DƆNÙESÈ Data Center / Women’s Rights Laws by Country / São Tomé and Príncipe

Central Africa · Country law profile

São Tomé and Príncipe: women’s rights and civic space laws

São Tomé and Príncipe ratified the Maputo Protocol and the African Children’s Charter in 2019 and the ICCPR in 2017, and acceded to the Budapest Convention on Cybercrime in June 2025. Law No 11/2022 on parity aims for at least 40% of each sex on elected bodies, yet women held 14.6% of National Assembly seats after the 2022 election. A 2017 cybercrime law and a 2016 data protection law are in force.

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	São Tomé
Legal system	Civil law system based on Portuguese law
Official languages	Portuguese

Key indicators

14.6% (8 of 55)Women in National Assembly (2026)

Regional and international treaties

Treaty	Status	Reservations or notes
Maputo Protocol	signed 18 Apr 2019 / ratified 18 Apr 2019 / deposited 27 Jun 2019	None listed
CEDAW Optional Protocol	signed 6 Sep 2000 / ratified 23 Mar 2017
African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child	signed 1 Feb 2010 / ratified 18 Apr 2019 / deposited 27 Jun 2019
ILO C100 Equal Remuneration	ratified 1 Jun 1982
ILO C111 Discrimination (Employment and Occupation)	ratified 1 Jun 1982
ICCPR	signed 31 Oct 1995 / ratified 10 Jan 2017
Kampala Convention	signed 1 Feb 2010 / ratified 5 Dec 2023 / deposited 15 Feb 2024
AU Convention on Cyber Security and Personal Data Protection (Malabo)	signed 29 Jan 2016 / ratified 25 Sep 2023 / deposited 15 Feb 2024
Budapest Convention on Cybercrime	acceded 5 Jun 2025

Constitution

Quotas or parity	Law No 11/2022 (parity law) aims for a minimum of 40% of each sex on elected bodies such as the National Assembly; the first two places on candidate lists must go to candidates of different sexes

National laws

Political participation and quotas

Law No 11/2022 (parity law)

Sets a minimum of 40% of each sex for elective bodies, with alternation rules at the top of candidate lists.

Gaps: Women won only 14.6% of National Assembly seats in the 2022 election.

Source: data.ipu.org

Online violence and cybercrime

Law No 15/2017 on cybercrime; Law No 3/2016 on personal data protection; Law No 7/2017 on the National Agency for Personal Data Protection

Criminalises computer forgery, data damage, sabotage, illegal access and interception, and sets procedural powers and rules for international cooperation; the Penal Code covers child sexual abuse material.

Source: coe.int

Gender-based and domestic violence

Law on Domestic and Family Violence, articles 5, 7, 13 a 20 e 30

Dedicated law on domestic and family violence that defines its forms and sets protection and criminal measures.

Source: wbl.worldbank.org

Family and personal status

Código de Família, artigos 25, 80, 81, 175 e 183

Removes the wife’s duty of obedience and gives both spouses equal standing as head of household. It provides fast-track procedures for family disputes.

Gaps: The World Bank notes that women still face restrictions on remarriage.

Source: wbl.worldbank.org

Inheritance and succession

Código de Família, artigo 101

Gives sons and daughters, and surviving wives and husbands, equal inheritance rights.

Source: wbl.worldbank.org

Land and property

Código de Família, artigos 92, 93, 133 e 138

Grants spouses equal rights to own and administer property and recognises non-monetary contributions to the household when marital property is divided.

Source: wbl.worldbank.org

Labour and maternity

Lei n.º 6/2019 (labour law)

Prohibits discrimination in employment based on sex. It also prohibits discrimination based on marital or parental status. It provides at least 14 weeks of maternity leave and bans the dismissal of pregnant workers.

Source: wbl.worldbank.org

Social protection

Decreto-Lei n.º 19/2022 (segurança social)

Social security rules that finance maternity benefits and credit periods of childcare towards pensions.

Gaps: The ages for a full pension differ between women and men.

Source: wbl.worldbank.org

Nationality

Lei da Nacionalidade, artigos 5 e 6

Allows women and men to pass São Toméan nationality to their spouses and children.

Source: wbl.worldbank.org

Access to justice and legal aid

Basic Law of the Judiciary, articles 57, 60 and 61

Provides for specialised family courts to hear family law disputes.

Source: wbl.worldbank.org

Girls’ education

Lei n.º 03/2022 (framework law on pre-school education)

Framework law on pre-school education that organises centre-based childcare, which supports mothers’ work and girls’ early learning.

Source: wbl.worldbank.org

Civic space

Cybercrime law	Law No 15/2017 on cybercrime

Data protection

Lei n.º 03/2016, Lei de Proteção de Dados Pessoais

Adopted on 15 February 2016 and promulgated on 18 March 2016.

Source: afapdp.org

Women and girls with disabilities

Lei n.º 7/2012, Lei de Base para as Pessoas com Deficiência

Framework law on persons with disabilities.

Source: adry.up.ac.za

Older persons

No specific law on older persons

The Constitution names older persons and the ministry covers them as a vulnerable group.

Gaps: No law on the rights of older persons.

Source: adry.up.ac.za

Rape and sexual offences

Código Penal, Lei n.º 6/2012, amended by Lei n.º 15/2021

The Penal Code punishes rape. The 2021 amendment rewrote the offences of sexual abuse of children and adolescents (arts. 175 to 183-A).

Source: faolex.fao.org

Sexual harassment

Código Penal, art. 166(2); Código do Trabalho, Lei n.º 6/2019, arts. 18 and 20

Covers sexual harassment at work.

Gaps: No protection against harassment in education, public spaces or online.

Source: wbl.worldbank.org

Female genital mutilation

No specific law on female genital mutilation

Article 22 of the Constitution protects physical integrity and bans cruel treatment.

Source: antislaverylaw.ac.uk

Child marriage and age of marriage

Código da Família, Lei n.º 19/2018, arts. 20 and 22(d)

Sets the minimum age of marriage at 18. Exceptions allow marriage from 14 for girls and 16 for boys with consent.

Gaps: UN committees ask the State to remove all exceptions.

Source: girlsnotbrides.org

Harmful practices

No specific law on harmful practices

UN treaty bodies are concerned about de facto unions between girls and older men and recommend criminalising them.

Source: upr-info.org

Abortion and sexual and reproductive health

Código Penal, Lei n.º 6/2012, chapter on crimes against intra-uterine life

The delegation told the CEDAW Committee in 2023 that abortion is allowed in the first 12 weeks.

Source: ungeneva.org

Trafficking

Código Penal, arts. 159, 160, 161, 172 and 181

Punish slavery, trafficking for labour exploitation, sale of persons and trafficking for prostitution.

Gaps: No dedicated anti-trafficking law.

Source: antislaverylaw.ac.uk

Human rights defenders

No specific law on human rights defenders

The Constitution guarantees freedom of expression, association and assembly (arts. 30 to 35).

Gaps: Defenders have no specific legal protection.

Source: upr-info.org

Recent developments

January 2026. OHCHR announced the Universal Periodic Review of São Tomé and Príncipe.
5 June 2025. Acceded to the Budapest Convention on Cybercrime.
15 February 2024. Deposited ratifications of the Kampala Convention and the Malabo Convention.
2022. Law No 11/2022 on parity adopted.

Reforms recommended

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

Enforce Law No 11/2022 on parity, since women hold only 14.6% of National Assembly seats.
Ratify ILO C190.
Submit the initial report under the African Children’s Charter.

Being verified. RFLD is checking the laws on the following topics against official texts and will add them to this page: 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 18/04/2019	19/09/2023
African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights	Ratified 23/05/1986	15/06/2017
African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child	Ratified 18/04/2019	14/02/2023
Protocol establishing the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights	Signed 2010, not ratified	14/02/2023
African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance	Ratified 18/04/2019	08/07/2024
AU Convention on Ending Violence against Women and Girls	Not signed	22/05/2026
Protocol on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities	Not signed	22/05/2026
Protocol on the Rights of Older Persons	Ratified 25/09/2023	22/05/2026
Protocol on Social Protection and Social Security	Signed 2023, not ratified	22/05/2026
African Youth Charter	Ratified 19/09/2014	19/09/2023
OAU Refugee Convention	Signed 2010, not ratified	16/05/2019
AU Convention on Preventing and Combating Corruption	Ratified 28/05/2019	14/02/2023
AU Convention on Cyber Security and Personal Data Protection (Malabo)	Ratified 25/09/2023	02/02/2026

Other AU treaties (16)

AU treaty	Status	AU list dated
Protocol on Free Movement of Persons	Ratified 28/05/2019	08/08/2023
Protocol on the Statute of the African Court of Justice and Human Rights	Signed 2010, not ratified	18/06/2020
Protocol on Amendments to the Statute of the African Court of Justice and Human Rights (Malabo Protocol)	Signed 2016, not ratified	22/05/2026
Protocol of the Court of Justice of the African Union	Signed 2010, not ratified	18/06/2020
Protocol on the Peace and Security Council	Ratified 22/09/2003	27/04/2022
Protocol to the OAU Convention on Terrorism	Signed 2010, not ratified	15/06/2017
OAU Convention on Mercenarism	Signed 2010, not ratified	15/06/2017
Charter on Decentralisation, Local Governance and Local Development	Signed 2016, not ratified	25/03/2022
Charter on Public Service and Administration	Ratified 01/09/2014	08/07/2024
African Charter on Statistics	Ratified 25/11/2016	19/09/2023
Statute of the Pan African Intellectual Property Organization	Signed 2023, not ratified	19/09/2023
African Road Safety Charter	Signed 2023, not ratified	22/05/2026
Revised African Maritime Transport Charter	Signed 2016, not ratified	25/03/2022
Phyto-sanitary Convention for Africa	Not signed	15/06/2017
Convention establishing the African Centre for Fertilizer Development	Signed 2010, not ratified	19/09/2023
Constitution of the Association of African Trade Promotion Organizations	Signed 2010, not ratified	16/05/2019

Sources (14)

Other countries in Central Africa

BurundiCountry law profile CameroonCountry law profile Central African RepublicCountry law profile ChadCountry law profile Democratic Republic of the CongoCountry law profile Equatorial GuineaCountry law profile GabonCountry law profile Republic of the CongoCountry law profile

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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