Apartheid-era anti-abortion law under fire in Namibia

A decades-old anti-abortion law could soon be overturned in Namibia, after the government held the first consultation on the restrictive legislation in more than 20 years. 

Activists say that if the law is repealed it will “purge the remnants of apartheid” from the former colony, which was administered by South Africa for much of the 20th century. 

Namibia gained independence from its neighbour in 1990, the same year that negotiations began to free South Africa from apartheid. But anti-abortion legislation first enacted in 1975 remains in force in Namibia – despite being struck off South Africa’s own rulebook back in 1996. 

Under the law abortion is illegal unless a mother or child’s life is in danger, or if the case involves rape or incest.

But at the end of October the Namibian government held a week-long consultation on reform of the law for the first time in two decades, 18 months after Esther Muinjangue, the deputy minister of health and social services, put forward a motion to debate the legislation. 

Activists told The Telegraph that following the hearings – where lawyers, medics and religious groups were among those to give evidence – that they are more optimistic than ever that change is on the horizon. 

“When I fought for the independence of this country, I fought for things like this – for women to have a choice and fully enjoy their human rights,” said Bience Gawanas, a Namibian human rights lawyer and special advisor on Africa to the United Nations.

“The hearings in parliament are quite a big step for us here in Namibia. Normally abortion is thrown under the carpet – no one wants to talk about it,” she said. “This is a turning point.”

‘Young people are not backing down’

The current debates have been turbocharged by young activists, she added, who have seized the opportunity to argue against “a combination of patriarchy and religion… that have been used to justify control over women’s bodies”. 

Activists have taken to the streets, the media and online – one petition calling for reform gained over 62,000 signatures. 

“This time young people… are making use of all the resources at their disposal to have their voices heard, and are not backing down,” said Sylvia Hamata, a midwife and member of the advocacy group SheDecides. “I am very optimistic this will lead to change.” 

Namibia, a sparsely populated country home to roughly 2.5 million, is far from the only African nation to impose restrictive abortion laws.

While activists welcomed Benin’s landmark vote last month to legalise abortion, 92 per cent of women of reproductive age across sub-Saharan Africa live in countries where the procedure is highly or moderately restricted, according to the Guttmacher Institute, an American think tank. 

Research suggests these policies do not prevent women seeking abortion, but drive them underground. Some 77 per cent of abortions across the region are deemed to be unsafe, meaning they are carried out by an untrained individual or use a method not recommended – or both. This equates to some 6.2 million dangerous procedures annually. 

The ramifications are severe: sub-Saharan Africa has the highest abortion-related death rate in the world, at 185 maternal fatalities per 100,000 procedures. 

“Women are dying because of these outdated laws,” said Ms Gawanas. “I have said it many times, and I’ll say it again: every pregnancy must be a wanted pregnancy. 

“This isn’t just about legalising abortions… there are a number of factors that drive women towards backstreet abortions,” she added. “Access to contraceptives, access to education, access to counselling – all of it has to come into play. But women have a right to make an informed decision, and a right to a safe abortion.” 

‘Purging apartheid from our constitution’

The current government – led by a relatively progressive president, Hage Geingob – appears increasingly supportive of this stance. 

Speaking at the public hearings Ben Nangombe, executive director of the Ministry of Health and Social Services, said the department “holds the view that the current legislation on abortion is outdated and that it needs to be reviewed, and that there is a need to enact new legislation that takes into speaks to the realities on the ground”. 

However, chancing the legislation could still be at least a year away. Regional public abortion hearings will follow the national debate, after which a report will be written and presented to Parliament. 

“It might take over at least a year to see substantive results from the abortion hearings,” said Ndiilokelwa Nthengwe, co-founder of the Voices for Choices and Rights Coalition (VCRC). 

“There’s backlash from religious groups, but it's not necessarily a strong backlash,” she added. “This backlash could affect perceptions, but the real effect counts in parliament once a new Abortion Bill has been put to vote.” 

Reaching that moment would not just be momentous for women, but for a country still unpicking its colonial past. The 1975 Abortion and Sterilization Act, historians say, was introduced to restrict white women from ending pregnancies, amid hysteria that the Black population outnumbering them. 

“Slowly, we are decolonising and purging the remnants of apartheid from our Constitution… to truly realise an equitable and just society for all Namibians,” said Ms Nthengwe. “It means that finally, we are addressing institutional laws which have been, for years, used to oppress women, adolescent girls and gender non-conforming persons.” 

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