Rwanda has been making some major changes in support of women’s rights, most recently lifting its reservation on a law that guarantees a woman’s right to legal abortion.
Under the Maputo Protocol, the Rwandan government is now required to “protect the reproductive rights of women by authorising medical abortion in cases of sexual assault, rape, incest, and where the continued pregnancy endangers the mental and physical health of the mother or the life of the mother or the fetus”.
This move comes after a series of reforms to the country’s abortion laws, including the introduction of a law that reduces the harsh criminal penalties against women who terminate their pregnancies and doctors who perform abortions.
According to the World Health Organisation, Rwanda has one of the worst maternal mortality rates in the world, with 340 deaths per 100,000 live births.