woman today, is to be..."

a fighter, because of all the prejudice and pressure on a female to BE a female. We were all born with a fighting spirit. Push all of that away.