DƆNÙESÈ Data Center / Women’s Rights Laws by Country / The Gambia

West Africa · Country law profile

The Gambia: women’s rights and civic space laws

The Gambia banned FGM and child marriage by law in the 2010s, and in July 2024 its National Assembly kept the FGM ban in place after a bill sought to repeal it. Women hold 5 of 58 National Assembly seats (8.6%) and there are no reserved seats or legal quotas, one of the lowest levels of women’s representation in the region. Same-sex relations remain criminalised. The Gambia has not ratified the CEDAW Optional Protocol and has only signed the Malabo Convention, and it scores 57.50 on the World Bank’s 2026 legal frameworks index for women.

Women leaders at an RFLD convening. RFLD member organisations use these laws in their advocacy. Photo: RFLD, taken with the consent of participants.

At a glance

Capital	Banjul
Legal system	Mixed system of English common law, statutory law, customary law and Sharia law (the latter applying mainly to personal status matters for Muslims)
Official languages	English

Key indicators

8.6% (5 of 58)Women in National Assembly (2026)

57.50World Bank WBL 2026 legal frameworks index (2026)

Regional and international treaties

Treaty	Status	Reservations or notes
Maputo Protocol	signed 11/09/2003 / ratified 25/05/2005 / deposited 06/09/2005
CEDAW	signed 29 Jul 1980 / ratified 16 Apr 1993	None listed in the UN Treaty Collection status page
CEDAW Optional Protocol	Not a party
African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child	ratified 14/12/2000 / deposited 30/03/2001
ILO C100 Equal Remuneration	ratified 4 Sep 2000
ILO C111 Discrimination (Employment and Occupation)	ratified 4 Sep 2000
ICCPR	acceded 22 Mar 1979	Declaration on article 14(3)(d): free legal assistance for accused persons is limited under the Constitution to persons charged with capital offences
Kampala Convention	signed 23/10/2009 / ratified 27/04/2011 / deposited 17/08/2011
AU Convention on Cyber Security and Personal Data Protection (Malabo)	signed 02/12/2022 / not ratified
Budapest Convention on Cybercrime	Not a party

Constitution

Quotas or parity	No reserved seats or electoral quotas for women; 5 of the 58 members are appointed by the President

National laws

Political participation and quotas

No quota law

There are no reserved seats or electoral quotas for women.

Gaps: Women hold 8.6% of National Assembly seats.

Source: data.ipu.org

Access to justice and legal aid

Constitution (scope of free legal assistance)

Free legal assistance for accused persons is constitutionally guaranteed only for capital offences, as stated in The Gambia’s ICCPR declaration.

Source: treaties.un.org

Gender-based and domestic violence

Domestic Violence Act, 2013

Criminalises physical, sexual, economic, emotional and verbal abuse in domestic relationships. It allows police to arrest without a warrant and limits default out-of-court settlements.

Gaps: Reporting stays low because of a culture of silence, and victim and witness protection is inadequate, according to the CEDAW Committee in 2022.

Source: digitallibrary.un.org

Gender-based and domestic violence

Women’s Act, 2010 (Act No. 12 of 2010)

Prohibits all forms of violence against women and requires state institutions to protect women from it.

Source: data.unwomen.org

Rape and sexual offences

Sexual Offences Act, 2013

Broadens the definition of rape and sexual assault based on coercive circumstances and removed the statutory corroboration requirement.

Gaps: Section 3(3) excludes married couples from rape, and courts still apply corroboration rules under section 180(2) of the Evidence Act.

Source: musawah.org

Sexual harassment

Sexual Offences Act, 2013

Expands the criminal law on sexual assault and covers sexual harassment.

Gaps: There is no comprehensive law on sexual harassment in the workplace, according to the CEDAW Committee in 2022.

Source: data.unwomen.org

Female genital mutilation

Women’s (Amendment) Act, 2015, sections 32A and 32B

Prohibits and criminalises female genital mutilation.

Gaps: Only one prosecution had taken place by 2022 while prevalence stood at about 73 percent.

Source: digitallibrary.un.org

Child marriage and age of marriage

Children’s (Amendment) Act, 2016, sections 24 and 25 (amending the Children’s Act, 2005)

Sets the minimum age of marriage at 18 for both sexes without exception and punishes parents or guardians who marry off a child with up to 20 years of imprisonment.

Gaps: The CEDAW Committee reported in 2022 that 25.7 percent of women were married before 18 and prosecutions are very rare.

Source: digitallibrary.un.org

Harmful practices

Children’s (Amendment) Act, 2016

Prohibits child betrothal, a customary practice of promising girls in marriage.

Source: musawah.org

Family and personal status

Constitution of the Republic of The Gambia, 1997, sections 7 and 33(5)(c)

Recognises customary law and Sharia as sources of law for marriage and divorce among those they apply to. This also covers related matters.

Gaps: Section 33(5) exempts marriage, divorce, burial and devolution of property from the ban on discriminatory laws, and polygamy is not restricted.

Source: digitallibrary.un.org

Family and personal status

Cadi Court (Civil Procedure) Rules, 2010

Regulate procedure in the Cadi courts, which hear most marriage and divorce cases for Muslims. These courts also hear most Muslim inheritance cases.

Gaps: Procedural safeguards against discriminatory application of personal law are limited.

Source: musawah.org

Inheritance and succession

Women’s Act, 2010, section 45

Addresses women’s inheritance and property rights.

Gaps: The section subjects inheritance to customary and religious law, under which daughters receive half the share of sons.

Source: digitallibrary.un.org

Inheritance and succession

Cadi Appeals Panel Rules, 2009

Govern appeals in Sharia matters, including inheritance disputes.

Gaps: Appeals have upheld unequal shares for daughters.

Source: musawah.org

Land and property

Women’s Act, 2010 (property access provisions)

Grants women equitable access to property.

Gaps: The standard is equitable instead of equal, and customary tenure still excludes many women farmers from ownership.

Source: musawah.org

Girls’ education

Basic and Secondary Education Act

Governs basic and secondary schooling.

Gaps: The CEDAW Committee asked in 2022 for its discriminatory provisions to be amended, since pregnant girls can be expelled and lack re-entry support.

Source: digitallibrary.un.org

Trafficking

Trafficking in Persons Act, 2007

Criminalises trafficking in persons and sets up a national response.

Gaps: Section 49 does not explicitly exempt trafficked persons from detention or prosecution, and the referral mechanism is ineffective.

Source: digitallibrary.un.org

Access to justice and legal aid

Evidence Act, section 180(2)

Sets rules of evidence applied in criminal trials, including sexual offence cases.

Gaps: It permits corroboration requirements that the CEDAW Committee found discriminatory and a deterrent to reporting sexual violence.

Source: digitallibrary.un.org

Women and girls with disabilities

Persons with Disabilities Act, 2021

Guarantees persons with disabilities, including women and girls, access to justice, political participation, education, employment and health services.

Gaps: Implementation is under-resourced and accessibility barriers persist.

Source: digitallibrary.un.org

Data protection

Personal Data Protection and Privacy Act, 2025

Creates the first comprehensive data protection framework, enforced by the Information Commission. It grants rights of access and correction. It also grants a right of deletion and sets a strict regime for sensitive data.

Source: techhiveadvisory.africa

Online violence and cybercrime

No enacted cybercrime law (Cyber Crime Bill, 2023 pending)

The Cyber Crime Bill, which would criminalise online child exploitation and cyber extortion, was still before a National Assembly select committee in 2025.

Gaps: There is no comprehensive law against online harassment of women, including women candidates.

Source: paradigmhq.org

Civic space

Notes	The Gambia hosts the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights in Banjul. The UN Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions announced a country visit in October 2026.

Human rights defenders

Non-Governmental Organisation Decree, 1996 (Decree No. 81)

Regulates NGOs. The Gambia has no specific law on human rights defenders.

Source: icnl.org

Social protection

National Health Insurance Act, 2021

Establishes national health insurance.

Source: extranet.who.int

Older persons

No specific law on older persons

The national human rights commission cites only the Constitution and general laws, and notes the lack of basic social protection for older persons.

Gaps: No law on the rights of older persons.

Source: thepoint.gm

Recent developments

October 2026. UN Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions announced a visit to The Gambia.
June 2026. UN Committee on Migrant Workers published findings on The Gambia and welcomed an immigration bill.
July 2024. National Assembly upheld the ban on FGM after a repeal bill; UN experts called it a critical win for girls.
2 December 2022. The Gambia signed the AU Malabo Convention.

Reforms recommended

Reforms recommended by the African Commission, UN treaty bodies or national organisations, as reported in the sources below.

Adopt a legal quota or reserved seats for women in the National Assembly.
Ratify the CEDAW Optional Protocol and the Malabo Convention.
Ratify ILO Convention 190 on violence and harassment in the world of work.
Keep and enforce the FGM ban against future repeal attempts (UN statement, July 2024).

Being verified. RFLD is checking the laws on the following topics against official texts and will add them to this page: abortion and sexual and reproductive health, labour and maternity, nationality, vulnerable groups. Corrections and documents are welcome at programs@rflgd.org.

African Union treaties

Status of 29 African Union treaties as recorded in the official AU status lists published by the African Union Commission. The date of each list is shown: a ratification deposited after that date may not appear yet. 8 of the 13 human rights and governance treaties below are ratified.

AU treaty	Status	AU list dated
Maputo Protocol (rights of women)	Ratified 25/05/2005	19/09/2023
African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights	Ratified 08/06/1983	15/06/2017
African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child	Ratified 14/12/2000	14/02/2023
Protocol establishing the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights	Ratified 30/06/1999	14/02/2023
African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance	Ratified 11/06/2018	08/07/2024
AU Convention on Ending Violence against Women and Girls	Signed 2025, not ratified	22/05/2026
Protocol on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities	Not signed	22/05/2026
Protocol on the Rights of Older Persons	Not signed	22/05/2026
Protocol on Social Protection and Social Security	Not signed	22/05/2026
African Youth Charter	Ratified 30/04/2009	19/09/2023
OAU Refugee Convention	Ratified 12/11/1980	16/05/2019
AU Convention on Preventing and Combating Corruption	Ratified 30/04/2009	14/02/2023
AU Convention on Cyber Security and Personal Data Protection (Malabo)	Signed 2022, not ratified	02/02/2026

Other AU treaties (16)

AU treaty	Status	AU list dated
Protocol on Free Movement of Persons	Signed 2018, not ratified	08/08/2023
Protocol on the Statute of the African Court of Justice and Human Rights	Ratified 11/07/2018	18/06/2020
Protocol on Amendments to the Statute of the African Court of Justice and Human Rights (Malabo Protocol)	Not signed	22/05/2026
Protocol of the Court of Justice of the African Union	Ratified 30/04/2009	18/06/2020
Protocol on the Peace and Security Council	Ratified 19/11/2003	27/04/2022
Protocol to the OAU Convention on Terrorism	Signed 2005, not ratified	15/06/2017
OAU Convention on Mercenarism	Ratified 30/04/2009	15/06/2017
Charter on Decentralisation, Local Governance and Local Development	Not signed	25/03/2022
Charter on Public Service and Administration	Signed 2011, not ratified	08/07/2024
African Charter on Statistics	Ratified 11/07/2018	19/09/2023
Statute of the Pan African Intellectual Property Organization	Not signed	19/09/2023
African Road Safety Charter	Signed 2024, not ratified	22/05/2026
Revised African Maritime Transport Charter	Ratified 11/07/2018	25/03/2022
Phyto-sanitary Convention for Africa	Not signed	15/06/2017
Convention establishing the African Centre for Fertilizer Development	Signed 2003, not ratified	19/09/2023
Constitution of the Association of African Trade Promotion Organizations	Signed 2003, not ratified	16/05/2019

Sources (19)

Other countries in West Africa

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Information verified as of October 2026. This page is for information and advocacy and is not legal advice. Laws change: check the official text before relying on it. Part of the DƆNÙESÈ Data Center of the Women Leaders Network for Development (RFLD). See also the Maputo Protocol Hub and the Maputo Barometer.

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