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Politics of Malawi takes place in a framework of a presidential representative democratic republic,whereby the President of Malawi is both head of state and head of government,and of a multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the National Assembly. There is a cabinet of Malawi that is appointed by the President of Malawi. The judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature.
Raising Malawi is a charity non-profit organization that was founded by Madonna and Michael Berg in 2006. It is dedicated to helping with the extreme poverty and hardship endured by Malawi's one million orphans,primarily through health and education programming. Initially,the "Raising Malawi Academy for Girls" was to be constructed but following an audit by the Global Philanthropy Group,which questioned expenditure on salaries and benefits as well as the management capacity and culture,the charity's school headmistress resigned in October 2010 and the project was scrapped.
Lesbian,gay,bisexual,and transgender (LGBT) people in Malawi face legal challenges not experienced by non-LGBT residents. Both male and female expressions of same-sex sexual activity are illegal within the nation. The Penal Code prohibits "carnal knowledge against the order of nature",attempts to commit "carnal knowledge against the order of nature",and acts of "gross indecency".
Anjimile Mtila-Oponyo is a Malawian development worker and education administrator. She has worked in education administration for the World Bank,International Monetary Fund and the United Nations Development Program where they built schools in Lebanon. She received international attention when she was selected as CEO and head of the Raising Malawi Academy for Girls in Malawi. She is currently a principal secretary in the Ministry of Education in Malawi.
The history of human rights in Malawi during recent decades is complicated,and the situation at present is in a state of dramatic,and positive,transition.
Malawi is primarily a source country for men,women,and children subjected to trafficking in persons,specifically conditions of forced labor and forced prostitution within the country and abroad. Most Malawian trafficking victims are exploited internally,though Malawian victims of sex and labor trafficking have also been identified in South Africa,Zambia,Mozambique,Tanzania,and parts of Europe. To a lesser extent,Malawi is a transit point for foreign victims and a destination country for men,women,and children from Zambia,Mozambique,Tanzania,and Zimbabwe subjected to conditions of forced labor or commercial sexual exploitation. Within the country,some children are forced into domestic servitude,cattle herding,agricultural labor,and menial work in various small businesses. Exploited girls and women become "bar girls" at local bars and rest houses where they are coerced to have sex with customers in exchange for room and board. Forced labor in agriculture is often found on tobacco plantations. Labor traffickers are often villagers who have moved to urban areas and subsequently recruit children from their original villages through offers of good jobs. Brothel owners or other prostitution facilitators lure girls with promises of nice clothing and lodging. Upon arrival,they charge the girl high rental fees for these items and instruct her how to engage in prostitution to pay off the debt. South African and Tanzanian long-distance truck drivers and mini-bus operators move victims across porous borders by avoiding immigration checkpoints. Some local businesswomen who also travel regularly to neighboring countries to buy clothing for import have been identified as traffickers. Reports of European tourists paying for sex with teenage boys and girls continue.
Vera Mlangazua Chirwa is a Malawian born lawyer and human and civil rights activist. She was Malawi's first female lawyer and a founding member of the Malawi Congress Party and the Nyasaland African Women's League. She fought for multiparty democratic rule in Malawi and was charged with treason,tried and sentenced to death by President Kamuzu Banda. She spent 12 years on death row. She was married to lawyer Orton Chirwa,Malawian Minister of Justice and Attorney General,who later died in prison.
Julia Sebutinde is a Ugandan jurist. She is currently serving her second term on the International Court of Justice (ICJ) following her re-election on 12 November 2020. She also is the current chancellor of Muteesa I Royal University,a university owned by Buganda kingdom. She has been a judge on the court since March 2012. She is the first African woman to sit on the ICJ. Before being elected to the ICJ,Sebutinde was a judge of the Special Court for Sierra Leone. She was appointed to that position in 2007. On February 6,2024,Julia Sebutinde was elected Vice-President of the International Court of Justice.
Annie Chikhwaza is a Dutch missionary known as a 'Mother of Malawi' for her work with orphans in Africa through Kondanani Children's Village,an NGO,which has been called "a five star orphanage" and "a centre of excellence" in a Channel 4 documentary. Many of the orphans are survivors of HIV/AIDS and Chikhwaza has built a village at Bvumbwe in Thyolo District of Malawi which includes an infant care facility,children's homes,nursery school,primary school and farm.
Justice Renate Winter is an Austrian judge to the Special Court for Sierra Leone,and an expert on family law,juvenile justice systems,women’s justice issues and child labour. She is a founding member of the International Institute for the Rights of the Child (IDE) which is dedicated to the worldwide training of judicial personnel and dissemination of information on children’s rights and former president of the International Association of Youth and Family Court Judges.
Prostitution in Malawi is legal and prevalent around hotels and bars in urban and tourist areas. Living off the proceeds of prostitution is illegal. In 2015,it was estimated there were 20,000 sex workers in the country.
The Judiciary of Malawi is the branch of the Government of Malawi which interprets and applies the laws of Malawi to ensure equal justice under law and to provide a mechanism for dispute resolution. The legal system of Malawi is based on English law,modified since 1969. The Constitution defines the judiciary as a hierarchical system of courts,with the highest court being a Supreme Court of Appeal,together with a High Court and a number of magistrates' courts. Malawian judiciary has frequently demonstrated its independence in recent years. The constitutional court of Malawi nullified the 2019 election results,citing widespread irregularities. The Supreme court upheld the verdict of the constitutional court. Five Constitutional Court judges who overturned the results of the 2019 election have been nominated by the UK thinktank Chatham House for the 2020 Chatham House Prize. Ultimately the judges went onto win the prize.
The Judiciary of Sierra Leone is the branch of the Government of the Republic of Sierra Leone which interprets and applies the laws of Sierra Leone to ensure impartial justice under law and to provide a mechanism for dispute resolution. The independence of the judiciary is guaranteed by the constitution.
Tujilane Rose Chizumila is a Malawian lawyer and jurist who was appointed to the African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights for a six-year term in 2017.
Chanju Samantha Mwale is a Malawian lawyer and army officer. She was the first female lawyer in the Malawian Defence Force and in 2016 became the first female officer of the Malawian Army to be promoted to the rank of lieutenant-colonel. She was transferred to a research role in 2016,a move she alleged was illegal and took to the Malawi High Court. The court did not hear the case and Mwale chose to retire from the army.
Amymusu K. Jones was a Liberian jurist and the first woman appointed magistrate of the Monrovia Magisterial Court in 1994,and was the longest circuit judge of Grand Cape Mount County. She retired from service in 2018 and died 30 days later.
Capital punishment in Malawi is a legal punishment for certain crimes. The country abolished the death penalty by a Malawian Supreme Court ruling in 2021,but it was soon reinstated. However,the country is currently under a death penalty moratorium,which has been in place since the latest execution in 1992.
Miatta Maria Samba is a Sierra Leonian jurist and current Judge at the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague,Netherlands. Before she was a judge for the Residual Special Court and Supreme Court of Sierra Leone.
Madonna has been known for her philanthropic endeavors,activism and political commentaries. She began as one of the first mainstream musicians to advocate in response to the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the 1980s. Throughout her career,Madonna has advocated and supporting different causes including human rights,such as women's and LGBT rights. She has used her social media channels to motivate her followers and raise awareness about various social concerns. Since her early career,Madonna has defined that with her fame comes the responsibility to be a spokesperson.
References
- 1 2 Luxner, Larry (2022-11-01). "Malawi's Esme Jynet Chombo: From magistrate to ambassador". Washington Diplomat. Retrieved 2024-01-21.
- 1 2 Bhabha, Jacqueline (2014). Child Migration and Human Rights in a Global Age. Princeton University Press. pp. 96–134. ISBN 978-0-691-14360-6. JSTOR j.ctt5hhrwz.
- 1 2 3 4 "Board". AGE Africa. Retrieved 2024-01-21.
- 1 2 3 "Amb. Esme Jynet Chombo". MN Africans United. Retrieved 2024-01-21.
- 1 2 "Ambassador". Malawi Embassy USA. Retrieved 2024-01-21.
- ↑ "Judge rejects Madonna's adoption efforts in Malawi". CBC News. April 3, 2009.
- ↑ "Judge adopts a hard line". The Spokesman-Review. 2009-04-04. Retrieved 2024-01-21.
- ↑ Gabriel, Mary 2023, “Madonna, a Rebel Life” Little, Brown and Company.