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Professional women working in media and communications in Malawi have organized demonstrations in two different cities to protest against the increasing incidence of rape, particularly of young children.
Wearing purple outfits and banners with messages condemning rape, women under the umbrella of the Association of Women in the Media (Awome) held demonstrations in the capital, Lilongwe, and in the southern city of Blantyre.
A third rally did not take place in the northern city of Mzuzu due to what organizers said were logistical challenges.
In Lilongwe, the women walked 5 km (3 miles) and ended up at the city hall, where they petitioned Mayor Juliana Gondwe Kaduya.
The women said in their petition that they have come across heartbreaking stories of what many women and girls have been through at the hands of men who behave as if they have no control over their sexual feelings.
“Women in general are becoming increasingly defenseless on these issues, even when they are supposed to be protected by both local and international legal instruments,” the petition reads in part.
Sexual violence against women and girls is a major challenge in Malawi, with official statistics showing that more than 400 cases of sexual violence were reported to the police between April and June 2020.
Awome has demanded that the penalties for perpetrators of sexual violence be increased and that sexual abuse cases be tried in the High Court.
“We want harsher sentences, up to life imprisonment as prescribed in the penal code,” the women demanded in their petition, adding that those who protect sexual offenders must also be proactively prosecuted in accordance with the law.
Source: BBC
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