Malawians say no to abortion, homosexuality: hundreds take to the streets to celebrate ‘life and family’

Malawians set aside religious affiliation to take to the streets on the morning of Tuesday, 6 December 2016, to march in what they dubbed a ‘celebration of life and family’.

With members of almost all the religions in the country, the parade was conducted in the country’s main cities of Blantyre, Lilongwe, Mzuzu and Zomba.

The parade was organised by the Episcopal Council of Malawi (ECM) and the Evangelical Association of Malawi (EAM), Christian bodies who have expressed that they are dismayed by the attack on family and life.

The bodies were irked by rumours that government will be tabling a bill on abortion.

The bill on abortion has stirred debate in Malawi social circles with critics saying that it aims to make killing of unborn children easy while its proponents have mostly argued that the bill will make abortion safer for women.

Popularly called the legalization of abortion, the bill which government denies will be tabled in Parliament soon has seen fierce exchange of ideas and insults on the social media.

The Church in the country however to express itself on the bill decided to mobilise its members to protest against the tabling of the bill.

The street protests today drew participants from most Christian denominations in the country who were joined by people of other faiths including Muslims and Rastafarians.