DƆNÙESÈ Data Center / Women’s Rights Laws by Country / Malawi

Southern Africa · Country law profile

Malawi: women’s rights and civic space laws

Malawi is party to the Maputo Protocol (2005), CEDAW (1987, by accession) and the ICCPR (1993, by accession), and has signed the Optional Protocol to CEDAW without ratifying it. Abortion is permitted only to save the pregnant woman’s life under the Penal Code, and a Termination of Pregnancy Bill has not been enacted. Human Rights Watch reports that child marriage remains driven by social norms despite constitutional change. In July 2025 Human Rights Watch reported that police looked on as peaceful protesters were assaulted ahead of the September 2025 general election.

Women leaders at an RFLD convening. RFLD member organisations use these laws in their advocacy. Photo: RFLD, taken with the consent of participants.

At a glance

Capital	Lilongwe
Legal system	Mixed system: English common law and statute alongside customary law, with traditional courts
Official languages	English (Chichewa is the national language)

Key indicators

20.7% (47 of 227)Women in National Assembly (2026)

Regional and international treaties

Treaty	Status	Reservations or notes
Maputo Protocol	ratified 20/05/2005 / deposited 29/06/2005	Not listed among the nine States with reservations (ACHPR, 2026)
CEDAW	acceded 12/03/1987	No reservations listed
CEDAW Optional Protocol	signed 07/09/2000 / not ratified
African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child	signed 13/07/1999 / ratified 16/09/1999 / deposited 17/11/1999
ILO C190 (violence and harassment)	Not ratified (not in the list of ratifying States as of 2026)
ILO C111 (discrimination in employment)	ratified 22/03/1965
ICCPR	acceded 22/12/1993	None listed
Kampala Convention	ratified 18/04/2013 / deposited 29/05/2013
AU Convention on Cyber Security (Malabo)	No action recorded (not signed or ratified as of 02/02/2026)

Constitution

Constitution	Constitution of the Republic of Malawi, 1994 (amended)

National laws

Gender-based and domestic violence

Prevention of Domestic Violence Act No. 5 of 2006

Provides protection orders and other remedies for survivors of domestic violence.

Gaps: Government told CEDAW in 2023 that gender-based violence legislation was under review to close existing gaps.

Source: malawilii.org

Rape and sexual offences

Penal Code (Amendment) Act, 2022

Passed in December 2022, it makes sexual intercourse with a child punishable by up to life imprisonment.

Source: ohchr.org

Sexual harassment

Gender Equality Act, 2013

Prohibits sexual harassment and sex discrimination.

Gaps: The Act was under review in 2023 to protect witnesses of sexual harassment and gender-based violence and to strengthen penalties, and a public service anti-sexual harassment policy awaited Cabinet approval.

Source: ohchr.org

Child marriage and age of marriage

Marriage, Divorce and Family Relations Act No. 4 of 2015

Sets 18 as the minimum age of marriage for all forms of marriage, including civil, customary, religious and marriage by repute.

Gaps: Enforcement remains the main challenge.

Source: scholarworks.wmich.edu

Child marriage and age of marriage

Constitution of the Republic of Malawi, section 22(6), as amended in 2017

The 2017 amendment removed the provision allowing marriage between 15 and 18 with parental consent, setting 18 as the minimum age without exception.

Source: scholarworks.wmich.edu

Harmful practices

Gender Equality Act, 2013

Prohibits harmful social and cultural practices. It also prohibits harmful religious practices.

Gaps: Practices such as fisi and vaginal stretching persist, and the witchcraft law was under review by the Law Commission in 2023.

Source: ohchr.org

Family and personal status

Marriage, Divorce and Family Relations Act No. 4 of 2015

Provides equal rights and obligations of spouses in all marriage regimes, and persons married under civil law cannot contract polygamous marriages.

Gaps: Polygamy remains permitted under customary marriage.

Source: ohchr.org

Inheritance and succession

Deceased Estates (Wills, Inheritance and Protection) Act No. 14 of 2011

Governs succession to deceased estates, including protection of surviving spouses and children.

Source: media.malawilii.org

Land and property

Customary Land Act, 2016

Allows individuals regardless of marital status to own customary land and sets up land committees with allocation authority.

Gaps: Implementation was still under way in 2023.

Source: ohchr.org

Abortion and sexual and reproductive health

Penal Code (abortion provisions) and Termination of Pregnancy Bill (pending)

Abortion is permitted only to save the woman’s life, and a 2021 High Court ruling extended this to protection of physical and mental health.

Gaps: The Termination of Pregnancy Bill, which would widen access, has not been passed, and unsafe abortion remains a major cause of maternal deaths.

Source: ohchr.org

Political participation and quotas

Gender Equality Act, 2013

Requires a minimum 40 percent and maximum 60 percent of either sex in recruitment and appointment in the public service. The same rule applies to promotion.

Gaps: The quota does not apply to elected office or the private sector, and the Electoral Act was under review in 2023 to support safe participation of women.

Source: ohchr.org

Nationality

Citizenship Act, as amended to allow dual citizenship

The amended law permits dual citizenship, and the National Registration Act makes birth registration compulsory to reduce statelessness.

Source: ohchr.org

Trafficking

Trafficking in Persons Act, 2015

Criminalises human trafficking and is used to protect women from exploitation, including in domestic work.

Source: ohchr.org

Access to justice and legal aid

Legal aid framework establishing the Legal Aid Bureau (operational since 2011)

The Legal Aid Bureau provides free legal services, complemented by a national pro bono scheme with the Malawi Law Society.

Gaps: The Bureau requires adequate funding to reach women in need.

Source: ohchr.org

Online violence and cybercrime

Electronic Transactions and Cyber Security Act No. 33 of 2016

Part X criminalises cyber harassment, offensive communication, cyber stalking and child sexual abuse material.

Gaps: Rights groups report that the offensive communication provisions have been used to silence dissent.

Source: coe.int

Data protection

Data Protection Act, 2024

Main framework for personal data protection, with the Malawi Communications Regulatory Authority designated as the data protection authority.

Source: dataprotection.africa

Older persons

No specific law on older persons (legislation in preparation)

Government reported in 2023 that legislation to protect older persons was being drafted.

Gaps: Older women face killings linked to witchcraft accusations.

Source: ohchr.org

Vulnerable Groups

Penal Code (provisions on unnatural offences)

The Penal Code prohibits same-sex sexual relations, and same-sex marriage is not permitted.

Gaps: The provisions were being challenged in court at the time of the 2023 CEDAW review.

Source: ohchr.org

Civic space

Notes	Human Rights Watch reported on 1 July 2025 that police looked on as peaceful protesters were assaulted. Its March 2026 statement after Malawi’s Universal Periodic Review urged swift implementation of commitments.

Human rights defenders

Non-Governmental Organizations Act, 2001, as amended by Act 19 of 2022

Regulates NGOs. Malawi has no specific law on human rights defenders.

Source: malawilii.org

Women and girls with disabilities

Persons with Disabilities Act, 2024

Replaces the Disability Act 2012 and the Handicapped Persons Act 1971.

Source: manaonline.gov.mw

Social protection

Pension Act, 2023 (Act No. 6 of 2023)

Assented on 8 February 2023. Replaces the Pension Act 2011.

Source: issa.int

Recent developments

18 March 2026. Universal Periodic Review of Malawi: Human Rights Watch urges swift implementation of commitments
September 2025. General election held
1 July 2025. Human Rights Watch reports that police looked on as peaceful protesters were assaulted

Reforms recommended

Reforms recommended by the African Commission, UN treaty bodies or national organisations, as reported in the sources below.

Implement Universal Periodic Review commitments and address human rights gaps (Human Rights Watch, March 2026)

Being verified. RFLD is checking the laws on the following topics against official texts and will add them to this page: female genital mutilation, girls’ education, labour and maternity. Corrections and documents are welcome at programs@rflgd.org.

African Union treaties

Status of 29 African Union treaties as recorded in the official AU status lists published by the African Union Commission. The date of each list is shown: a ratification deposited after that date may not appear yet. 10 of the 13 human rights and governance treaties below are ratified.

AU treaty	Status	AU list dated
Maputo Protocol (rights of women)	Ratified 20/05/2005	19/09/2023
African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights	Ratified 17/11/1989	15/06/2017
African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child	Ratified 16/09/1999	14/02/2023
Protocol establishing the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights	Ratified 09/09/2008	14/02/2023
African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance	Ratified 11/10/2012	08/07/2024
AU Convention on Ending Violence against Women and Girls	Not signed	22/05/2026
Protocol on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities	Ratified 06/12/2023	22/05/2026
Protocol on the Rights of Older Persons	Ratified 12/04/2021	22/05/2026
Protocol on Social Protection and Social Security	Not signed	22/05/2026
African Youth Charter	Ratified 13/08/2010	19/09/2023
OAU Refugee Convention	Ratified 04/11/1987	16/05/2019
AU Convention on Preventing and Combating Corruption	Ratified 26/11/2007	14/02/2023
AU Convention on Cyber Security and Personal Data Protection (Malabo)	Not signed	02/02/2026

Other AU treaties (16)

AU treaty	Status	AU list dated
Protocol on Free Movement of Persons	Signed 2018, not ratified	08/08/2023
Protocol on the Statute of the African Court of Justice and Human Rights	Not signed	18/06/2020
Protocol on Amendments to the Statute of the African Court of Justice and Human Rights (Malabo Protocol)	Not signed	22/05/2026
Protocol of the Court of Justice of the African Union	Not signed	18/06/2020
Protocol on the Peace and Security Council	Ratified 07/07/2003	27/04/2022
Protocol to the OAU Convention on Terrorism	Not signed	15/06/2017
OAU Convention on Mercenarism	Not signed	15/06/2017
Charter on Decentralisation, Local Governance and Local Development	Not signed	25/03/2022
Charter on Public Service and Administration	Ratified 28/12/2014	08/07/2024
African Charter on Statistics	Ratified 15/06/2012	19/09/2023
Statute of the Pan African Intellectual Property Organization	Not signed	19/09/2023
African Road Safety Charter	Not signed	22/05/2026
Revised African Maritime Transport Charter	Not signed	25/03/2022
Phyto-sanitary Convention for Africa	Not signed	15/06/2017
Convention establishing the African Centre for Fertilizer Development	Not signed	19/09/2023
Constitution of the Association of African Trade Promotion Organizations	Not signed	16/05/2019

Sources (20)

Other countries in Southern Africa

AngolaCountry law profile BotswanaCountry law profile EswatiniCountry law profile LesothoCountry law profile MozambiqueCountry law profile NamibiaCountry law profile South AfricaCountry law profile ZambiaCountry law profile ZimbabweCountry law profile

Information verified as of October 2026. This page is for information and advocacy and is not legal advice. Laws change: check the official text before relying on it. Part of the DƆNÙESÈ Data Center of the Women Leaders Network for Development (RFLD). See also the Maputo Protocol Hub and the Maputo Barometer.

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