Vera for women space,against death penalty

Veteran politician, lawyer and human rights campaigner Vera Chirwa has urged women in the country to stand up and demand enough space in decision-making processes.

She spoke yesterday at her residence in Blantyre after receiving the Pioneer for Human Rights Excellence Award from Centre for Human Rights Education, Advice and Assistance (Chreaa).

Chirwa said while things have relatively changed in terms of women empowerment compared to her time, it was still vital for women to become independent if their contribution to the country’s economic development will be counted.

The country’s first female lawyer also defended proponents of the abolition of death penalty, arguing many citizens globally have been innocently hanged for crimes committed by others.

She said: “Many accused persons have been tried and sentenced to death only to be revealed later that they were innocent. So,  death penalty is unlawful, a violation of the right to life, and the right not to be subjected to inhumane and degrading punishment.”

Chreaa executive director Victor Chagunyuka Mhango said they awarded Chirwa in recognition of the role she played in the country’s human rights activism.

He said: “We are also commemorating 75 years of Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), the declaration she set her organisation on. So this is an appreciation of her work in human rights activism.

“The recognition is also to remind government that Vera Chirwa did a lot for this country and she needs to be recognised while still alive, otherwise it appears we have forgotten her.”

Chirwa, who founded Malawi Centre for Advice Research and Education on Rights (Carer), has previously received several local and global medals for her human rights activism.

In 1998, she received the Geuzenpenning medal in The Netherlands while in 2002 she was honoured by Women Lawyers Association for being the first Malawian and woman special rapporteur of the African Commission on Human Rights.

Chirwa won the International Woman of the Year Award presented by the Regional Council of Aosta in Italy in 2005. 

She was a founding member of the Malawi Congress Party and the Nyasaland African Congress Women’s League and fought for multiparty democracy alongside her husband Orton, a former Minister of Justice and Attorney General.

The two were declared enemies of the State during the regime of former President Kamuzu Banda. They were charged with treason, tried and sentenced to death. Vera spent 12 years on death row before her release while Orton died in prison.