Article 15 of the Maputo Protocol is one of the shortest provisions in the treaty, and one of the least used. RFLD’s policy brief, Women, Water and Article 15 of the Maputo Protocol, argues that it deserves far more attention. This explainer sets out what the article says and how it connects to the rest of the Protocol.
The text of Article 15
The Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa was adopted in Maputo on 11 July 2003. Article 15 carries the title “Right to Food Security”. It reads:
“States Parties shall ensure that women have the right to nutritious and adequate food. In this regard, they shall take appropriate measures to: a) provide women with access to clean drinking water, sources of domestic fuel, land, and the means of producing nutritious food; b) establish adequate systems of supply and storage to ensure food security.”
Two points stand out. First, the word is “shall”. This is an obligation on every State Party, and it is not a statement of intent. Second, clean drinking water appears in the first line of paragraph (a). The drafters saw water as a condition for women’s food security, alongside fuel and land.
Why water sits under food security
The link is practical. Across rural Africa, women grow and cook much of the food their households eat. They also fetch most of the water. Data from the WHO and UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme show that in households without water on the premises, women and girls aged 15 and over are mainly responsible for collecting it in 7 out of 10 cases.
When water is far away, women lose time for farming, paid work, school and rest. When water is unsafe, the health of the whole household suffers. Article 15 treats these as one problem with one set of remedies.
The articles that work alongside it
The brief reads Article 15 together with several other provisions of the Protocol. Each adds a layer:
- Article 14(2)(a) asks States to provide health services that women can reach and afford, “especially those in rural areas”. Water in health facilities is part of that.
- Article 18 gives women “the right to live in a healthy and sustainable environment” and calls for “greater participation of women” in managing the environment and natural resources “at all levels”.
- Article 19 on sustainable development asks States to “introduce the gender perspective in the national development planning procedures” and to “promote women’s access to and control over productive resources such as land”.
- Article 24 calls for the protection of “poor women and women heads of families including women from marginalized population groups”.
Read together, these provisions link access to water with women’s voice in how water is managed. They also call for special care for the women who face the greatest hardship.
Reporting and budgets: Article 26
Rights on paper need a way to be checked. Article 26(1) requires States to report on the measures they have taken “in their periodic reports submitted in accordance with Article 62 of the African Charter”. These reports go to the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights.
Article 26(2) goes further. States “shall provide budgetary and other resources for the full and effective implementation of the rights herein recognised”. For Article 15, this means money for water services that reach women. RFLD’s brief proposes a WASH gender budget marker, reported under Article 26(2), so that citizens can see how much of the water budget benefits women.
An article without a General Comment
The African Commission explains treaty provisions through General Comments. It has adopted several on the Maputo Protocol. General Comment No. 2, adopted in 2014, covers parts of Article 14 on sexual and reproductive health. It does not mention water or sanitation. No General Comment has been written on Article 15.
The brief names this as a gap. It recommends that the Commission consider a General Comment on Article 15 that clarifies what States owe women on water and on the other resources the article names.
Who is bound
The obligation applies to every State that has ratified the Protocol. According to the African Commission’s 2026 Advocacy Framework for Withdrawing Reservations, nine AU Member States have not ratified: Burundi, Chad, Egypt, Eritrea, Madagascar, Morocco, Niger, Somalia and Sudan. The same framework lists nine States with reservations or declarations. None of them has a reservation on Article 15.
This matters. For every State Party, Article 15 applies in full, with no carve-out. You can check the position of each country, and its national laws on women’s rights, in RFLD’s country law profiles.
What this means in practice
For a government, Article 15 is a duty to act and to report on what has been done. For a women’s organisation, it is a tool. It can be quoted in letters to ministries, in submissions to parliament, in community meetings and in shadow reports to the African Commission.
RFLD’s brief closes with a checklist that turns Article 15 into concrete reporting questions on access, time, safety, schools, health facilities, governance, budgets and climate. The aim is simple: every periodic report to the African Commission should say what the State has done to bring clean water to women.
About the report
This article draws on RFLD’s report Women, Water and Article 15 of the Maputo Protocol, published on 4 October 2026. Read the summary, download the English edition or the French edition.
