Caring Mother or Weak Politician? A Semiotic Analysis of Editorial Cartoon Representations of President Joyce Banda in Malawian Newspapers

Abstract

ABSTRACTThis article analyses media representations of Joyce Banda, Malawi's first female president, by newspaper editorial cartoons. A total of 50 cartoons were collected, comprising Point of Order and Puludzu, from The Nation and The Daily Times newspapers, spanning the period 2012 to 2014. Using theories of feminism and representation, this paper reveals how the editorials, as unique visual forms of communication, offer an opportunity for deep reflection on attitudes concerning female, presidential leadership. The findings suggest that both cartoon series depict President Banda as an indecisive, inefficient, clueless and weak politician based on ingrained gender stereotypes of women, rather than on her actions as a president governing the country. This study regards cartoonists as social critics who have brandished Banda's motherhood characteristics at every occasion to represent female presidency as a failure in Malawi. It is shown that the graphic artists were largely absorbed in the ideologies that trivialise women as being only suitable for domestic roles. Their relentless scrutiny of “gender” eccentricities, infirmities and frailties regarding Banda effectively destroyed her power consciousness and fuelled misogynistic perceptions that, by extension, no woman can ever be suitable for electoral leadership positions, especially not as Malawi President.