Women in politics.
Tracking the gap.
Continental representation data for 15 West African countries — executive, legislature, judiciary, local government — with current figures, treaty commitments, and the legislative changes that shape what's possible. A working tool, not a press release.
The continental league table.
Women's representation in West African legislatures, ranked. The figures distinguish countries that have built durable structural commitments from those whose performance is largely dependent on individual political processes. Cabo Verde and Senegal lead the region; Nigeria sits at the bottom of the continental ranking despite being the largest democracy.
| Rank | Country | Women MPs | Total seats | % women | Quota / parity law |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Cabo Verde | 32 | 72 | 44.4% | Parity Law (2016) |
| 02 | Senegal | 41 | 165 | 24.8% | Absolute Parity Law (2010) |
| 03 | Mali | 32 | 121 | 26.4% | Quota law · transitional |
| 04 | Burkina Faso | 18 | 71 | 25.4% | Quota law · transitional |
| 05 | Guinea | 24 | 81 | 29.6% | Quota struck down · transitional |
| 06 | Sierra Leone | 44 | 149 | 29.5% | GEWE Act 30% quota (2022) |
| 07 | Niger | 38 | 194 | 19.6% | Assembly dissolved · transitional |
| 08 | Togo | 18 | 113 | 15.9% | Parity Law (2012, amended) |
| 09 | Côte d'Ivoire | 34 | 254 | 13.4% | 30% quota law (2019) |
| 10 | Ghana | 40 | 276 | 14.5% | Affirmative Action Bill pending |
| 11 | Liberia | 8 | 73 | 11.0% | No statutory quota |
| 12 | Benin | 29 | 109 | 26.6% | 24 reserved seats (2019) |
| 13 | The Gambia | 5 | 58 | 8.6% | No statutory quota |
| 14 | Guinea-Bissau | — | 102 | — | Parliament dissolved 2023 · transitional |
| 15 | Nigeria | 17 | 360 | 4.7% | No statutory quota · 2022 bills rejected |
Ranking note. Ordered by % women in primary legislative chamber. Where bicameral parliaments operate (Nigeria, Côte d'Ivoire, Liberia), the lower house figure is used. Figures verified against IPU Parline as of Q4 2025; national-parliament sources where IPU data lags. Where parliaments are dissolved or operating under transitional regimes (Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau), figures reflect transitional bodies and political context is flagged in the country profile below.
Representation by country.
Each country profile presents women's representation across four institutional levels — national executive (cabinet), legislature, local government, and judiciary — with the most current verifiable figures. Where the country is operating under a transitional regime, the political context is flagged at the top of the profile. Where data is not currently published or available, that is stated rather than estimated.
Cabo Verde operates the strongest legislative-representation framework in the region under the Parity Law of 2016, which requires balanced-gender electoral lists and provides additional public subsidies to parties exceeding 25% women elected. The country leads continental rankings on legislative representation despite low cabinet representation — a structural lesson on the difference between legislative-quota and executive-appointment dynamics.
Senegal's Loi N° 2010-11 du 28 mai 2010 instituted absolute parity in elected and partially-elected positions — among the strongest parity provisions on the continent. The November 2024 snap election (called after the September 2024 dissolution by President Bassirou Diomaye Faye) produced the current 41-of-165 representation. Anchored in Maputo Protocol Article 9 and ACDEG Article 8.
Sierra Leone's Gender Equality and Women's Empowerment Act (GEWE Act) of 2022 introduced a binding 30% quota for women in elected office, public-service appointments, and political-party leadership. The June 2023 election was the first held under the GEWE framework, producing the highest sustained women's representation in the country's history. A continental case-study in quota implementation done well.
The 2019 amended Electoral Code (Loi N° 2019-43) reserves 24 of 109 National Assembly seats exclusively for women, an institutional approach distinct from list-based quota systems used elsewhere in the region. The reserved-seats model produces a guaranteed floor; whether it produces a ceiling effect is the subject of continuing comparative analysis.
Mali's 2015 quota law (Loi N° 2015-052) requires 30% women in nominated and elected positions — a provision that produced significant gains under the prior democratic regime. The CNT's composition reflects nomination-based application of the framework. Re-application to any future restored electoral process will be tracked at constitutional restoration.
Guinea's Loi N° L/2017/039/AN imposed a 30% quota for women on electoral lists; this provision was subsequently ruled unconstitutional under the prior order. Gender units operating within ministries provide the institutional architecture for women's-rights coordination during the transition period.
Burkina Faso's Loi N° 010-2009/AN set a 30% quota for women on candidate lists. The provision remains formally on the statute books; its applicability to any future restored electoral process will be tracked at constitutional restoration.
Niger's Loi N° 2000-008 instituted a quota system for women in elected positions, raised from 10% to 15% under the prior democratic order. The dissolution of the National Assembly in July 2023 and the adoption of the Charter of the Refoundation (March 2025) have produced a new institutional architecture; the applicability of the quota law to any future restored electoral process is undetermined.
Togo adopted a new constitution (Loi N° 2024-005 du 6 mai 2024) establishing a parliamentary system and creating a new bicameral legislature with a Senate first seated in February 2025. Loi N° 2012-002 on gender parity on electoral lists remains in force. Anchored in Maputo Protocol Article 9 and ACDEG Article 8.
Côte d'Ivoire's Loi N° 2019-870 du 14 octobre 2019 imposes a minimum 30% quota for women on electoral lists, with parties achieving 50% women candidates receiving additional public funding. The 2024 amended Electoral Code (Loi N° 2024-238 du 24 avril 2024) maintains and refines these provisions in advance of the 2025 presidential election.
Ghana's Affirmative Action (Gender Equality) Act 2024 was signed into law in July 2024 after more than a decade of legislative campaigning by Ghanaian feminist civil society. The Act establishes progressive targets for women's representation across appointed and elected positions; implementation operationalisation is the focus of continuing advocacy under the 9th Parliament (January 2025–).
Nigeria sits at the bottom of the West African continental ranking on women's legislative representation despite being the region's largest democracy. The March 2022 rejection by the National Assembly of five gender-equality bills — including the 35% affirmative action provision — sustained through subsequent sessions, has produced sustained civil-society mobilisation. The VAPP Act of 2015 remains the principal gender-equality legislation, with state-level domestication continuing to expand.
Liberia twice elected a female president (Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, 2006–2018) and currently demonstrates the highest cabinet-level gender parity in the region (50%) under President Joseph Boakai's administration (January 2024–). Legislative representation remains structurally weak in the absence of a statutory quota law. The 2024 amendments to the Elections Law introduced new procedural reforms but did not establish quota provisions.
The Gambia has not enacted a statutory legislative quota; the Women's Act of 2010 calls on political parties to enact gender-equality measures but does not impose binding requirements. The combination of low representation and the 2024 attempt to repeal the FGM ban (ultimately defeated by parliamentary vote) has produced sustained continental advocacy on Gambian gender legislation.
Guinea-Bissau's Parity Law requires 50% representation of women on electoral lists — among the strongest provisions on the continent. Its applicability under any future restored constitutional order remains contingent on the resolution of the current succession process.
The treaty commitments.
Each country's signature and ratification status across the four principal continental and international instruments anchoring women's political participation. Ratification creates the legal commitment; domestication into national law creates the legal force; implementation closes the gap. The differences between these stages explain much of the variation in actual representation.
| Country | Maputo Protocol | CEDAW | ACDEG | CRPD |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Benin | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Burkina Faso | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Cabo Verde | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Côte d'Ivoire | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| The Gambia | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Ghana | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Guinea | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Guinea-Bissau | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Liberia | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Mali | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Niger | R | R | ✓ | ✓ |
| Nigeria | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Senegal | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Sierra Leone | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Togo | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Maputo Protocol · Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa (2003) · CEDAW · UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (1979) · ACDEG · African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance (2007) · CRPD · UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (2006). Status verified against AU and UN treaty depositary records as of Q4 2025. Reservation specifics for individual articles are documented in the Maputo Protocol Hub.
What changed in the last 18 months.
The legal landscape governing women's political participation in West Africa has changed materially since 2024. Six developments stand out — three advances, one defeat, two ruptures. Tracking these is the work of this platform.
Affirmative Action Act 2024 signed into law
After more than a decade of legislative campaigning by Ghanaian feminist civil society, the Affirmative Action (Gender Equality) Act was signed into law. Establishes progressive targets for women's representation across appointed and elected positions. Implementation operationalisation begins under the 9th Parliament.
FGM ban maintained after parliamentary repeal vote
Gambian parliamentarians voted to maintain the 2015 prohibition of FGM after a serious repeal attempt. The continental and international solidarity that supported the maintenance of the ban demonstrated the institutional value of West African feminist civil-society coordination — the network RFLD has spent thirteen years building.
New constitution · parliamentary system · Senate established
Loi N° 2024-005 du 6 mai 2024 instituted the Fourth Republic, transitioning from a presidential to a parliamentary system. A new bicameral legislature now operates with the Senate first seated in February 2025. Women's representation in the inaugural Senate (24.6%) exceeds that in the National Assembly.
National Assembly elections following dissolution
President Bassirou Diomaye Faye dissolved the National Assembly in September 2024; snap elections in November 2024 produced a new parliament with women representing 24.8% of seats. The 2010 absolute parity law continues to govern, though the new political configuration produced results below the parity ceiling.
Charter of the Refoundation adopted
The transitional regime adopted the Charter of the Refoundation by decree on 26 March 2025, establishing a five-year transition period. Political parties were dissolved by the same instrument. The applicability of the prior quota law (Loi N° 2000-008) under the new framework is undetermined.
Five gender bills rejected, rejection sustained
The National Assembly rejected five gender-equality bills in March 2022, including the 35% affirmative action provision. The rejection has been sustained through the 10th Assembly (2023-). Nigeria sits at the bottom of the West African continental ranking on women's legislative representation as a direct consequence.
Legislation tracker.
Current electoral codes, constitutions, transition charters, and gender-equality acts governing women's political participation in each of the 15 countries — with direct links to source documents. Maintained by RFLD's continental policy team in coordination with the West Africa Legislative Platform.
Cabo Verde
Acórdão n.º 59/2024 — Constitutional Tribunal on parity provisions
tribunalconstitucional.cvThe Gambia
Women's Amendment Act 2015 (FGM ban maintained July 2024)
rflgd.org/ending-fgm (RFLD analysis)Mali
Loi N° 2022-001 du 25 février 2022 — revising the Charter of the Transition
sgg-mali.ml/charte-transitionNiger
Décret N° 2025-160 du 26 mars 2025 — Charter of the Refoundation
droit-et-politique-en-afrique.infoTogo
Loi N° 2024-005 du 6 mai 2024 — New Constitution of the IVth Republic
journal-officiel.gouv.tg/loi-2024-005Get in touch.
For data corrections, country-profile updates, programme partnership, journalist enquiries, or research collaboration — please reach the appropriate channel below.