Catherine Chipembere
Encyclopedia
Catherine Mary Ajizinga Chipembere (b 1935) is a Malawian gender activist and politician. She was born in 1935 in Malawi.
She is the wife of Malawian nationalist Henry Masauko Chipembere and the mother of internationally known Jazz artist Masauko Chipembere Jr
. She was exiled to the US from Malawi together with her husband, and later returned to Malawi and was the first woman elected to Malawi Parliament. She currently works with AIDS orphans and runs twelve pre-schools, serving more than 1,000 AIDS orphans. She also runs a women's knitting cooperative in Mangochi
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when she returned to Malawi. She fled with their seven children to the United States under exile, after the dictatorial Kamuzu Banda severed their relationship with her husband. Masauko Chipembere died in the United States in 1975 from diabetes. Chipembere went on to pursue and earn a bachelor's degree in early childhood education from the University of California at Los Angeles. She also operated a childcare facility in her home and raised her own children.
She retired from her political career in 1998 and started the "Women's Initiative Network". In a widely puiblicised move, she decided to keep her husband's surname in spite of remarrying, as a political statement. She was sued by the Chipembere family for maintaining her Chipembere surname. Although ultimately winning the case, Catherine was removed from her post and residence in the government sector in 1998 by the Muluzi government.
The network collaborated with non-profits like Global Soles in the US to bring shoes for orphans in Malawi in 2009
WIN Malawi operates in rural Mangochi and has built and sponsored twelve primary schools that educate, feed and care for over a thousand orphans. Most of the children are between two and six years old. Several of the orphans are AIDS orphans.
She has seven children, including Jazz musician Masauko Chipembere Jr
.
She is the wife of Malawian nationalist Henry Masauko Chipembere and the mother of internationally known Jazz artist Masauko Chipembere Jr
Masauko Chipembere Jr
Masauko Chipembere is a Malawian Jazz musician. Chipembere was born in Malawi and was raised in Los Angeles while his parents were in political exile. He is the son of political nationalists Henry Masauko Blasius Chipembere and Catherine Chipembere...
. She was exiled to the US from Malawi together with her husband, and later returned to Malawi and was the first woman elected to Malawi Parliament. She currently works with AIDS orphans and runs twelve pre-schools, serving more than 1,000 AIDS orphans. She also runs a women's knitting cooperative in Mangochi
Mangochi
Mangochi is a township in the Southern Region of Malawi. Located near the southern end of Lake Malawi, in colonial times it used to be called Fort Johnston. As of 2008 it has a population of 51,429.-History:...
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Early life
Chipembere attended secondary school during a time when education was not considered a priority for Malawian girls. She won a scholarship to study domestic science in England. She met and married the Malawi nationalist Henry Masauko ChipembereHenry Masauko Blasius Chipembere
Henry Masauko Blasius Chipembere was a Malawian nationalist who played a significant role in bringing independence from colonial rule to his native country, formerly known as Nyasaland...
when she returned to Malawi. She fled with their seven children to the United States under exile, after the dictatorial Kamuzu Banda severed their relationship with her husband. Masauko Chipembere died in the United States in 1975 from diabetes. Chipembere went on to pursue and earn a bachelor's degree in early childhood education from the University of California at Los Angeles. She also operated a childcare facility in her home and raised her own children.
Political Life
Catherine Chipembere was forced into exile from Malawi together with her husband and lived outside the country for 29 years. In 1994, after the end of Banda's rule, she returned to Malawi as a hero. She was elected as the first female member of the Malawian parliament. Later she served as the first deputy minister of education, science and technology and then as deputy minister of health and population. She was able to use her degree to oversee primary and secondary school education.She retired from her political career in 1998 and started the "Women's Initiative Network". In a widely puiblicised move, she decided to keep her husband's surname in spite of remarrying, as a political statement. She was sued by the Chipembere family for maintaining her Chipembere surname. Although ultimately winning the case, Catherine was removed from her post and residence in the government sector in 1998 by the Muluzi government.
Womans Initiative Network
The Womens Initiative Network (WIN) is a non-profit network of Malawian women that holds empowerment workshops for young women which are led by her.The network collaborated with non-profits like Global Soles in the US to bring shoes for orphans in Malawi in 2009
WIN Malawi operates in rural Mangochi and has built and sponsored twelve primary schools that educate, feed and care for over a thousand orphans. Most of the children are between two and six years old. Several of the orphans are AIDS orphans.
Personal life
What ensued as a public scandal and a celebrated court case, the Chipembere clan sued Catherine for maintaining her Chipembere surname, though she remarried. She won this case and she was able to keep thie surname as a political widow.She has seven children, including Jazz musician Masauko Chipembere Jr
Masauko Chipembere Jr
Masauko Chipembere is a Malawian Jazz musician. Chipembere was born in Malawi and was raised in Los Angeles while his parents were in political exile. He is the son of political nationalists Henry Masauko Blasius Chipembere and Catherine Chipembere...
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