Punitive abortion laws dim Malawian girls’ future

During her first-year at one of Malawi’s public universities, Linda (not real name) was raped by her lecturer.

She was only 19 at the time.

But the ordeal remains traumatising till to date for Linda.

“I was staying with my aunt and I was excited to have gotten into a public university,” explains Linda.

“All I ever wanted to do was focus on my studies so that at the end of everything, I should make my family proud.”

Sadly, in her very first weeks of higher education, she was raped by one of her lecturers who had been pestering her.

“It was an encounter that still haunts me,” she says.

A month later, Linda missed her period.

The unfortunate encounter with the beleaguered lecturer resulted in pregnancy.

She didn’t want to keep it; after all she was young and wanted to pursue her education.

Linda’s family was unaware of the sad scenario.

After thoroughly thinking about the situation, Linda opted to visit a public health facility to access safe abortion.

According to Section 19 of the Gender Equality Act, the right to safe and legal termination of pregnancy is guaranteed in situations involving sexual violence.

Similarly, the National Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) Policy states that safe abortion shall be provided in accordance with what the law stipulates.

And while the law restricts safe abortion, Section 243 of the Penal Code makes an exemption that it can only be procured when either the life or health of a woman is in danger.

Reads the section: “A person is not criminally responsible for performing in good faith and with reasonable care and skill a surgical operation upon any person for his benefit, or upon an unborn child for the preservation of the mother’s life, if the performance of the operation is reasonable, having regard to the patient’s state at the time, and to all the circumstances of the case.”

Article 14 (2) (c) of the African Union’s 2003 Maputo Protocol, which Malawi is a signatory to, on the other hand, provides direction as regards abortion.

“State parties shall take appropriate measures to protect the reproductive health rights of women by authorising medical abortion in cases of sexual assault, rape, incest, and where the continued pregnancy endangers the mental and physical health of the mother or the life of the mother or the foetus,” reads Article 14 (2) (c) of the Maputo Protocol.

While Linda made up her mind to procure a safe abortion from a taxpayer-funded public health facility amid lack of knowledge of what the law says, she had no idea of the resistance she would meet from the healthcare workers.

“I tried explaining to them my situation but they insisted that they would not help me safely abort,” she says. “I pleaded with them.”

The healthcare workers were willing to assist only if she had gone to the police.

But their conduct was contrary to what a 2021 High Court of Malawi ruling by Judge Mzonde Mvula stated, which highlighted that girls and women seeking abortion should present their case before a doctor and explain conditions they are in.

The ruling, which followed a court case pursued by a 15-year-old minor who was sexually abused and became pregnant but was refused to safely abort at Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital, stated that the doctor would then review the request prior to making a decision.

But Linda, as young as she was, had no idea of all this; hence, failed to convince the healthcare workers to assist her.

And in the midst of pressure building up, she was afraid of going to the police as suggested by the healthcare workers.

“I was scared,” she says. “I couldn’t go. I was young and naïve.”

Linda was not left with another safe option rather than seek unconventional methods.

She was in a fix.

“I was desperate so I decided to use an unconventional method after a friend suggested,” she explains.

But when Linda went back home, sadly, she started bleeding. This was when her aunt found out.

When she was taken to a public hospital, doctors had to remove her womb to save her from the complications that followed as a result of the unsafe abortion.

“This means I will never have children,” she says.

Linda got sick for a long time, eventually dropping out of school. She never returned to class.

The situation Linda went through mirrors the dilemma many girls go through when they want to seek safe abortion from public health facilities.

This is regardless of how they got pregnant, for instance, through rape, defilement or incest; hence, seeking alternative unconventional methods for terminating the pregnancy.

Such unsafe abortions, according to official statistics, show that they account for nearly 20 percent of maternal deaths.

But what seems to be light at the end of the tunnel as regards the situation is a High Court of Malawi’s landmark ruling which compelled the Malawi Government to amend abortion-related guidelines, making it explicit that girls who become pregnant due to defilement have the right to decide whether to carry the pregnancy or not.

The October 28 2025 High Court of Malawi ruling further directed that the Attorney General should work with the Ministry of Health and Population to draft the guidelines within a 180-day period starting from the date of the ruling.

Following the court directive, a committee comprising medical experts and lawyers from Malawi’s Ministry of Justice and the Attorney General’s office was formed to look into, and draft the guidelines.

Attorney General Frank Farouk Mbeta says the guidelines were amended but await other formalities.

He says: “The consultation process has been completed and we have some draft guidelines. Right now, we are just waiting for vetting and formalities.”

Once the guidelines are implemented, they will remove legal uncertainty among healthcare workers, subsequently compelling them to perform safe abortions.

Nyale Institute executive Dr. Godfrey Kangaude says it is deeply concerning when girls are denied access to lawful abortion services, especially when the pregnancy results from rape, defilement or incest.

He says Malawian courts have clarified that abortion is lawful where a pregnancy poses a risk to the life of the pregnant person, and that life includes both physical and mental health.

Kangaude argues that the courts, therefore, have confirmed that such circumstances can justify access to a lawful abortion, adding that the challenge is ensuring that this legal position is understood and implemented consistently across the health system.

“One of the biggest challenges has been stigma. Abortion is often treated primarily as a moral issue which can create fear and uncertainty among both patients and health providers,” he says.

“As a result, many girls and women who are legally entitled to services struggle to access them. Experience from around the world shows that stigma does not stop abortions from happening. Instead, it pushes them underground.”

Kangaude says girls and women with financial means or access to private networks are often able to obtain safer services while the poor and vulnerable face the greatest risk.

The result, according to Kangaude, is not fewer abortions but greater inequality and more preventable harm.

Kangaude adds that when girls are denied lawful health services, the consequences can be severe.

“They may be forced to continue the pregnancies resulting from sexual violence, leave school, experience emotional trauma, face social stigma or resort to unsafe methods that endanger their health and lives,” he says.

Malawi has a contentious Termination of Pregnancy Bill which members of Parliament (MP’s) blocked in 2021.

If the Bill is to be re-tabled in Parliament and MPs pass it into law, it would mean women and girls would be free to access safe abortion whenever they would feel like not keeping it.

The post Punitive abortion laws dim Malawian girls’ future appeared first on Nation Online.