A trained registered nurse, Chanika began working in 1992 as human rights groups started to form and agitate for political change in Malawi which at the time suffered under the dictatorship of Hastings Kamuzu Banda.
Under the banner of CILIC Emmie Chanika has been actively involved in the 1993 Referendum and the 1994 general election Civic Education which led to major democratic change and the end of Hastings Kamuzu Banda's dictatorship in Malawi.
Although a trained registered nurse, Emmie Chanika continued to educate herself and among other qualifications obtained her Master of Science degree in Strategic Planning in 2007.
In the 2011 political crisis in Malawi which saw many Malawians taking to the street in anger with president Bingu Wa Mutharika's oppressive policies Emmie Chanika has taken a moderate stance.
[5] In spite of lack of funding Emmie Chanika was still an active human rights activist and has recently spoken out strongly on the issue of unscrupulous clergy and traditional religious experts labelling children, the handicapped and the elderly as witches.