Malawi Parliament Passes Gender Equality Bill

Anita Kalinde, Minister of Social Welfare in Malawi. , a photo by Pan-African News Wire File Photos on Flickr.

Thursday, 28 February 2013 07:04

Malawi Parliament passes Gender Equality Bill
Written by Vincent Khonje

Gender minister Anita Kalinde praised lawmakers for unanimously passing the gender equality bill into law

Malawi legislators unanimously endorsed a Gender Equality bill on Wednesday, which seeks, among other things, to empower women to have the right to decide whether to have a child or not.

The lawmakers passed the Bill into law after it was presented in the house.

The new law seeks to promote family planning and is part of the government’s affirmative action to end discrimination against women.

The MPs’ majority vote for the bill prompted Gender Minister Anita Kalinde to praise the lawmakers for empowering women.

“For the first time I saw men rising up and supporting women that was a positive development.. and I want to thank them,” said Kalinde.

“The country can only development if there is equality between men and women. But as you can see, women are marginalized. So this is like an affirmative action to seal the gap that is there between men and women.”

Despite, the lawmakers overwhelmingly passing the bill, some of them had expressed reservation on the legalization of abortion in the country, which is part of the law.

The bill’s section on section on Sexual Reproductive Health Rights promotes abortion, which is illegal in the country, said DPP MP Wictor Sanjeni said

According to Sajeni the bill was welcome, but said the issue of abortion cannot be supported and called upon government to remove the part.

“Sexual reproduction is already supported by other laws and initiatives and we cannot accept the legitimization of this immoral act,” said Sajeni

Other Mps also expressed reservations on the sexual reproduction, noting that similar concerns were raised during consultation period.

But Kalinde played down the fears saying the bill is not legalizing abortion in the country.

“There were some questions from MPs asking if the bill is legalizing abortion, but I want to assure them and the general public that this bill is not legalizing abortion,” said Kalinde.

Meanwhile, gender activists have hailed the passing of the bill into law, saying it will significantly promote women’s rights.