Chansa Kabwela is a Post Newspaper Editor in Lusaka, Zambia who is believed to have distributed obscene photos of a woman giving birth. While the photos may be inappropriate, the circumstances in which these photos were distributed still remains vague. In the meantime Chansa Kabwela has been subjected to high profile attacks including some senior members of the ruling party MMD. In her testimony, Chansa Kabwela states that she had sent the pictures of the woman in the hope that it would move the Government to take quick action and end the strike by health workers. However, the Police, senior MMD officers [including the President of the Republic of Zambia] describes the photos as pornographic in nature and in violation of Zambian Law | The Huffington Post 2009 13 July http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/07/13/chansa-kabwela-zambia-new_n_230528.html. For the sake of clarity, I looked at the exact meaning of pornography, it says and I quote "pornography is sexually explicit pictures, writing, or other material whose primary purpose is to cause sexual arousal". From this definition, Ms. Kabwela's testimony suffices... we all know she did not mean to arouse anyone did she She meant well and must not be going through this at all. Needless to say, in the West there are several documentaries [including photos] that show women giving birth, in fact most people find them educational and not pornographic (not that this particular one was). With no intention to further politicise this issue, I think that the belligerence between the Post Newspaper and the MMD has been transparent. And may be, just may be, the poor lady is being used as a pawn in all this who knows Please help us sign this petition in support of Chansa Kabwela to clear her name and continue with her brave journalism. At the same time, use this opportunity to let the Zambian Authorities know that Zambians of Today are more interested in real socio-economic issues than such trivialities. With your help it is envisaged that this petition will gain traction and hopefully end at RB's desk to stop this feud. Help us to reach a target of 10000 names. Chansa's trial date commenced on 5 August 2009 and is set to continue again on 24 August 2009 and 8 September 2009 by which time we hope to reach our intended target. Please note that signing the petition is simple and straight forward; no need to log on or register just fill in the form and leave a comment if you wish. Many thanks. See Link on The Right Panel to see *Pic* of Woman---->>>> ---------------------------------------------------- -- Must-read Blogs | *Zambian Issues ---------------------------------------------------- Zambian Economist | http://www.zambian-economist.com/2009/07/online-petition-chansa-kabwela.htmlshowComment=1248460888680#c3015356236801063641 Award Winning blog of Mike Hitchen [i On Global Trends] | http://ionglobaltrends.blogspot.com/search/label/Zambia Afriwomen: Positive Participation | http://afriwomen.blogspot.com/ *contains web-links to this Petition. ------------------------- -- Thank you note ------------------------- On 16/11, Chansa Kabwela was acquitted by Lusaka Chief Resident Magistrate Charles Kafunda, we receive this news with gratitude knowing that Ms. Kabwela has been vindicated of a crime that should not have been in the first place. Once again, we thank all of you for taking part in the petition and most importantly we appreciate your open and honest comments, which somewhat have had an impetus on the outcome of the case.

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