Civil Society: Success Stories
Malawi: The Ntchayi Jackson Case
Child abuse is not unusual in Malawi. Girls are especially at risk because of their low position in society, dictated by cultural tradition. Young girls in employment, from domestic jobs to estate work, are a particularly vulnerable group. The Ntchayi Jackson case forced the media and Malawian public to take child abuse more seriously. This was a story typical of many children who leave their villages in search of employment in town to support themselves and their families back at home. Often they become victims of child abuse, enduring without any protection conditions that are incompatible with human dignity.
On August 12, 2001, Malawi's Center for Research Education and Rights (CARER) was informed by a nurse at Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital that a 15 year old girl named Ntchayi Jackson had been admitted to the hospital suffering third degree burns after her employer had poured boiling water all over her. The nurse was deeply affected by the agony the girl was suffering, and contacted CARER to expose the issue and to see if they could help. CARER visited the hospital and interviewed Ntchayi's mother and her nurse. Due to her terrible wounds, Ntchayi was unable to talk at the time of the visit, but this is her story.
A prominent family employed Ntchayi Jackson as a domestic worker. The husband, a lawyer by profession, is a Chief Executive, and the wife is a successful businesswoman. Ntchayi began employment as a domestic worker at age 10. She worked with the family for five years and never attended school. Throughout her employment, she was never paid any money but only provided with food and second hand clothing. On July 17, 2001, Ntchayi's co-worker reported to the wife that Ntchayi had eaten cooked sweet potatoes without permission. At the time this happened, Ntchayi had gone without food for two days as punishment for another offence. The wife became very angry with Ntchayi and ordered the other domestic workers to boil water with which to scald her. Ntchayi was afterwards wrapped in a plastic bag and left to die in the garden after the scalding. Three days later, Ntchayi's aunt visited, and discovered Ntchayi in this state. She was taken to the hospital, where the doctors refused to treat her unless the matter was reported to police.
A month later, CARER was informed and immediately organized the mass media to take pictures and publicize the story. The next morning, every paper had this terrible story on the front page. The whole country was in a state of shock and disbelief. This put pressure on the police to seriously conduct investigations and take the matter to court. Public pressure was critical, because the wife was pressuring Ntchayi's parents to withdraw the case.
The wife was arrested and sent to prison to await trial. The death of Ntchayi on August 14, 2001 touched the nation and again increased the pressure. CARER applied to the Director of Public Prosecutions to be part of the prosecution team to ensure that there was no miscarriage of justice. Permission was granted and CARER's pro bono lawyer was included on the team. The wife, represented by experienced counsel, has unsuccessfully applied for bail on several occasions. She remains in custody awaiting trail for murder. Since the publicity surrounding her case, many similar cases have been reported to CARER. CARER has begun collecting data to try and establish the extent of the problem. CARER's advocacy on the Ntchayi Jackson case got the country's attention and forced the media to take an active interest. Without this intervention, the story would have gone unnoticed, and the problem would have remained hidden. The arrest only took place after CARER publicized the matter. USAID funding to CARER to promote and protect human rights, especially for vulnerable groups, extends the protection of the law to those who cannot afford lawyers; and to those who do not even know where to take their problems. Thanks to USAID Ntchayi Jackson did not die in vain.
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