Lilongwe,
Dozens
of women took to the streets of Malawi’s capital on Monday to protest
against sexual violence after a series of alleged police assaults on
women last year.
About 90 protesters,
most of them women, marched through Lilongwe in silence to mark She
Decides Day - a global movement launched in 2017 after organisations
that talk about abortion were barred from receiving US government
funding.
“I’m here because I am against men raping women each and every day,” said Eunice Kachimela, a 13-year-old student from Lilongwe.
“My friend was raped and we took the case to court, which made me so passionate. We need to speak up so things can change.”
Chimwemwe
Mlombwa, one of the organizers, said some of the protesters chanted a
traditional saying that translates as “every girl has a right to decide,
don’t ruin her future simply because she is a girl”.
The march comes amid a rise in feminist
activism in Malawi, where rape is widespread, but rarely reported due to
stigma, lack of access to the judicial system and a cultural
normalization of sexual abuse.
But
the issue burst into the open last year when a number of women and girls
accused the police of sexually assaulting them during violence that
followed a disputed presidential election in May.
Malawi’s
Women Lawyers Association has filed an application for a judicial
review, arguing that a “failure to investigate promptly and take action
against perpetrators violates the women’s constitutional rights”.
Police
spokesman James Kadadzera said via WhatsApp message the force was
currently investigating complaints from 17 women. “Everybody should be
assured that we are doing all we can to make sure we finalize the
investigations,” he said.
Among the
protesters on Monday were a small number of female sex workers including
Chiletseo Chakungu, 45, who arrived with traditional chitenje (African
print fabric) wrapped around her waist and a skirt and fishnet stockings
underneath.
“I had to wrap this
around me because otherwise I would have been booed or harassed at the
vendors’ market on my way here,” said Chakungu. “But I like wearing this
and it’s my choice.”
- Thomson Reuters Foundation
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