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VERA CHIRWA, CLOSE TO THE AFRICAN HISTORY

The news of last January 8 has passed unnoticed, instead it could be a fundamental date for the history of Africa.
Vera Chirwa, 71 years, historical activist of the human rights, has announced her candidacy for the next presidential elections of May 18 in Malawi.
She would be the first woman of the African continent chef of a state.

Mrs Chirwa already holds some records: in 1967 she is the first women lawyer as well as first woman to teach in the university of Lusaka in Zambia.
Her husband, Orton Chirwa, participated to the independence of the Malawi happened in 1964. In that years Vera was studying law in England and she had contributed to the creation of the League of Women in Malawi however. She participated so to the independence's celebrations together with her husband but the celebrations wre not long. The President, Dr. Hastings Banda simply individualized in Vera and Orton potential conspirators against his regime because they wanted a more correct Malawi, more free ,where the human rights were not stamped on.
Vera succeeded in returning in England to complete the studies while Orton was forced to the exile in Zambia before and Tanzania after.
Once graduate, Vera reached her husband and began to work as lawyer before, and university teacher later. Also being in exile, Vera and Orton constituted a movement, the Malawi Free Movement (Mafremo) to fight against the injustices and the abuse of the human rights in the country.
The President Gang checked, through his infiltrators in Tanzania, the activity of the Chirwas so an evening, during a move along the border Malawi-Zambia, thet were arrested and tortured.
It was the 1981 Christmas eve. Since that moment and for eight years Vera and Orton didn't have the opportunity of seeing themselves. Thanks to the mobilization of Amnesty International, the death sentence was commuted to jail to life but Orton died killed in the jail to the 73 year-old age. Vera instead, after 12 years of imprisonment under prohibitive conditions, she was freed with the presidential grace in 1993.
(Vera Chirwa)

From that moment Dr. Chirwa works for the human rights in fact in 1994 she has founded the Malawi Carer. Her first battle has been for the improvement of the prison conditions. Vera visit periodically Malawi's jail documenting the situations. Unfortunately the precarious conditions of the penitentiary system are due to the scarce financial resources despite the actual President Muluzi, has shown sensibility towards this theme.
Mrs Chirwa would like to reform the prison system assembling working on the re-education of the prisoners, on the possibility to teach them a profession and to impart education.
Another target of the Malawi Carer (Center of Advise, Research and Education on Rights) is for the women widows regarding the administration of the real estate ownerships.
In Malawi a woman that loses her husband doesn't have the right to take over in the inheritance unless before dying he has not undersigned a will. The family ones of the deceased husband take back possession of all the ownerships.
The constitution of the country forbids this practice, nevertheless the customary laws, had been handing down for centuries, they are still observed. The Malawi Carer fights really so that the women take conscience of their own rights and are not forced to return from their families without nothing!
And' also true that to undertake legal actions is expensive and bureaucratic in a country where moreover the corruption reigns sovereign. Exemplary sanctions don't exist to fight this problem but the matter leading it is the poverty.
As nobel prize for the economy Amartya Sen affirms, economic development doesn't exist without liberty and reading the last report of Amnesty International on the Malawi, the results are not comforting.
Violent clashes and repressions they are recorded in the whole country caused by demonstrations against the proposal of change of the constitutional law. Such change would have allowed the reelection of the actual president.
The police holds civil without accusations neither trials denying legal assistance. Three million people have risked the death for hunger following a serious famine caused by floods. But the most anxious news is that the Malawi held alimentary reserves to use in these emergencies. In 2001 however, the International Monetary Fund has "recommended" to the country to sell the reserves to pay the affairs on the debt!
Vera Chirwa, if she will be elected, she will have to solve big problems but she will also have the possibility to show as the women in Africa can be protagonists of the change.

Federico Bastiani