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Zambian Woman Freed After Seven-Year Sentence for Self-Induced Abortion

A woman in Zambia was freed last month after a seven-year sentence for self-induced abortion, following an appeal by rights groups.
Abandonment by a partner left Zulu unable to feed her two young sons, and a public clinic in Zambia turned her away while a private pharmacy requested 800 Zambian kwacha .
Acting alone, Zulu drank an herbal mixture to end the pregnancy, delivered in a toilet, disposed of the fetus in a stream, was reported by her neighbors, and represented herself at the court without legal counsel.
She spent nearly two years apart from her children during incarceration, and her case drew little national sympathy; Zulu's mother agreed with the sentence but said it should have been shorter, while Zambia's health ministry did not respond.
Only a small share of Zambia's public health facilities offer abortion services, where studies estimate just 7% provide them, while regional data show over 6 million unsafe abortions occur annually in Africa, highlighting access gaps, advocates say.

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