Protests against Angola’s anti-abortion bill

Angolan demonstrators this week took to the streets in a protest in Luanda against a draft law criminalising all abortions. The bill is set to be voted on next week. Abortion also remains a criminal offence in numerous other African countries, and many women and girls die each year from unsafe abortions. An estimated 21.6 million women worldwide, 18.5 million of which are in developing countries, subject themselves to unsafe abortions each year. Stigma, and discrimination on the issue is pervasive and various rights groups continue to lead campaigns which seek to raise awareness and assert that every woman and girl has the inalienable right to make decisions regarding her body.