Country fact sheets: women’s rights in law and practice

How each fact sheet is built

Each fact sheet follows the same structure: the main laws protecting women’s rights, key figures, the most important gaps, and what RFLD and its members ask of the authorities. Legal information comes from adopted and published texts; figures come from public national and international sources named on each sheet. Sheets reflect the situation as of October 2026.

Using a fact sheet in a meeting

The sheets are designed to be printed on a single page and left with a parliamentarian, a ministry official, a judge or a donor. Before a meeting, choose the one or two gaps most relevant to your audience, bring the official reference of the law you are discussing, and propose a concrete next step: a bill, a decree, a budget line or a hearing.

For the regional picture, use the West Africa legal scorecard.

Key dates for advocates

Moments in the coming months when the fact sheets can support advocacy:

• 25 November – 10 December 2026: 16 Days of Activism against gender-based violence (RFLD campaign).
• 1 December 2026: GivingTuesday (support RFLD).
• March 2027: 71st session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW71), New York.
• 11 July 2027: anniversary of the Maputo Protocol and next update of the Maputo Barometer.
• All year: CEDAW and UPR reviews of African states (see the calendar) and sessions of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights.

For journalists and researchers

You may quote and reproduce the fact sheets with attribution to the Women Leaders Network for Development (RFLD) and a link to this page. For interviews, data requests or country experts, write to communications.info@rflgd.org. Logos, the organisational profile and spokespeople are in our press kit.

• Please cite the date you consulted the page: our data is updated as laws change.
• Do not identify survivors, participants or defenders without their informed consent.
• For figures across all 55 African countries, use our laws in 55 countries profiles and the Data Center.

Glossary

ECOWAS

Economic Community of West African States, the 15-member regional bloc covered by our West Africa tools.

Maputo Protocol

Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa, adopted on 11 July 2003.

CEDAW

UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women; its Committee reviews states periodically.

UPR

Universal Periodic Review, the UN Human Rights Council peer review of every state’s human rights record.

ACHPR

African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, based in Banjul, which receives state and alternative reports.

Minimum age of marriage

The legal age below which marriage is not allowed; we note any exceptions in the law.

Gender-based violence (GBV)

Violence directed at a person because of their gender, including sexual, physical, psychological and economic violence.

Help us add and update fact sheets

• Send a correction or a new text: write to programs@rflgd.org with a link to or copy of the official text.
• Become a member: women-led organisations can join the network and use the fact sheets in their own advocacy.
• Learn: take a free certified course at the RFLD Academy.
• Support: give to RFLD so we can keep this data open and free.