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| Senegalese lawyer Fatou Kiné Camara has branded her country's abortionlaw one of the harshest and deadliest in Africa |
A 10-year-old girl who is pregnant with twins after she was raped by a neighbour has been forced to continue with her pregnancy after human rights campaigners lost their fight to secure a legal route to abortion.
The plight of the girl, who is five months pregnant and lives in Ziguinchor in the south, highlights the heavy cost women and children are paying for a Napoleonic law on abortion that is still in force in the former French colony.
"She is going to have to go through with the pregnancy," said Fatou Kiné Camara, president of the Senegalese women lawyers' association. "The best we can do is keep up pressure on the authorities to ensure the girl gets regular scans and free medical care.
"Senegal's abortion law is one of the harshest and deadliest in Africa. A doctor or pharmacist found guilty of having a role in a termination faces being struck off. A woman found guilty of abortion can be jailed for up to 10 years."
Forty women were held in custody in Senegal on charges linked to the crimes of abortion or infanticide in the first six months of last year, official figures show. According to estimates, hundreds of women die every year from botched illegal terminations.
"For a termination to be legal in Senegal, three doctors have to certify that the woman will die unless she aborts immediately. Poor people in Senegal are lucky if they see one doctor in their lifetime, let alone three," Camara said.
"A single medical certificate costs 10,000 CFA francs ($20), which is prohibitive. We had a previous case of a raped nine-year-old who had to go through with her pregnancy. We paid for her caesarean but she died a few months after the baby was born, presumably because the physical trauma of childbirth was too great."
The women lawyers' association is lobbying MPs to align Senegal's abortion legislation with the African charter on women's rights, which the country ratified 10 years ago. Its provisions – legal medical abortion in cases of rape and incest, or where a woman's physical or mental health is threatened – have never been added to the statute book.
"The greatest unfairness is that the poor are the victims of our archaic legislation," said Camara, a law professor at Cheikh Anta Diop University in Dakar. "Anyone with enough money can easily have an abortion at a private clinic. But if you are poor you are expected to go through the legal motions or risk your life in a backstreet clinic."
Camara said the parajuristes, who uncovered the plight of the 10-year-old, were her eyes and ears on the ground. Terminations in such extreme cases should be made legal, she added. "Senegal must legalise medicalised abortion so that we never see any more cases like hers. Had we had time and had the girl's parents been willing, we could have asked a judge to consider guaranteeing immunity from prosecution to an [abortion] doctor," she said. "However, the family is poor; the process is difficult enough for them. They were just pleased when the rapist was arrested."...culled
*OMG..OMG....OMG!!!!
Until d punishment 4 rape is death, cowards will continue 2 rape. Dis 10yr old can neva love her twins evn if she survives the trauma of early child birth. I weep 4 some of the laws in existence in Africa.
ReplyDeleteMy God! A ten-year old is still a baby for crying out loud. And to think she is now compelled to have those babies. What a pity, even the French that brought that law have long done away with it.
ReplyDeleteHow can someone rape a 10 years old girl(baby)....what does she know?...can she push out a baby?...this is pure wickedness...but she can't have an abortion at this stage...its too risky mehn...
ReplyDeleteThat's just cruel... after being brutally raped, they still want her to go thru wiv d pregnancy n still bear pains at such tender age... God will see her n her family thru
ReplyDeleteAbortion in such extreme cases shld definitely be made legal! A nine year old died outta dz and dy still wanna end dz little girls life?
ReplyDelete*Oh Lord don't let anythg happen 2 dz innocent child
*drinks fura da nono
this is not fair abeg, haba , ten years old
ReplyDeleteI think I have to say something this time. This is Barbaric, Archaic, vicious, and way behind the times.
ReplyDeleteOMG pregnant with twins at that age lord !must really be hard on her grown women go through a lot during pregnancy let a alone a baby having babies .God see her through ooooo
ReplyDeleteA 10 year old doesn't even have strong "insides"...can she carry a baby? Twin children for that matter? Well, God help her.
ReplyDeleteSenegal, what can I say?
What happened to the guy who raped her? Does anyone know?
OMG! A 10yrs old baby girl wud av to go thru labour pains.
ReplyDeleteWow!!!
Willd govvt take care of d babies after their birth?
Come o. I thought some of you wete the same ones who opened your dirty mouths earlier on to say abortion is murder no matter what. Undee no circumstances should someone abort. Una idiots don change mouth? Y now? I c stelk did not give an opinion on this.no one should have double standards now. This raped child wants to have an abortion. According to some you hypocrites "no one under any cirvumstances should have an abortion. Its against Gods law and its murder". Do you guys see how stupid your reasoning sounds in these circumstances. I do hope that you do because this innocent raped child is about to give birth to two innocent childten that she might hate for the rest of her life. She diesnt work because guess what shes still a child and should be allowed to live as a child. In the next 8 years she cant fend for herself let alone fend gor two twkns. Now tell me all you holier than thous wit self righteous attitudes should she be allowed to keep those kids because according to some of you all and God she will be committing murder. Please you self righteous indignant people. Make una answer o abeg. This is exactly why people should have an open mind on matters and not always spurt bibles all willy nilly. Some uncontrollable situations in life do occur and people should sometimes think outside the box. Please o abortion is murder tatafos. Will this child be committing murder ig she has an abortion? Me i wan hear views o of the self righteous bible spurting indignant people. Maje i see who get double standards.
ReplyDeleteDon't mind d fanatic clowns!shei y'all have seen d kiindd of cases we talking abt.i mean how can a 10yr old be allowed to go thru dis sh#t?what kind of a hopeless country is dat?so abortion is d only wrong they do there right,they really mustt be holy pple#rolls eyes#
DeleteThe gal's family are not crious,must they terminate it in dat country?this is just wickedness and gross injustice to the woman hood!dat galk is def gonna end up with VVF,then what?mtceew.smh
Abortion is murder. God is the giver of children.
ReplyDeleteThis is why many Islamic, Catholic and the rest of these so called conservative nations and individuals want abortion to be illegal.... to give mad men more freedom to do what they want and women less freedom to fight back or protect/defend themselves.
ReplyDeleteAnon 1:45 please always try to get your facts right before you come up here and run your mouth like a damaged faucet. The last time I checked, Islam allows abortion when a woman is at risk and when the victim is raped! Please try to read and understand so as to avoid advertising your ignorance. Mtchewwwwwwww. And for the records cause it is obvious you know nothing, under islamic law, rape carries the death penalty that's why you hardly hear of rape coming from arab countries.
ReplyDelete10 years old? Raped? And can't …hmmm.
ReplyDelete