CIVICUS Civil Society Watch Monthly Bulletin News
AFRICA: Protocol ushers in new rights protections for African women
25 November – Marking the start of the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence, the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights Relating to Women’s Rights in Africa entered into force, ushering in new protections for African women.
The Protocol is a triumph of collaboration between African civil society and the members states of the African Union. While working from previous women’s rights achievements, the Protocol reflects the specific rights violations experienced by African women, which are not adequately acknowledged in other international and regional human rights instruments such as CEDAW (The Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women).
The protocol provides guidelines for the elimination of harmful practices, such as female genital mutilation, including raising awareness and passing legislation outlawing certain practices. It also outlines a framework for protections for women in divorce proceedings and armed conflict, as well as the rights of widows, the right to inheritance and the protection of elderly women and those with disabilities, among others.
According to Women in Law and Development in Africa (WiLDAF), “There is no doubt that in the interest of hundreds and thousands of women and girls in Africa, the protocol relating to women’s rights will provide a timeless support to the work of women’s rights organisations in the daily fight for a fairer world.”
Now that the Protocol has entered into force, however, the real work begins, writes A. N. Kithaka, a Kenyan lawyer in Pambazuka News. Advocacy groups must not stop at lobbying for the adoption of international legal instruments, she says. They must help women from rural areas apply the legal principles to the problems they encounter, so they can make positive changes to their lives and their children’s.
Fifteen of the 53 African states have now ratified the Protocol, enough to bring it into force. They are: Benin, Cape Verde, Comoros, Djibouti, The Gambia, Libya, Lesotho, Mali, Malawi, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa, Senegal and Togo.
WilDAF calls upon other African governments to ratify the Protocol, without delay or reservation.
Resources:
www.achpr.org/english/_info/women_en.html.
www.communitylawcentre.org.za/ser/esr2004/2004sept_protocol.php.
www.choike.org/nuevo_eng/informes/2024.html.
www.pambazuka.org/index.php?id=30558.
