ABSTRACT
This chapter analyses how the passing of land inheritance in a matrilineal society could manifest in collective action centred on the shaping of Water User Associations (WUAs) as a new arena for a gendered power contestation. It looks at how gender was a major factor in determining the engagement of women in the WUA, despite women nominally owning land within the matrilineal setting of Malawi. Ownership has to be viewed within the context of the bundle of rights that other people have over the same property. The chapter looks at how collective action plays out within the Malawi landscape of Ntcheu District. It argues that while it is important to understand collective action, it is also important to ground such an understanding within the gendered lens, especially in the context of a matrilineal context where it is often assumed that women have more leverage due to the matri-local nature of marriages in the Ntcheu area.
