Vera Chirwa was Malawi’s first female lawyer and became a founding member of the Malawi Congress Party and the Nyasaland African Women’s league. Chirwa’s belief in multiparty democratic rule came at a time when a dangerous despot, Hastings Banda ruled a newly independent Malawi. In 1982, Banda ended up charging Vera and her husband Orton with treason, and the following year the court sentenced the couple to death. In this episode we look at Vera Chirwa's life and her drive to keep going despite being held as a prisoner of conscience in horrendous conditions.

Trigger Warning: this episode contains descriptions of police brutality and solitary confinement which some listeners may find upsetting.

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Sources for further reading:

Fearless Fighter: An Autobiography – by Vera Chirwa 

Meet Malawi’s first female lawyer who fought for a multi-party system and spent 12 years on death row

CELEBRATING VERA MLANGAZUWA CHIRWA – BLACK HISTORY MONTH

Malawi campaigner still fighting

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