Pamoja Project Boosts Sexual and Reproductive Health Knowledge
Centre for Human Rights and Rehabilitation (CHRR), another partner in the Pamoja Project, among others, trained journalists and conducted a social media campaign.
BLANTYRE, Malawi—Unsafe abortions are one of the major public health problems haunting women and girls. The statistics speak for themselves. Every year, over 141,000 women and girls in Malawi induce abortion. While in the past, the veil of silence completely masked debate on abortion, the situation is different courtesy of a multimedia project called Pamoja, writes Josephine Chinele.
Every Thursday evening, 28-year-old Alinafe Banda from Mkwanda Village in Chiradzulu tunes into Times Radio without fail. She eagerly follows the captivating story of Fupa Lokakamiza, which revolves around themes of love, faith, culture, and reproductive health and rights.
Fupa Lokakamiza, which translates to 'the bone forced into the clay pot will break it', has garnered a massive audience of approximately three million listeners. Broadcast on state-run Malawi Broadcasting Corporation (MBC) Radio 1 on Mondays and Times Radio on Thursdays, this drama series has become a staple in many households.
The storyline of Fupa Lokakamiza follows the journey of a mischievous college student named Mavuto, who falls for Linda, a devout Christian at the same college. As Mavuto navigates his feelings for Linda, the drama delves into important topics such as one-stop centres for survivors of assaults and gender-based violence.
Characters like Mayeso provide valuable information on legal issues surrounding marriage age and the consequences of engaging in romantic relationships with minors. Through the character of Mavuto, the series also explores the intersection of culture, superstition, and personal beliefs.
Overall, Fupa Lokakamiza serves as a powerful tool for educating and engaging audiences on crucial sexual and reproductive health issues, including access to safe and legal abortion.
Through the Pamoja Project community members like Alinafe Banda now get accurate information on access to comprehensive sexual and reproductive health and rights.
“Every Thursday, I do not miss to listen to my favourite radio drama series, Fupa Lokakamiza. The intriguing story of the mischievous student Mavuto and the pious Linda is not just about entertainment. It is also a platform to learn about contraceptives, laws and the new Termination of Pregnancy Bill,” she says.
The Story-Line
Through his sweet-talk, Mavuto, still posing as a born-again Christian, brings in the issue of culture and superstition as he secretly visits a witch doctor to get a love potion.
Linda unknowingly gives the food laced with the ‘love portion’ to her friend Jude, Mavuto’s sworn enemy, leading to an unexpected outcome.
As the story progresses, Mavuto administers sleeping drugs in Linda’s food and rapes her. Linda realizes she is pregnant as a result of the rape.
Jude quizzes: “Will you keep the pregnancy and ruin the reputation of the entire Christian fellowship of this college? Will your religious parents accept you to tarnish their reputation because of your unplanned pregnancy? Will you accept to drop out of college because of the pregnancy resulting from rape?”
Linda weeps: ‘I am in a big dilemma. My faith tells me to keep the pregnancy, but the massive damage the pregnancy will cause to myself, my family and the fellowship dictates that I should terminate it.”
What then really happened? The story continues.
Dilemma
The problem of having an unplanned pregnancy that Linda is mulling over is not unique to her as a character in a play, but it is the painful reality of most women and girls in Malawi.
Research by the College of Medicine, a constituent institution of the Kamuzu University of Health Sciences, affirms the assertion that women and girls in Malawi have no choice but to procure clandestine abortions due to the country’s restrictive laws.
“In Malawi, an estimated 141,000 abortions were performed in 2015. This number translates to a rate of 38 abortions per 1,000 women aged 15–49,” reads the research report by the College of Medicine and Guttmacher Institute released in 2017.
The report titled Incidence of induced abortion in Malawi reads in part, "With Malawi, abortion rates vary widely by region, from 29 per 1,000 women in the Central region to 61 in the Northern region.”
Brian Ligomeka, Team Leader for the Centre for Solutions Journalism, says his organization, alongside several others, is part of a consortium that is breaking the silence on unsafe abortion through the implementation of Pamoja Project in Malawi.
“The Pamoja Project aims to compliment the government’s aspiration that no single woman or girl should die because of pregnancy-related-related causes.
Through effective communication on access to comprehensive sexual and reproductive health and rights, Pamoja Project partners in Malawi are contributing to the reduction of maternal morbidities and mortality.
Success
“The biggest success we have achieved so far is taking key messages to sexual and reproductive health listeners through drama series to the masses... The positive feedback we are receiving from listeners through SMS, our Facebook page, and through radio listening club members is assuring us of the progress being made,” says Ligomeka.
He adds that the responses to the weekly questions posed during the broadcast of the radio drama series demonstrate the audience’s comprehension of key messages embedded in each drama series episode.
Another partner in Pamoja Project, Nyale Institute, says the project has enhanced a fertile ground for abortion law reform advocacy.
Nyale Institute Programmes Manager, Temwa Chipaza says the organisation has engaged law and medical students on the criminalisation of adolescent sexuality under Section 138 of the Penal Code and held a Moot Court on safe abortion.
“The Moot Court allowed the students to creatively engage with the abortion law and analyse how it undermines human rights,” he said.
Another implementing partner, Theatre for Change, effected the ‘Fupa Lokakamiza’ campaign through interactive radio drama, radio broadcasts, and corresponding community radio listening clubs, challenging the listener's knowledge and attitudes through its implementation from April to August 2024.
The organisation implemented the project in the central region districts of Kasungu, Dowa, Nkhotakota, Salima, Dedza, Mchinji, Lilongwe Rural East, West, and Urban.
Theatre for Change’s Senior Radio and Communications Officer, Henry Kambuzuma says they trained 67 agents of change who assisted in the establishment of 35 community radio listeners’ clubs.
“The community radio listening club sessions’ attendance was impressive, considering the sensitivity of the thematic area and the resistance from individuals.”
Centre for Human Rights and Rehabilitation (CHRR), another partner in the Pamoja Project, among others, trained journalists and conducted a social media campaign.
“We engaged editors on how they can professionally report on issues of access to safe abortion in their media outlets,” explained Michael Kaiyatsa, the executive director of CHRR
He said through social media messages, CHRR has fostered conversations about issues of unsafe abortion in Malawi and the need for law reform.