2022 Report on International Religious Freedom: Malawi

The U.S. government estimates the total population at 20.8 million (midyear 2022).  According to the 2018 census, 77.3 percent of the population is Christian and 13.8 percent Muslim.  Christian denominations include Roman Catholics at 17.2 percent of the total population, Central Africa Presbyterians at 14.2 percent, Seventh-day Adventist/Seventh-day Baptists (the census groups the two into one category) at 9.4 percent, Anglicans at 2.3 percent, and Pentecostals at 7.6 percent.  Another 26.6 percent fall under the “other Christians” category.  Individuals stating no religious affiliation are 2.1 percent, and 5.6 percent belong to other religious groups, including Hindus, Baha’is, Rastafarians, Jews, and Sikhs.

The vast majority of Muslims are Sunni.  Most Sunnis of African descent follow the Shafi’i school of Islamic legal thought, while the smaller community of mostly ethnic Asians primarily follows the Hanafi school.  There is also a small number of Shia Muslims, principally of Lebanese origin.

According to the 2018 census, there are two majority-Muslim districts, Mangochi (72.6 percent) and Machinga (66.9 percent).  These neighboring districts at the southern end of Lake Malawi account for more than half of all Muslims in the country.  Most other Muslims also live near the shores of Lake Malawi.  Christians are present throughout the country.

Traditional cultural practices with a spiritual dimension are sometimes practiced by Christians and Muslims.  For example, gule wamkulu spirit dancers remain of importance among ethnic Chewas, who are concentrated in the central region of the country.

Legal Framework

The constitution prohibits discrimination on the basis of religion and provides for freedom of conscience, religion, belief, and thought.  These rights may be limited only when the President declares a state of emergency.

The penal code covers several misdemeanor offenses related to religion, including insults to religion, disturbing religious assemblies, and writing or uttering words with the intent to wound religious feelings.

The law states that holders of broadcast licenses “shall not broadcast any material which is … offensive to the religious convictions of any section of the population.”

Religious groups must register with the government to be recognized as legal entities.  To do so, groups must submit documentation detailing the structure and mission of their organization and pay a fee of 1,000 kwacha ($1).  The government reviews the application for administrative compliance only.  According to the government, registration does not constitute endorsement of religious beliefs, nor is it a prerequisite for religious activities.  Registration allows a religious group to acquire land, rent property in its own name, and obtain utility services such as water and electricity.

The law authorizes religious groups, regardless of registration status, to import certain goods duty free.  These include items for religious use, vehicles used for worship-related purposes, and office equipment.  In practice, however, the Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs rarely grants duty exemptions.

Detainees have a right to consult with a religious counselor of their choice.

Religious instruction is mandatory in public primary schools, with no opt-out provision, and is available as an elective in public secondary schools.  According to the constitution, eliminating religious intolerance is a goal of education.  In some schools, the religious curriculum is a Christian-oriented “Bible knowledge” course, while in others it is an interfaith “moral and religious education” course drawing from the Christian, Islamic, Hindu, and Baha’i faiths.  According to the law, local school management committees, elected at parent-teacher association meetings, decide on which religious curriculum to use.  Private Christian and Islamic schools offer religious instruction in their respective faiths.  Hybrid “grant-aided” schools are managed by private, usually religious, institutions, but their teaching staffs are paid by the government.  In exchange for this financial support, the government chooses a significant portion of the students who attend.  At grant-aided schools, a board appointed by the school’s operators decides whether the “Bible knowledge” or the “moral and religious education” curriculum will be used.

National school policy requires children to wear closely shaven hair to attend but makes exceptions for religious and health reasons.

Foreign missionaries are required to have employment permits.

The country is a party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

Government Practices

At year’s end, an injunction by the High Court in Zomba, issued in January 2020, compelling the MOE to allow all Rastafarian children to be admitted and enrolled in government schools remained in effect pending the outcome of litigation.  The court action came in response to a case filed in 2017 that involved a child who was denied enrollment to the Malindi Secondary School in Zomba due to his dreadlocks, as well as another case in 2019, in which the attorney requested that the court ruling be broadened to cover all Rastafarian students.  Despite the High Court injunction, there was at least one report from Rastafarian community leaders of a student denied enrollment in school due to religious affiliation.  On October 31, the Zomba High Court announced it would hear the case of Rastafarian Makeda Chirwa beginning in February 2023.  Chirwa launched a legal challenge following Chichiri’s Primary School’s 2018 refusal to enroll him.

Muslim organizations continued to request that the MOE discontinue use of the optional “Bible knowledge” course and use only the broader based “moral and religious education” curriculum in primary schools, particularly in predominantly Muslim areas.  In 2021 according to Saiti Jambo, the Quadria Muslim Association of Malawi Executive Director, the issue arose most frequently in grant-aided, Catholic-operated schools.

According to Muslim Association of Malawi representatives, the issue concerning the right to wear the hijab in schools had been resolved at the community level, and female students retained the right to wear the hijab.  However, by year’s end, the MOE had not yet implemented the hijab policy or a separate recommendation to allow inclusion of religious minorities on the Board of the Malawi Institute of Education.  Both recommendations were proposed by Christian and Muslim leaders in 2021 in a MOU submitted to the MOE for review in June 2021 and signed with the MOE the same year.  The MOU would allow female students to wear a hijab in their school colors as a part of their uniform.  In August, the Malawi Defense Force (MDF) introduced a policy allowing female soldiers to wear a hijab while on duty.

The Public Affairs Committee (PAC), a civil society, interfaith organization comprised of the main Protestant, Catholic, and Muslim faith groups in Malawi, continued its efforts to raise public awareness of the contents of the MOU in the eastern region of the country where most of the Muslim population lives.  PAC operates in the areas of good governance and human rights.  One of its roles is to mediate between religious institutions.

Rastafarians continued to object to laws making the use and possession of cannabis a criminal offense in the country, stating its use was a part of their religious doctrine.

Most government meetings and events began and ended with a prayer, usually Christian in nature.  At larger events, government officials generally invited clergy of different faiths to participate.

According to a survey released in August by Afrobarometer, a pan-African research group, among Malawian respondents who were asked the extent to which they would like having neighbors from a different religion, 62.3 percent responded with “strongly like” and 16.4 percent responded with “somewhat like.”  A combined 10.4 percent responded in the negative, with “strongly dislike or somewhat dislike.”

According to the Malawi Communications Regulatory Authority, of the 83 licensed radio and television broadcasters in the country, 14 are Christian-affiliated, three are Muslim-affiliated, and the remainder have no religious affiliation.

Embassy officials engaged with representatives of religious groups from Christian, Muslim, and other faiths to discuss religious freedom, interreligious relations, and community engagement.