From Criminalization to Constitutional Clarity: A Defining Moment for Reproductive Rights in Africa

March 11, 2026

Across Africa, a series of transformative legal and policy wins signal a clear regional trajectory–the recognition of reproductive healthcare as a constitutional and human right, not a political or socioeconomic privilege.

From Rwanda to Zambia, Kenya to Malawi to Nigeria, courts and parliaments are reaffirming the message that women and girls must not be punished for exercising their reproductive rights, or denied the care they need.

But what makes these transformations different is not simply the number of legal wins–it is the clarity they provide. Across diverse legal systems and political contexts, the message is becoming harder to ignore: reproductive rights are enforceable rights grounded in constitutional guarantees, and inseparable from dignity, equality, and the right to health for all women and girls in Africa.

Continued: https://reproductiverights.org/news/a-defining-moment-for-reproductive-rights-in-africa/

Zambia – She was denied a legal abortion and sent to prison over an illegal one. Now she tells her story

By JACOB ZIMBA and GERALD IMRAY
February 16, 2026

LUSAKA, Zambia (AP) — She says she was let down at every step. By a partner who abandoned her when she was pregnant. By a health service that denied her a legal abortion. And by a justice system that sent her to a maximum-security prison for illegally terminating her pregnancy on her own.

Violet Zulu, a house cleaner in Zambia earning $40 a month, was sentenced to seven years in prison in 2024 after representing herself in court with little understanding of the consequences of her actions. She didn’t see her two children or other family members for nearly two years.

Continued: https://apnews.com/article/africa-abortion-zambia-prison-court-7008cfbc50b59229c764fbcd48c3adbb

16.02.2026

Commentary

abortion stigma

Center for Reproductive Rights

Rosemary Kirui

Sharon Williams

Violet Zulu

Women and Law in Southern Africa

Court Overturns Conviction, Affirms Reproductive Justice and Access to Abortion in Zambia

Center for Reproductive Rights
January 16, 2026

Today, the High Court of Zambia overturned the conviction of Violet Zulu and set her free from a 7-year prison sentence. Violet, a young single mother of two, was sentenced to seven years in prison for procuring her own abortion. This landmark decision corrects a grave miscarriage of justice and marks a significant step forward in the fight for women’s and girls’ rights to access reproductive health services in Zambia.

The Center for Reproductive Rights, together with Women and Law in Southern Africa (WLSA) Zambia, and the law firm of Musa Dudhia and Company Advocates (ALN Zambia), remained relentless in fighting for Violet’s release. In its judgment, the Court found that the decision of the lower court was unlawful and unjust, and that Violet’s rights were violated. The Court accordingly ordered her immediate release.

Continued: https://reproductiverights.org/news/court-overturns-conviction-affirms-reproductive-justice-access-abortion-zambia/

16.01.2026

News

Center for Reproductive Rights

High Court of Zambia

Rosemary Kirui

Sharon Williams

Termination of Pregnancy Act

Violet in Zambia

Women and Law in Southern Africa

Justice Denied: How Poverty Led Zambian Mother to Jail for Procuring an Abortion

December 11, 2025
Center for Reproductive Rights

LUSAKA — Justice is often described as blind, but for Violet Zulu, a 24-year-old domestic worker from Lusaka, it was also prohibitively expensive.

In January 2024, Violet was sentenced to seven years in prison. Her crime? Terminating a pregnancy she could not afford to carry, in a health care system she could not afford to access. Now, human rights organizations led by the Center for Reproductive Rights and WLSA Zambia are challenging that conviction in the High Court of Zambia.

Continued; https://reproductiverights.org/news/justice-denied-poverty-zambian-mother-jail-abortion/

11.12.2025

Commentary

Center for Reproductive Rights

jailing women for abortion

muleza

Termination of Pregnancy Act

Building climate-resilient reproductive health care in Zambia: Ipas’s on-the-job training innovation

Ipas
December 8, 2025

For nearly two decades, Ipas Zambia has worked closely with the Ministry of Health to reduce maternal deaths caused by unsafe abortion and to expand access to safe abortion services nationwide. However, despite the progress made, persistent and emerging challenges, including the growing impact of climate change, continue to affect sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR).

As climate-related disasters intensify globally, Zambia has been severely affected. The country has been experiencing adverse impacts for several years, including an increase in the frequency and severity of seasonal droughts, occasional dry spells, increased temperatures in valleys, flash floods, and changes in the growing season, according to the United Nations Development Programme. These extreme weather events often cut off communities from central health facilities, limiting women’s access to timely and essential reproductive health services.

Continued: https://www.ipas.org/news/building-climate-resilient-reproductive-health-care-in-zambia-ipass-on-the-job-training-innovation/

Ipas research shows hidden barriers to abortion access for adolescents in Africa

September 19, 2025
Ipas

When a 19-year-old in Ethiopia found herself pregnant, she made a chilling calculation. “I was sure [taking abortion pills] would either end the pregnancy or kill me,” she shared. “I preferred dying than my family hearing and getting angry with me.”

Her experience is captured along with that of many young people like her in powerful research exploring adolescent abortion care across Ethiopia, Malawi, and Zambia. Conducted by Ipas and partners—including the London School of Economics and partners across Africa—this groundbreaking study captures the voices and experiences of 313 adolescents seeking abortion-related care.

Continued: https://www.ipas.org/news/ipas-research-shows-hidden-barriers-to-abortion-access-for-adolescents-in-africa/

19.09.2025

Research

barriers to abortion access

Providing nonjudgmental and empathetic sexual and reproductive health services in Zambia

03 July 2025

Lusaka – To improve access to sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) services, including family planning and safe abortions, Zambia is training health workers in values clarification and attitude transformation (VCAT).

Adolescents and young people often face barriers when seeking family planning services or safe abortions at health facilities. These barriers can be rooted in stigma and discrimination, which foster disapproval and negative perceptions against people seeking or providing these services.

Continued: https://www.afro.who.int/countries/zambia/news/providing-nonjudgmental-and-empathetic-sexual-and-reproductive-health-services-zambia

03.07.2025

News

Danny Kasongo

Dr Clement Peter Lasuba

Dr Samson Chisele

Hamatanga Gwangai

Helen Mwape

Values Clarification and Attitude Transformation

The long-lasting impact of the Self-Management of Abortion Project

1 August 2024
FIGO

Following the inclusion of self-managed abortion in the updated 2022 WHO abortion guidelines, FIGO has been proud to partner with the Zambia Association of Gynaecologists & Obstetricians (ZAGO) over the past year to identify and remove barriers to the provision of self-management abortion in the country. As the Self-Management of Abortion project draws to a close, we take a moment to celebrate key achievements and reflect on its legacy.

Widening access to safe quality abortion care
Self-management of abortion (SMA) is a safe and affordable addition to existing abortion services provided within health facilities. It helps to provide care in a way that meets the needs of many women and girls who prefer to use medication abortion outside of a facility, increasing their privacy and autonomy.

Continued: https://www.figo.org/news/long-lasting-impact-self-management-abortion-project

01.08.2024

Commentary

FIGO

International Federation of Gynaecology and Obstetrics

self-managed abortion

self-management of abortion

SMA

Zambia Association of Gynecologists and Obstetricians

Removing barriers to access of safe abortion through self-management in Zambia

Recent international recommendations provided by the WHO (updated 2022 WHO Abortion Care Guidelines), state that in early pregnancy, medical abortion can be self-managed.

30 November 2023
FIGO

Enabling the option for self-managed abortion (SMA) can significantly improve access to safe, timely, affordable and person-centred abortion care. FIGO have been exploring different ways to support member societies to advocate for and operationalize SMA in their countries, as part of their work towards improving access to safe abortion services.

As part of this drive, FIGO have partnered with the Zambia Association of Gynaecologists and Obstetricians (ZAGO) to carry out a project aimed at mainstreaming self-managed abortion as an option for women and girls in Zambia.

Continued: https://www.figo.org/news/removing-barriers-access-safe-abortion-through-self-management-zambia

30.11.2023

Commentary

Dr Swebby Macha

FIGO

International Federation of Gynaecology and Obstetrics

Safe Abortion Advocacy Group

self-managed abortion

Self-Managed Abortion Advocacy project

Zambia Association of Gynecologists and Obstetricians

Why Civic Engagement for Abortion Advocacy Matters

8/24/2023
by EVE BRECKER

Last year, Americans lost their federal right to abortion, despite polls that suggest favorable public opinion for abortion access is as high as 85 percent. In a country where legislation is supposed to reflect the demands of its people, this dissonance with public opinion is outrageous.

After all, democracy hinges on effective civic engagement: mechanisms that enable the public to express their concerns, and individual and collective actions designed to address these issues. While polls show the majority of the American public consistently supports abortion rights, 24 states have passed abortion bans so far. Given this landscape and the failure of our country to adopt laws that are widely supported, we must look outside the U.S. for models of strong civic engagement in order to restore abortion rights here at home.

Continued: https://msmagazine.com/2023/08/24/abortion-support-civic-engagement-advocacy-ban-laws/