Human Rights Watch (HRW) has deplored the human rights situation in Malawi, saying it remains challenging with limited progress recorded in 2024.
According to the HRW 2025 report released on January 25 2025, major areas of concern include anti-homosexuality laws, restrictions on abortion through failure to enact the Termination of Pregnancy Bill, sexual exploitation of girls, including early pregnancies and marriages, and inadequate funding to the health sector.
But on a positive note, the report has hailed Malawi for moving to address violence and abuse against older people and to safeguard older people’s rights and welfare through the enactment of the Older Persons Law in June 2024.
The report said anti-homosexuality laws contravene several regional and international human rights treaties that Malawi has ratified, and the situation is worsened by the June 2024 Constitutional Court ruling which rejected legalisation of same-sex relationships.
Reads the report : “The government has not enacted the Termination of Pregnancy Bill and would regulate abortion and clarify the instances in which it is allowed. Consequently, women and girls are forced to resort to unsafe abortion, which is responsible for 17 percent of maternal mortality in the country and even more morbidity.”
Malawi is also blamed for not developing mechanisms to follow up on and keep track of students who dropout of school, including due to pregnancy or marriage, with the aim of initiating their return to school.
Some girls are also said to be facing sexual exploitation by adults in exchange for money to buy school materials, with other parents from low-income households allegedly encouraging their adolescent daughters to marry for economic reasons.
In an interview yesterday, National Advocacy Platform (NAP) chairperson Benedicto Kondowe said the report highlights critical human rights concerns that require urgent attention.
He said while Malawi has made prog res s i n safeguarding older people’s rights, the persistent challenges in education, reproductive health, and child protection remain deeply concerning.
Said Kondowe: “The lack of structured mechanisms to track and reintegrate school dropouts, coupled with restrictive laws on abortion and rising cases of child exploitation, undermine efforts to promote gender equality and access to education.
“Addressing these issues requires a stronger policy framework, increased funding, and a commitment to ensuring that all individuals, especially vulnerable groups, have their rights fully protected.”
But Minister of Information and Digitisation Moses Kunkuyu, who is also chief government spokesperson, said the report in some cases faults the country’s constitutionality.
He said: “Anything that is unconstitutional will in any law-abiding country remain in conflict with anyone or any grouping that has a different wish. Malawi has been commended for upholding rule of law which is as a result of our devoted adherence to the Constitution.
“Any t h i ng that has been mentioned that is not allowed in the Constitution cannot be considered a challenge but rather an area for continued discussion. Government remains committed to upholding people’s rights in alignment with the country’s Constitution.”
In 2023, Malawi Human Rights Commission expressed concern with the country’s human rights situation and asked Parliament to take up its oversight role to monitor and ensure compliance to international human rights obligations.
In a report dated May 10 2023 submitted to the Legal Affairs Committee of Parliament, the commission singled out the response to Cyclone Freddy, implementation of the Access to Information law, poor prison conditions and public appointments as some of the issues requiring attention.
