Hail To The Chief

In Malawi, one in two girls is subject to arranged marriage before the age of 18. As a high-ranking woman in a man’s world, Chief Theresa Kachindamoto is on a mission to empower girls in her rural chiefdom. She has rescued 2 600 child brides, fired male subchiefs who oppose her, and sent thousands of girls back to school to give them a chance at a future

- Abigail Haworth

Senior Chief Theresa Kachindamoto, tribal ruler of the Dedza District in central Malawi, emerges from the car wearing electric-blue ceremonial robes. The inhabitants of the village of Tseka, huddled on reed mats, fall into tense silence. Chickens, dogs and small children scatter as the chief walks solemnly towards a seating area outside the headman’s hut. This is not a social visit, and everyone knows it. Theresa, a woman of towering repute, has come to perform what she considers her most crucial official duty: to end the illegal marriage of an underage girl and send her back to school.

Beatrice Kapito, a tiny 16-year-old in a pink T-shirt, sits at Theresa’s feet. Beatrice was married at 13 and has a toddler son named Moses, who squirms on her lap. Her husband sits beside them with his head bowed. As a powerful female member of tribal royalty in Malawi, the 59-year-old chief is fighting a zero-tolerance war against the practice of child marriage. And despite obstacles, including death threats from hard-line traditionalists, she is winning.

In 2017 alone, the chief annulled some 200 child marriages in her district. During her 14-year reign, she has terminated the marriages of roughly 2 600 child brides and helped the girls finish their education, often by subsidising their schooling. She also ensures that any offspring, like Moses, are taken care of by grandparents or other family members while their young mothers attend class. Today it is Beatrice’s turn. ‘I am nervous but excited,’ the teenager says in a hushed voice before the proceedings begin. ‘I can start my life all over again.’