“Labor Is Labor, Not Pornography”

The real obscenity of course is that women are dying for lack of necessary maternal health care.  Chansa Kabwela is a shero for us all. Via Amnesty International:

The editor of Zambia’s largest independent newspaper, The Post, is currently on trial for distributing pornography. Chansa Kabwela was charged in July for ”circulating obscene matters with the intention to corrupt the morals of society,” punishable by a five year prison sentence. What exactly did Kabwela circulate that was so dangerous to the moral character of Zambians? Pictures of a woman giving birth on the ground outside a hospital.

A recent nurses’ strike led to dangerous medical conditions in the country, a fact Kabwela wanted to highlight. When she received pictures of the incident, she decided not to publish them in the paper, but instead sent copies to the vice president, the health minister and several organizations. The pictures were taken by a relative of the woman, who visited clinics and the hospital in search of medical assistance due to the breach birth position of the baby. Eventually she laid down on the ground near the hospital before doctors from the hospital finally assisted her. The baby did not survive.

As The Post (Zambia) reports,

A large number of people from all works of life including musicians and opposition political party members gathered at the Lusaka Magistrates court complex to give solidarity to Kabwela and The Post.The courtroom was packed to capacity with a large number of people standing with no where to sit.

Others who could not get into the court grounds were filled with a huge crowd of members of the public with placards.

Some of the placards read: “Leave The Post, Chansa alone,” “ We are returning to the stone age” while some artistes’ wore tee shirts with the message “Zambian artistes are with you Chansa Kabwela, labour is labour not pornography,” “Go on The Post Speak the Truth.”