“The Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa(Maputo Protocol) is a powerful tool for advancing gender equality in Africa. By making this document accessible in multiple languages, RFLD is taking a significant step towards ensuring that women and girls across the region have the knowledge and resources they need to claim their rights.” AGUEH Dossi Sekonnou Gloria, RFLD President:
RFLD in collaboration with The Solidarity for African Women’s Rights (SOAWR) is conducting from 2 – 3 September 2024 a comprehensive training program with media, traditional, community, and religious leaders in Benin to promote gender equality and raise awareness about the Maputo Protocol. This initiative aims to empower these influential figures to become champions for women’s rights and to advocate for the implementation of the Maputo Protocol, a regional framework that sets out the rights of women in Africa. RFLD believes in the power of community-based approaches to address the challenges faced by women and girls. We work closely with grassroots organizations and communities to develop and implement programs that are culturally relevant and responsive to local needs.
RFLD has taken a significant step towards promoting gender equality in Benin by making the Maputo Protocol available in Yoruba, Goun, and Zarma, in addition to Hausa. This initiative ensures that over 26 million people in West Africa who speak these languages have access to this important document.
To support the implementation of the Maputo Protocol, RFLD has developed comprehensive manuals and training materials for civil society organizations (CSOs), government agencies, journalists, and traditional leaders. These resources provide guidance on understanding, interpreting, and applying the provisions of the Protocol.
The Maputo Protocol covers a wide range of areas, including:
- Economic & Social Welfare Rights:
- Right to work: Equal opportunities and treatment in employment, including fair wages, maternity leave, and protection from sexual harassment.
- Right to education: Equal access to all levels of education, eliminating gender disparities in enrollment and completion rates.
- Right to health: Access to comprehensive healthcare services, including reproductive health, maternal care, and prevention of HIV/AIDS.
- Right to social security: Protection in cases of unemployment, illness, disability, widowhood, old age, or other lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond her control.
- Rights Related to Marriage (including Child Marriage):
- Minimum age of marriage: Prohibition of child marriage and setting the minimum age of marriage at 18 years.
- Free and full consent to marriage: Ensuring women’s right to choose their spouse without coercion or pressure.
- Equal rights in marriage: Guaranteeing equal rights and responsibilities for women and men during marriage and at its dissolution.
- Health & Reproductive Rights:
- Right to sexual and reproductive health: Access to information, education, and services related to sexual and reproductive health, including family planning.
- Right to safe abortion: Access to safe and legal abortion services under specific circumstances, such as when the pregnancy endangers the woman’s life or health.
- Protection from Violence (Including FGM):
- Prohibition of violence against women: Criminalization of all forms of violence against women, including physical, sexual, psychological, and economic abuse.
- Prohibition of female genital mutilation (FGM): Criminalization and eradication of FGM, recognizing it as a harmful traditional practice.
- Right to Participation in the Political & Decision-Making Process:
- Equal political rights: Right to vote and stand for election, ensuring equal representation of women in political positions.
- Participation in decision-making: Right to participate in decision-making at all levels, including in the family, community, and national government.
- Rights to Peace & Protection from Armed Conflict:
- Protection during armed conflict: Special measures to protect women and girls from the specific vulnerabilities they face during armed conflict, such as sexual violence and displacement.
- Participation in peace processes: Ensuring women’s meaningful participation in peace negotiations, conflict resolution, and post-conflict reconstruction.
- Specially Protected Women:
- Protection for marginalized women: Specific measures to protect the rights of vulnerable groups of women, such as widows, elderly women, women with disabilities, and women living with HIV/AIDS.
Despite its importance, nine African countries have not yet ratified the Maputo Protocol: Egypt, Morocco, Burundi, Chad, Eritrea, Madagascar, Niger, Somalia, and Sudan. The Network of Women Leaders for Development (RFLD) calls on these countries to ratify the protocol as a matter of urgency. We also urge the Central African Republic to finalize its ratification process and deposit the instrument of ratification with the African Union Commission.
We invite you to visit our website and social media platforms to download our training materials and resources on the Maputo Protocol. Share these materials with your networks to help spread awareness and promote gender equality in West Africa.
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