How the Chawinga Sisters Led Malawi to the Wafcon Final

They are in the final of Wafcon.

That is the Women's Africa Cup of Nations.

They will play Cameroon on Sunday.

The big reason is two sisters.

Tabitha and Temwa Chawinga have scored nine goals.

Nine goals from two players is a lot.

So they are really helping the team.

Yes, and Malawi are the lowest-ranked side there.

They are 153rd in the world.

But the sisters have already won big prizes in club football.

That makes the run feel even bigger.

Where did their football story begin?

Tabitha is the older sister.

She grew up in a village in Malawi.

As a child, she played with boys.

Her ball was made of plastic or paper.

She said she never saw herself as different.

She believed she could do what boys did.

That sounds like a hard start.

Was her family happy about football?

No, not at first.

She said her mother was embarrassed.

People made rude comments to her mother.

They said she would not be married.

They also said she did not want school.

Even friends said women could not play football.

So she had pressure from many sides.

But she kept going anyway.

Yes, she moved to Lilongwe.

There she joined DD Sunshine.

That helped her career grow.

Later she moved to Europe in 2014.

She became the first Malawian woman to play there.

She also scored a lot of goals.

The numbers are striking.

And Temwa followed the same path?

Yes, and Tabitha helped her.

Temwa is the younger sister.

She also played for DD Sunshine.

Then she played in Sweden too.

In 2023, she scored 51 goals for her Chinese club.

She also scored 12 for Malawi.

Fifty-one goals is an amazing number.

That is world-class scoring.

It is.

And now both sisters are helping Malawi in Morocco.

They have made the final feel possible.

For a team like Malawi, that is the big story.

Our second story is from France.

Now we go to Sophie, our LinguaWire correspondent for society.

Thanks, Daniel. Yes, this case is about a ban.

France's top court has blocked a social media ban.

The ban was for people under 15.

The court said it limited freedom of expression.

That means the right to speak and share ideas.

So the court stopped the plan for now.

What did the court object to?

It looked at the law's rules.

One rule was about proof of age.

The court said the law did not give enough legal safeguards.

It said the ban was not suitable.

It was not needed.

And it was not balanced.

That is a strong legal answer.

And this was not a small local idea.

It was meant to be a big change.

Yes, the plan would have started in stages.

From September, under-15s could not open accounts.

Later, the same rule would have covered old accounts too.

The government had wanted to act on child safety.

But the court has now stopped that version.

So the law is not dead, but it is blocked.

What happens next?

President Emmanuel Macron asked for a new draft.

He wants the new text to fit the court's points.

His office said the work should move fast.

It also said the reform should be ready by early 2027.

That means the debate will continue.

And France is not alone here, right?

Right.

Other places are also looking at limits for young users.

But this French ruling is important now.

It shows how hard these rules can be.

It also shows the court is watching privacy and free speech.

Three words from Story 2.

ban: a ban stops something. In the story, it stopped under-15s using social media. Example: The school bans phones.

freedom: freedom means the right to do or say things. In the story, the court said the ban hurt free speech. Example: She wants freedom to choose her job.

proof: proof is something that shows a fact is true. In the story, the law asked for proof of age. Example: Please show proof of your name.

Now one grammar point: would have.

We use would have for a plan that did not happen.

From September, under-15s would not have been able to open accounts.

Later, the same rule would have covered old accounts too.

Repeat after me: would have covered