Women Jailed Over Abortion To Be Released In Rwanda

Scores of young women in Rwanda have been pardoned by the president and freed from prison for undergoing an abortion or helping others to have their pregnancy terminated.

Johnston Busingye, the east African country’s justice minister, said the 50 female inmates who were released on Tuesday were the last to be allowed to walk free.

Rwanda has highly restrictive laws around abortion but the government amended its laws in August 2018 to permit abortions in instances of rape, incest, forced marriage, and cases where the health of the woman or foetus is endangered by a pregnancy.

Women faced jail for simply having an abortion or helping a woman to have the procedure before the law changed. Those who wanted to have their pregnancy terminated had previously had to consult the courts, but now women can have an abortion after going to a doctor.

However, Sylvie Nsanga, a prominent women’s rights campaigner, said being required to consult a doctor and seek a parent’s consent remains a challenge because it is difficult to get support for an abortion in Rwandan culture.