By Catherine Alumando, Mwanza
When night falls in Mwanza, the border district that connects Malawi to Mozambique, music from bars mixes with the sound of trucks stopping for rest. For some people, it is just another busy night. But for many young girls, it marks the start of their ‘working day’.
Behind the noise, teenage girls, some as young as 14, are seen walking around bars and truck stops, looking for money in exchange for sex. Their main customers are the truck drivers who pass through Mwanza every day, going in and out of the country.
Mwanza District Council, through its Gender and Social Welfare Offices, is collaborating with stakeholders to reclaim these girls from hotspots.
District Social Welfare Officer, Mary Nsindwa, said that in collaboration with the Malawi Police Service, they prohibit bar owners from employing or accommodating underage girls.
She added that non-governmental organisations, including YONECO and the Female Sex Workers Association (FSWA), are also part of the initiative.
However, Nsindwa said it is unfortunate that many girls return to the same places even after being rescued.
“We take them away from the streets and try to send them back to their families, but many return because of poverty.
“Some truck drivers make the situation worse by hiding the girls during rescue operations. We have found cases where girls are hidden inside trucks or nearby rest houses. The drivers know it’s wrong, but they still take advantage of these children,” she said.
On his part, If Masango, the Gender Officer for Mwanza District Council, said the flourishing of such activities in the district makes it easier for girls to get enticed, in addition to the poverty that drives them.
“Being a border district, many truck drivers rest for the night, and these men prefer sleeping with young girls aged between 14 and 17, which has increased the number of young girls in prostitution,” said Masangu.
Jamila Chilembwe, Chairperson of the Female Sex Workers Association in Mwanza, said the young girls involved in sex work are in great danger.
“These girls don’t have the power to ask for protection. Most of the men refuse to use condoms,” Chilembwe said.
This has also led to a rise in sexually transmitted diseases in Mwanza.
Fatsani Nyangulu, Senior Medical Assistant at Mwanza District Hospital, said the hospital has seen a sharp increase in cases this year.
“From January to September, 2025 we recorded 7,400 cases of sexually transmitted diseases, compared to 6,017 during the same period in 2024,” Nyangulu said.
“Young people under 24 years old make up 32 percent of those infected, especially with gonorrhea and syphillis.”
Child rights activist Memory Chisenga has meanwhile appealed to the government to consider investing in rehabilitation centres to bring transformative behaviour change among repatriated girls and ensure the sustainability of efforts to reclaim them from the streets.
“We cannot just take the girls away from bars and leave it at that,” said Chisenga.
“Government needs to consider rehabilitation programmes that promote behaviour change among the girls.”
For now, one can only hope that the combined effort to wean the young girls from prostitution will bear tangible fruit and that once reclaimed, there will be no looking back.
