Speaking during a new global talk show South 2 North on Al Jazeera, Banda lamented the unwillingness of women to support and uplift one another.
"In Malawi, 85% of the people are rural based. So the majority of women are grassroots based and that’s where I’ve worked. I’ve worked with women in the informal sector, I've fought against maternal mortality, women’s gender based violence. So those are the women who have stood by me through thick and thin.
"The problem comes when it is now women that are higher up, women that are your level that usually won’t stand with you, that usually don’t support you".
Banda, who is Africa's second female president after Liberia's Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, came to power in April last year following the death of President Bingu wa Mutharika.
She said she was surprised to see the amount of support she gained from men during her ascendency to presidency.
"Men came out more than women. There were more men than women fighting for me. Women at the top don’t support one another. Women don’t like female bosses," said Banda.
