The Women Lawyers Association (WLA) has been granted permission to prosecute the recent Nchalo defilement case.

Malawians were last month were shocked by a video that went viral on social media showing an 11-year-old girl bleeding in pain after being gruesomely defiled by a sugarcane cutter.

The women lawyers will prosecute the case jointly with lawyers from the State Advocate’s chambers.

Reports indicate that Malawi police has recorded 1,501 cases of sexual violence between January and September this year compared to 1,766 in 2019.

This prompted Female journalists to hold demonstrations in three cities of Lilongwe, Blantyre and Mzuzu against rape and defilement and demanding harsher penalties to eradicate an entrenched culture of sexual violence.