Malawi is one of the Southern African country with high mortality rate as its using 164 years archaic law which impinge on women’s proper access to sexual reproductive health services such as safe abortion when are trapped into unwanted pregnancies.
The current, SAFAIDS policy brief indicates that Malawi’s is one of the highest rates of unsafe abortion such that 98% of the unsafe abortions occur in the developing world (which Malawi belongs) while 60% of the unsafe abortion occurs in developed nations in Africa.
Therefore, Section 149 of Malawi’s penal code which says any person who, with intent to procure a miscarriage of a woman, whether she is or is not with child, unlawfully administers to her or causes her to take any poison or other noxious thing, or uses any force of any kind, or uses any other means whatever, shall be guilty of a felony and shall be liable to imprisonment for fourteen years.
While the same law in section 151 of the penal code also says that any person who unlawfully supplies to or procures for any person any thing whatever, knowing that it is intended to be unlawfully used to procure the miscarriage of a woman, whether she is or is not with child, shall be guilty of a felony and shall be liable to imprisonment for three years.
This is the reason Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), traditional leaders, Members of Parliament (MPs) and medical experts have called for speedy review of Section 149 of Malawi’s penal code to serve interests of many women who are entangled with such archaic laws.
There is a general view that law need for an impromptu review if indeed government is serious in tackling high women maternal mortality rate.
Margret Ali, NGO Gender Coordinating Network (NGO-GCN)’s board member says
law is contributing heavily towards the high maternal mortality rate because it does not give freedom to women to access abortion services.
“What happens is that due the ambiguity of the law women use sharp objects such as spokes, cassava stems, and dangerous chemicals to abort their pregnancies,” Said Ali.
Adding his voice for the call to enactment of the law to suit the current situation, Senior Traditional Authority Mthwalo of Mzimba district as a highly credited for championing maternal health said traditional leaders are ready to mobilize their subjects and support the bill.
“We have been hearing that abortion bill is under review but we need to see the bill and move forward. Therefore, whoever is seating on the bill to come out openly and finish the process of consultation”, said Inkosi Mthwalo.
On the part of medical expert, there is also great fears that many women and young girls will continue loosing their lives due to unsafe abortion which according to Kamuzu Central Hospital based experienced Gynaecologist, Dr Grace Chiudzu says 30 % of all gynaecology admissions are abortion related cases and contributes 17 % mortality rate.
“Despite the fight that Malawi is using outdated law, abortion still takes place in various forms.
They use various things ranging from those taken orally like surf, quinine, to ones inserted in the private parts like cassava sticks and sharp objects like knives.
“Due to this women suffer complications and some of the abortions complications include loss of uterus and sterility, infertility, urinary incontinence, poor wound healing, loss of productivity and psychological damage that government is losing a lot of money due to post care abortions”, outlines, Dr Chiudzu.
Coalition of Prevention of Unsafe Abortion (CoPUA), an organisation advocating for the adoption of the abortion law in Malawi shares the same sentiments that Malawian women are dying because access to legal abortion is very restricted as such they opt for unsafe abortion.
Chrispine Gwalawala Sibande, CoPUA’s Executive Director revealed that the 2009 Sexual and Reproductive Health Policy stipulates that service providers in public and private sector must provide or refer for safe abortion to the fullest extent of the laws of Malawi all women deemed to require or requesting the termination of their pregnancies.
“Paragraph 3.2.2.9 of the phrase ‘fullest extent of the Laws in Malawi’ is making situation more difficult for the women and its unfortunate that only Malawi is tumbling on the matter and yet all neighbouring countries have already changed the archaic laws to suit the modern standards of life”, lamented Sibande.
In her take, Esther Mcheka Chilenje Nkhoma, the First Deputy Speaker of Malawi’s National Assembly said Members of Parliament (MPs) do not have any problem passing the bill into the law however; however Mcheka is asking traditional leaders and other stake holders to sensitize the local community at village levels.
“As a country we can’t be using a 164 year old law, we are calling upon Malawi Law Commission to speed up reviewing the law. It’s high time the country like Malawi could have such a bill passed into the law then move forward”, appeals Nkhoma
Minister of Health Spokesperson, Henry Chimbali confirmed that abortion Malawi health service providers do not provide abortion services unless the life of the woman is in danger saying medical doctor can only determine if the woman’s life is indeed in danger.
Therefore, it’s up to Malawi’s legislators to fast track the abortion bill enactment into the law to save women and girls from unsafe abortion complications which lead to untimely deaths.
