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jellybelle3 t1_isdrxya wrote

u/q203 breaks down the misinformed headline:

There are a bunch of issues with the headline and introductory section of this article.

  1. ⁠Malawi and South Africa are different countries. This is about Malawi, a country in Southern Africa.
  2. ⁠The name of the district is Dedza (not Dzedza). This wouldn’t be as big of a mistake if it was only done once but it’s repeated multiple times.
  3. ⁠Theresa Kachindamoto is not “the first female chief” in Malawi, as the headline implies. There are multiple female chiefs in Malawi. She is unique in that she’s Ngoni, and she’s a female paramount chief of the Ngoni in Dedza. But even the use of the word ‘first’ here would be debatable. The legendary first paramount chief/high priestess of the Dedza area, Makewana, was a woman. Her name literally means ‘mother of the children.’ Kachindamoto clarifies that she is the first female Ngoni chief in Dedza in the article (not all of Malawi), but the headline distorts this.
  4. ⁠The headline implies Kachindamoto single-handedly ended child marriage in Malawi. The Malawian parliament ended child marriage 7 years ago. Her achievements are still notable for enforcing this in her area, but she didn’t single-handedly take initiative to do this. She mentions Joyce Banda in the article, who is recognized as a driving force behind the change. Child marriage also still occurs, even if not in her particular area. They are working to end it, but the headline makes it seem as if it’s been totally eradicated.

I don’t mean to discount her achievements. Her firsthand account is great. The headline just irks me due to how inaccurately it portrays Malawi.

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messyredemptions OP t1_ise2513 wrote

Thank you for this thorough breakdown.y overall lack of awareness about a lot happening in Africa compounded with my enthusiasm for the potential good news turned into a hasty share that kept OP's original title even though I had an inkling that there wasn't something right about the geographic notes. The rest of the context you raised is important for many of us to see and note too as a lot of us lack the cultural education to properly interrogate claims like what's in the headline not to mention interrogate our own understanding of other cultures and their definition of roles and governance like chiefhood as it can differ greatly from nation to nation and tribe to tribe. Thanks again!

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Specialist_Fruit6600 t1_isf2dro wrote

that was a lot of polite words to not directly address the multiple fallacies in your post

i’m sorry but that breakdown shows that this post is misleading and false - that’s not very uplifting

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messyredemptions OP t1_isf7wi3 wrote

I crossposted it from someone else. Yes the reality of misinformation and ignorance isn't very uplifting. The factual account from the woman that it was rooted in however remains so and I think it's worth keeping the comments above to at least educate others about the reality especially since the reality is better than what was initially shared and there's an opportunity for many of us to learn from that.

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fiendishrabbit t1_isf7jl7 wrote

It should also be pointed out that Theresa Kachindamoto has worked for almost 20 years to achieve this (since shortly after she first became Inkosi, paramount chief, in 2003). Which includes a lot of working with sub-chiefs (there are like...50 of them?) and numerous headmen (of villages and groups of villages), and on occasion putting her foot down (including temporarily dismissing some sub-chiefs when they defied her).

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Bluephonewhodis t1_isf4dgl wrote

I didn't like how native practices are painted as "archaic" in the article while, by contrast, western ideas are considered new and better. The story represents a good change in the culture, but I wish there was more nuance in how people talk about African cultures

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Unsd t1_isfvjud wrote

I get where you're coming from, but child marriage still happens in the US. It is still legal in most states (many states have explicitly turned down bills that would ban child marriage), and the majority of these marriages are underage girls married to adult men. And I would absolutely consider this archaic whether it's in the US or Malawi. It is sick no matter where it's happening.

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