‘I’ve seen women suffer’: Malawi’s religious leaders fight for legal abortions

Deaths from backstreet abortions have united pro-choice Christian and Muslim clerics around ending the strict ban

Sarah Johnson
Thu 9 Jan 2025

Throughout his ministry, the Rev Cliff Nyekanyeka has led funeral services for women who died after an illegal abortion in Malawi. He has visited hospitals where doctors have shown him the aftereffects of such procedures, including pictures of what he describes as “rotting uteruses”. And he has seen women struggling with unwanted pregnancies.

It is this lived experience that has led Nyekanyeka to advocate for a woman’s right to choose, and to campaign for change in a country with one of the world’s strictest abortion laws. In Malawi, women seeking an abortion can be imprisoned for up to seven years and anyone administering an abortion to a woman could face 14 years in prison; it is permitted only to save a woman’s life. The law was introduced by the British under colonial rule.

Continued: https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2025/jan/09/women-malawi-religious-leaders-legal-abortion-ban-maternal-mortality-christian-muslim

Malawi – Youths urged to sensitise people on SRHR, unsafe abortion

Oct 18, 2024
Raphael Likaka

Her Liberty and Girls Activist Youth Organisation (GAYO) have equipped youths from various youth clubs at Senior Chief Malemia’s area in Zomba with information to sensitise fellow youths on issues to do with Sexual Reproductive Health Rights (SRHR) and unsafe abortion.

The two organisations are currently implementing a project whose objective is to promote SRHR and discourage unsafe abortion in the area of Senior Chief Malemia in Zomba with financial assistance from Amplify Change, an organisation from the United Kingdom.

Continued: https://malawi24.com/2024/10/18/youths-urged-to-sensitise-people-on-srhr-unsafe-abortion/

Malawi – Safe Abortion Legalization Urged to Reduce Maternal Mortality

Oct 14, 2024
Malawi24

Authorities emphasize that legalising safe abortion can significantly reduce maternal mortality rates. Every year, countless women lose their lives to unsafe abortion procedures.

This comes as the world commemorated the International Safe Abortion Day on 28 September 2024.

Source: https://malawi24.com/2024/10/14/safe-abortion-legalization-urged-to-reduce-maternal-mortality/

Malawi – GAYO, Her Liberty engages media on unsafe abortions among young women

Sep 30, 2024
Raphael Likaka

Girls Activist Youth Organisation (GAYO) and Her Liberty say the media has a crucial role in reporting on challenges young women face after opting for unsafe abortion. The two organisations made the call during a day-long media orientation on unsafe abortion reporting among young women.

Her Liberty Project Manager, Kattie Mikwala, said many young women die due to unsafe abortions while some are leaving with serious problems following safe abortion. She observed that some young women take overdose drugs to terminate pregnancy while others use herbs, thereby resulting in serious complications to the extent of removing their uterus.

Continued: https://malawi24.com/2024/09/30/gayo-her-liberty-engages-media-on-unsafe-abortions-among-young-women/

30.09.2024

Girls Activist Youth Organisation Girls Activist Youth Organisation

Malawi: Enact Termination of Pregnancy Bill to Reduce Maternal Morbidity and Mortality

27 September 2024
Centre for Solutions Journalism (Blantyre)

Every year on September 28, Malawi joins the rest of the world in commemorating the global day of action for access to safe and legal abortion.

As we commemorate this year's International Safe Abortion Day, statistics from medical facilities regarding the number of women and girls experiencing complications from unsafe abortions show that the nation's abortion law, which was passed in the colonial era in 1930, is not only out of date but has also utterly failed to lower the number of unsafe abortions.

Continued: https://allafrica.com/stories/202409270375.html

27.09.2024

News

Centre for Solutions Journalism

International Safe Abortion Day

Maputo Protocol

maternal morbidity

maternal mortality

Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa

Malawi – Knowledge gap spurs unsafe abortion

Unsafe abortion is a silent killer in Malawi. If abortion was not criminalized then one Lucy Ibrahim could have been the happiest married woman.

September 7, 2024
Nyasa Times

The 49-year old woman living in the slum location of Goliyo in the populous township of Ndirande in Blantyre opted for unsafe abortion due to prevailing restrictive law.

The mother of three, was forced to seek unsafe abortion while happily married because she got an unplanned pregnancy after she was forced to stop using family planning methods.

Continued: https://www.nyasatimes.com/knowledge-gap-spurs-unsafe-abortion/

07.09.2024

Malawi – MPs need to engage constituents for the enactment of Termination of Pregnancy Bill

August 7, 2024
by Duncan Mlanjira

Abortion in one way is illegal but termination of pregnancy is legal – but it goes with it some restrictive conditions, which deny women and girls liberty to abort unplanned pregnancies and they resort to still go ahead through clandestine and unsafe abortion.

This has created a huge crisis in Malawi and from surveys done, each year, over 141,000 women and girls have abortions – almost all clandestine and the figure is likely to be higher because there are no records for those who successfully carried out the process.

Continued: https://www.nyasatimes.com/mps-need-to-engage-constituents-for-the-enactment-of-termination-of-pregnancy-bill/#google_vignette

07.08.2024

News

Brian Ligomeka

Centre for Solutions Journalism

clandestine abortions

Duncan Mlanjira

Ipas Malawi

maternal mortality

Termination of Pregnancy Bill

Malawi – Sexual reproductive health, abortion rights discussed in Salima

By Amelia Jones
July 11, 2024

Malawi Sexual Reproductive Health and Rights Alliance has asked the faith-based and traditional leaders of Salima to partner with them. The aim of the collaboration is to fight for communities to get access to Sexual Reproductive Health Rights (SRHR) and safe abortions.

They implored Salima-based traditional and faith-based leaders to promote access to safe abortion. Youth Programme Coordinator at Malawi Health Alliance, Gertrude Kapyepye reflected on the importance of the issue.

Continued: https://newsinvasion24.com/sexual-reproductive-health-abortion-rights-discussed-in-salima/

11.07.2024

News

Centre for Reproductive Rights

Geoffrey Mputa

Gertrude Kapyepye

Malawi Sexual Reproductive Health and Rights Alliance

sexual and reproductive rights and health

Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency

Malawi: Rape and Deaths From Unsafe Abortion – Malawi’s Horrifying Injustices

6 JUNE 2024
By Wina T. Sangala, Centre for Solutions Journalism (Blantyre)

The death of a 16-year-old girl following rape by a Kabaza (motorcycle taxi) operator, as reported by The Daily Times on February 5, 2024, calls for deep reflection and decisive action on Malawi's outdated abortion laws and how we are addressing gender-based violence.

Following the brutal rape, she became pregnant. She was not ready to keep the forced pregnancy, and after several failed attempts to get medical assistance, she died tragically following an unsafe abortion.

Continued: https://allafrica.com/stories/202406060158.html

06.06.2024

Malawi – Legal restrictions fail to stop unsafe abortions – COPUA

May 21, 2024

Despite current legal restrictions, unsafe abortions are still widespread in Malawi as over 100,000 abortions take place every year, country-wide.

Citing the research results by the College of Medicine and Guttmacher Institute which shows that over 141,000 abortions happened in Malawi in 2015 alone, Coalition for the Prevention of Unsafe Abortion (COPUA) Vice Chairperson, Dr Amos Nyaka wants the law process to continue.

Continued: https://www.nyasatimes.com/legal-restrictions-fail-to-stop-unsafe-abortions-copua/