Wilsa Malawi opens legal clinic in KK

Women in Law in Southern Africa (Wilsa) Malawi has opened a legal clinic in Nkhotakota where women will access legal services and representation free of charge.

Wilsa Malawi national director Mzati Mbeko disclosed this on Tuesday during the introduction of Mitigating the Impact of Climate Change by Promoting Gender Equality Among Farming Families’ Project to Nkhotakota District Executive (DEC) members.

Mbeko explained that Malawi has good gender- related laws, but it is unfortunate that women do not know such laws. He said the clinic will help women realise, understand and follow the laws accordingly.

“We want to disseminate and popularise the gender related laws that were enacted in 2000. The laws, such as Gender Equality Act, Prevention of Domestic Violence Act, Marriage Divorce and Family Relations Act, were created for the people; hence, there is no wisdom in keeping these laws in our offices,” he said.

He highlighted that Wilsa will also be representing the victimised women in court.

The director told the DEC members that the idea for the project came about after realising that they failed to meet women whenever they called for a meeting because the majority were busy addressing issues of climate change such as fetching water for domestic purposes from a distance because the old water sources had dried up.

Women in Nkhotakota expressed gratitude at the provision of knowledge on gender-related laws and the provision of free legal services by Wilsa, saying their ignorance on such matters was disadvantaging them.