DƆNÙESÈ Data Center / Women’s Rights Laws by Country / Liberia
West Africa · Country law profile
Liberia: women’s rights and civic space laws
Liberia has ratified the Maputo Protocol, CEDAW and the ICCPR, has signed the CEDAW Optional Protocol without ratifying it, and has not ratified ILO C190; it ratified ILO C100 on equal remuneration in June 2022. Women hold 8 of 73 seats (11 per cent) in the House of Representatives elected in October 2023, and there are no legislated quotas or reserved seats for women. The Domestic Relations Law of 1973 sets the marriage age at 18 for girls and 21 for boys but allows marriage from 16 with parental, guardian or judicial consent, and 25 per cent of women aged 20 to 24 married before 18. In May 2024 President Boakai issued an executive order to establish a war crimes court for civil war-era crimes.
At a glance
| Capital | Monrovia |
|---|---|
| Legal system | Common law system of Anglo-American inspiration, alongside a customary law system |
| Official languages | English |
Key indicators
11.0% (8 of 73)Women in House of Representatives (2026)
18 for girls, 21 for boysMinimum legal age of marriage (1973)
25%Women aged 20 to 24 married before 18
58.95World Bank WBL 2026 legal frameworks score (2026)
Regional and international treaties
| Treaty | Status | Reservations or notes |
|---|---|---|
| Maputo Protocol | signed 16/12/2003 / ratified 14/12/2007 / deposited 15/07/2008 | None recorded on AU status list |
| CEDAW | accession 17/07/1984 | None recorded |
| CEDAW Optional Protocol | signed 22/09/2004 / not ratified | |
| African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child | signed 14/05/1992 / ratified 01/08/2007 / deposited 15/07/2008 | None recorded on AU status list |
| ILO C190 Violence and Harassment Convention | Not ratified (as of May 2026) | |
| ILO C100 Equal Remuneration Convention | ratified 13/06/2022 | |
| ILO C111 Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention | ratified 22/07/1959 | |
| ICCPR | signed 18/04/1967 / ratified 22/09/2004 | None recorded |
| Kampala Convention | signed 23/10/2009 / ratified 23/02/2014 / deposited 07/03/2017 | |
| AU Convention on Cyber Security and Personal Data Protection (Malabo) | Not signed or ratified (AU list of 02/02/2026) | |
| Budapest Convention on Cybercrime | Not a party |
Constitution
| Quotas or parity | No electoral quota and no reserved seats for women in the House of Representatives (IPU). |
|---|
National laws
Child marriage and age of marriage
Domestic Relations Law, 1973
Sets the minimum age of marriage at 18 for girls and 21 for boys; marriage from 16 to 18 is allowed with parental, guardian or judicial consent; marriage under 16 is prohibited under civil and customary law.
Gaps: The exception from age 16 remains, and there is no national strategy on child marriage.
Source: girlsnotbrides.org
Political participation and quotas
No legislated quota
IPU records no electoral quota and no reserved seats for women in the House of Representatives.
Gaps: Women won 8 of 73 House seats (11 per cent) in October 2023.
Source: data.ipu.org
Gender-based and domestic violence
Domestic Violence Act, 2019
Criminalises domestic violence and gives survivors legal protection.
Gaps: A provision criminalising FGM was removed before passage, and the Act does not address the specific risks faced by women with disabilities.
Source: unwomen.org
Online violence and cybercrime
Domestic Violence Act, 2019 (harassment through electronic means)
Covers harassment committed through electronic means within domestic relationships.
Gaps: There is no comprehensive law on technology-facilitated violence, and Penal Law provisions on indecency do not address non-consensual sharing of intimate images.
Source: unwomen.org
Rape and sexual offences
An Act to Amend the New Penal Code Chapter 14 Sections 14.70 and 14.71 and to Provide for Gang Rape, 2005
Revises the offence of rape in the Penal Code and creates the offence of gang rape.
Gaps: The CEDAW Committee noted in 2015 that marital rape was not criminalised and that prosecutions remained weak.
Source: ecoi.net
Female genital mutilation
Executive Order No. 92 (2018) on the prohibition of FGM
Banned FGM on any person under 18 and on adults without consent.
Gaps: Executive orders lapse after one year and Liberia has no statute prohibiting FGM.
Source: theadvocatesforhumanrights.org
Harmful practices
Children’s Law, 2011
Prohibits harmful traditional practices against children and addresses school enrolment and re-enrolment.
Gaps: Its protection covers only children, and the CEDAW Committee found enforcement inadequate in 2015.
Source: ohchr.org
Child marriage and age of marriage
Equal Rights of the Customary Marriage Law of 1998 (An Act to Govern the Devolution of Estates and Establish Rights of Inheritance for Spouses of Both Statutory and Customary Marriages, approved 7 October 2003)
Makes it unlawful to give a girl under 16 in customary marriage and bars parents from choosing a husband for their daughter.
Gaps: The customary minimum age of 16 is lower than 18.
Source: faolex.fao.org
Inheritance and succession
An Act to Govern the Devolution of Estates and Establish Rights of Inheritance for Spouses of Both Statutory and Customary Marriages (Equal Rights of the Customary Marriage Law of 1998), approved 7 October 2003
Gives a widow one third of her late husband’s property, with the remainder going to the children or other heirs, for both statutory and customary marriages.
Source: faolex.fao.org
Family and personal status
Equal Rights of the Customary Marriage Law of 1998
Gives every customary woman of legal age the right to marry the man of her choice and prohibits husbands from recovering dowry. Property a customary wife acquires is her own.
Source: faolex.fao.org
Land and property
Land Rights Act, 2018
Guarantees women equal rights to own land. It also guarantees them equal rights to access and use land. It protects the land rights of widows and requires women’s representation on community land management committees.
Gaps: Implementation is held back by entrenched customary practice.
Source: unwomen.org
Abortion and sexual and reproductive health
Public Health Law (revised 2019)
Makes sexuality education mandatory, with a comprehensive curriculum from grades 3 to 9.
Gaps: A reproductive health bill was still under review at the 2015 CEDAW review.
Source: unwomen.org
Girls’ education
Education Reform Act, 2011
Supports equal access to education for girls and disadvantaged children; CEDAW experts called it very progressive.
Gaps: Re-entry of girls after pregnancy relies on the National Policy on Girls’ Education 2021 to 2026, which is underfunded.
Source: ohchr.org
Political participation and quotas
Local Government Act, 2018
Requires women’s participation in local governance, including representation on county councils, and gender mainstreaming in county and district development plans.
Gaps: Implementation has been slow and uneven across counties.
Source: unwomen.org
Labour and maternity
Decent Work Act, 2015
Prohibits discrimination at work on the basis of sex and guarantees equal protection and rights for workers.
Source: unwomen.org
Nationality
Act amending the Aliens and Nationality Law of 1973 (signed July 2022)
Allows Liberian women to pass citizenship to their children on the same basis as men and permits dual citizenship.
Source: citizenshiprightsafrica.org
Trafficking
Revised Act to Ban Trafficking in Persons within the Republic of Liberia, 2021 (amending the Act to Ban Trafficking in Persons, 2005)
Criminalises trafficking in persons with minimum sentences of 20 years of imprisonment.
Gaps: Its definition of exploitation is inconsistent with international law and officials lack training to apply it.
Source: state.gov
Access to justice and legal aid
An Act to Repeal the Act of 1997 Creating the Liberia Commission on Human Rights and to Create the Independent National Commission on Human Rights of Liberia, 2005
Creates the Independent National Commission on Human Rights, which receives complaints of human rights violations.
Gaps: The CEDAW Committee found legal aid provision for women insufficient in 2015.
Source: ecoi.net
Civic space
| Notes | International IDEA records a six-month leadership deadlock in the House of Representatives from November 2024, ending with the re-election of the Speaker in May 2025. IDEA also notes gender underrepresentation in parliament and discrimination against LGBTQIA+ people. |
|---|
Data protection
No data protection law
Liberia has no data protection law and no data protection authority. A privacy and data protection bill was under review by the House of Representatives.
Gaps: Personal data, including data on survivors of violence, has no specific legal protection.
Source: dlapiperdataprotection.com
Human rights defenders
Associations Law, Title 5, Liberian Codes Revised (1976), and the National NGO Policy
Regulate associations and NGOs. Liberia has no specific law on human rights defenders.
Source: liblaw.org
Social protection
Act establishing the National Social Security and Welfare Corporation (approved 27 December 2016, published 13 February 2017)
Sets up the national social security system (NASSCORP).
Source: liberiahrjobs.com
Older persons
No specific law on older persons
A bill on a National Commission for the Elderly passed the House in 2021 and was still pending before the Senate in 2026.
Gaps: No law on the rights of older persons.
Source: frontpageafricaonline.com
Recent developments
- 13 May 2025. Speaker of the House re-elected, ending the leadership deadlock.
- November 2024. A majority bloc suspended three House members and blocked passage of the 2025 budget.
- 2 May 2024. President Boakai signed an executive order to establish a Special War Crimes Court and an anti-corruption court.
- 10 October 2023. Legislative elections: 8 women elected to the 73-seat House of Representatives.
Reforms recommended
Reforms recommended by the African Commission, UN treaty bodies or national organisations, as reported in the sources below.
- Set 18 as the minimum age of marriage for girls and boys without consent-based exceptions, as recommended by the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child and Article 6 of the Maputo Protocol (Girls Not Brides).
- Adopt a national strategy on ending child marriage (Girls Not Brides).
- Pass legislation to set up the Special War Crimes Court created by the May 2024 executive order (International IDEA).
Being verified. RFLD is checking the laws on the following topics against official texts and will add them to this page: sexual harassment, women and girls with disabilities, 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. 6 of the 13 human rights and governance treaties below are ratified.
| AU treaty | Status | AU list dated |
|---|---|---|
| Maputo Protocol (rights of women) | Ratified 14/12/2007 | 19/09/2023 |
| African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights | Ratified 04/08/1982 | 15/06/2017 |
| African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child | Ratified 01/08/2007 | 14/02/2023 |
| Protocol establishing the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights | Signed 1998, not ratified | 14/02/2023 |
| African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance | Ratified 23/02/2014 | 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 | Signed 2008, not ratified | 19/09/2023 |
| OAU Refugee Convention | Ratified 01/10/1971 | 16/05/2019 |
| AU Convention on Preventing and Combating Corruption | Ratified 20/06/2007 | 14/02/2023 |
| AU Convention on Cyber Security and Personal Data Protection (Malabo) | Not signed | 02/02/2026 |
Other AU treaties (16)
Sources (25)
- data.ipu.org · women ranking
- girlsnotbrides.org · liberia
- documents1.worldbank.org · P179153 156eebab c7a8 46ea aefa ab7ca80708a0
- au.int · 37077 sl PROTOCOL TO THE AFRICAN CHARTER ON HUMAN AND PEO…
- treaties.un.org · iv 8.en
- treaties.un.org · iv 8 b.en
- au.int · 36804 sl AFRICAN CHARTER ON THE RIGHTS AND WELFARE OF THE…
- ntucphl.org · article 3
- ilo.org · index
- whatconvention.org · 120
- treaties.un.org · IV 4.en
- au.int · 36846 sl AFRICAN UNION CONVENTION FOR THE PROTECTION AND …
- au.int · 29560 sl AFRICAN UNION CONVENTION ON CYBER SECURITY AND P…
- coe.int · the budapest convention
- data.ipu.org · data on women
- idea.int · liberia
- data.ipu.org · LR
- idea.int · may 2024
- unwomen.org · Liberia national Beijing+30 report 2024
- ecoi.net · ecoi.net Liberia national laws
- theadvocatesforhumanrights.org · The Advocates for Human Rights submission on FGM, 2018
- ohchr.org · OHCHR summary of CEDAW review of Liberia, 2015
- faolex.fao.org · FAOLEX text of the Equal Rights of the Customary Marriage Law
- citizenshiprightsafrica.org · Citizenship Rights in Africa Initiative
- state.gov · US 2022 Trafficking in Persons Report: Liberia
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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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