ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on the 2009 and 2014 parliamentary elections in Malawi, with a particular focus on the interplay between gender, media and culture. It argues that, although the media enhanced the debate on women representation in parliament, the whole programme and process was based on an unsustainable political premise. The media provided a major boost for the women candidates, and a video entitled If Women Counted apparently transformed the mind-set of most Kenyans at that time. The creation of a successful political culture requires a more inclusive approach with an emphasis on the development of new societal identities. Several studies have examined the link between gender rights and quality of democracy. Cultural homogenisation as a concept implies that a perceived superior (wider or international) culture invades a local culture, and in the process the superior culture becomes the dominant culture.
