DƆNÙESÈ Data Center / Women’s Rights Laws by Country / Senegal

West Africa · Country law profile

Senegal: women’s rights and civic space laws

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	Dakar

Key indicators

41.2% (68 of 165)Women in National Assembly (2026)

Regional and international treaties

Treaty	Status	Reservations or notes
Maputo Protocol	signed 26/12/2003; ratified 27/12/2004; deposited 30/01/2005
CEDAW	signed 29/07/1980; ratified 05/02/1985
CEDAW Optional Protocol	signed 10/12/1999; ratified 26/05/2000
African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child	signed 18/05/1992; ratified 29/09/1998; deposited 30/10/1998
ICCPR	signed 06/07/1970; ratified 13/02/1978
Kampala Convention	signed 12/07/2011; not ratified
AU Convention on Cyber Security and Personal Data Protection (Malabo)	ratified 03/08/2016; deposited 16/08/2016
ILO C190 Violence and Harassment Convention	not ratified

National laws

Gender-based and domestic violence

Loi n° 99-05 du 29 janvier 1999 modifiant certaines dispositions du Code pénal (article 297 bis, violences conjugales)

Makes a deliberate assault on a spouse a specific offence, punished by one to five years’ imprisonment and a fine of 50,000 to 500,000 CFA francs where it causes more than 20 days of incapacity. Heavier penalties apply where the violence causes mutilation or death.

Source: clr.africanchildforum.org

Rape and sexual offences

Loi n° 2020-05 du 10 janvier 2020 criminalisant le viol et la pédophilie (modifiant le Code pénal)

Turns rape and paedophilia into crimes tried as felonies. Under the 1999 law, rape was classified as a crime only when it caused the victim’s death.

Source: justice.sec.gouv.sn

Sexual harassment

Code pénal, article 319 bis (introduced by Loi n° 99-05 du 29 janvier 1999)

Punishes anyone who abuses their authority to harass another person through orders, threats, words or coercion in order to obtain sexual favours, with six months to three years’ imprisonment and a fine.

Source: clr.africanchildforum.org

Female genital mutilation

Code pénal, article 299 bis (introduced by Loi n° 99-05 du 29 janvier 1999)

Punishes total or partial excision, or an attempt, with six months to five years’ imprisonment. Medical staff receive the maximum penalty and life imprisonment applies where the victim dies.

Source: clr.africanchildforum.org

Child marriage and age of marriage

Loi n° 72-61 du 12 juin 1972 portant Code de la famille, article 111

Sets the minimum age of marriage at 16 for women and 18 for men. The president of the regional court may grant an age dispensation for serious reasons after an inquiry.

Gaps: The minimum age for girls remains below 18, the age required by the Maputo Protocol.

Source: droit-et-politique-en-afrique.info

Family and personal status

Loi n° 72-61 du 12 juin 1972 portant Code de la famille

Governs marriage, filiation and parental authority, among other matters of family life.

Gaps: Advocates criticise the code’s structure built on the primacy of the father, including unequal parental authority and limits on paternity searches.

Source: fr.allafrica.com

Inheritance and succession

Loi n° 72-61 du 12 juin 1972 portant Code de la famille (successions de droit musulman)

The Family Code contains a separate regime for Muslim successions alongside the general law of succession.

Gaps: Under the Muslim succession rules a daughter receives half the share of a son.

Source: droit-et-politique-en-afrique.info

Abortion and sexual and reproductive health

Loi n° 65-60 du 21 juillet 1965 portant Code pénal, articles 305 et 305 bis

Criminalises abortion for the provider and for the woman, with one to five years’ imprisonment for providers and six months to two years for a woman who induces her own abortion. Article 305 bis punishes promoting abortion.

Gaps: The Penal Code contains no exception for rape or incest, which the Maputo Protocol requires.

Source: reproductiverights.org

Abortion and sexual and reproductive health

Loi n° 2005-18 du 5 août 2005 relative à la santé de la reproduction

Defines reproductive health services, which include action against female genital mutilation and sexual abuse (article 4), and states that all forms of violence and sexual abuse are punishable (article 13).

Gaps: Reports point to weak enforcement and a lack of dedicated budget lines for young people’s access to services.

Source: rutgers.international

Girls’ education

Education orientation law of 30 January 1991, as amended (compulsory schooling)

Makes education compulsory and free for children aged 6 to 16.

Source: adry.up.ac.za

Political participation and quotas

Loi n° 2010-11 du 28 mai 2010 instituant la parité absolue Homme-Femme dans toutes les institutions totalement ou partiellement électives

Requires gender parity on candidate lists for fully or partly elected bodies, and lists that do not respect parity are rejected. Women held 43.3 per cent of seats in the National Assembly at the time of the 2022 CEDAW review.

Gaps: Parity is weaker in local bodies and in appointed posts, which the law does not cover.

Source: ohchr.org

Labour and maternity

Code du travail

Governs employment, including the protection of pregnant workers.

Gaps: The CEDAW Committee noted in 2022 that some Labour Code provisions restrict women’s access to employment, and the government said a revision was under way.

Source: ungeneva.org

Nationality

Loi n° 2013-05 du 8 juillet 2013 modifiant la loi n° 61-10 du 7 mars 1961 sur la nationalité

Removed the primacy of the father in nationality law, so that women can transmit Senegalese nationality to their children and to a foreign husband.

Source: fr.allafrica.com

Trafficking

Loi n° 2005-06 du 10 mai 2005 relative à la lutte contre la traite des personnes et pratiques assimilées et à la protection des victimes

Punishes trafficking with five to ten years’ imprisonment and up to 30 years in aggravated cases. Maximum penalties apply where the victim is a child. Victims are protected from prosecution and from removal during proceedings. They may also ask for residence.

Source: antislaverylaw.ac.uk

Data protection

Loi n° 2008-12 du 25 janvier 2008 sur la protection des données à caractère personnel

Protects personal data and creates the Commission de protection des données personnelles (CDP), which must authorise processing of sensitive data such as health data and can impose fines of up to 100 million CFA francs.

Source: africanlegalfactory.com

Women and girls with disabilities

Loi d’orientation sociale n° 2010-15 du 6 juillet 2010 relative à la promotion et à la protection des droits des personnes handicapées

Prohibits disability discrimination in employment and sets a 15 per cent quota in public sector recruitment. It creates an equal opportunities card giving access to health care and education benefits. The card also gives access to transport benefits.

Gaps: The law has no specific provisions on women and girls with disabilities, and several of its mechanisms were implemented late.

Source: adry.up.ac.za

Vulnerable Groups

Loi n° 2026-08 du 27 mars 2026 modifiant l’article 319 du Code pénal

Punishes sexual acts between persons of the same sex with five to ten years’ imprisonment and a fine of 2 to 10 million CFA francs. It also creates offences of promoting or financing such acts, punished by three to seven years.

Gaps: Judges cannot suspend or reduce the sentence where the other person is a minor.

Source: fr.allafrica.com

Human rights defenders

No specific law on human rights defenders

Civil society (COSEDDH) submitted a draft law on human rights defenders to the Minister of Justice in May 2024.

Gaps: Defenders have no specific legal protection.

Source: fr.allafrica.com

Social protection

Loi n° 2026-19 du 03 septembre 2026 portant Code de la Sécurité sociale

New Social Security Code, adopted on 18 August 2026 and published in Journal officiel n° 7932 of 18 September 2026.

Source: vie-publique.sn

Older persons

No specific law on older persons

In October 2025 the ruling party announced work on a law for older persons. No text has been tabled.

Gaps: No law on the rights of older persons.

Source: lesoleil.sn

Being verified. RFLD is checking the laws on the following topics against official texts and will add them to this page: harmful practices, land and property, access to justice and legal aid, online violence and cybercrime. 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 27/12/2004	19/09/2023
African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights	Ratified 13/08/1982	15/06/2017
African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child	Ratified 29/09/1998	14/02/2023
Protocol establishing the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights	Ratified 29/09/1998	14/02/2023
African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance	Signed 2008, not ratified	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	Not signed	22/05/2026
Protocol on Social Protection and Social Security	Not signed	22/05/2026
African Youth Charter	Ratified 17/09/2009	19/09/2023
OAU Refugee Convention	Ratified 01/04/1971	16/05/2019
AU Convention on Preventing and Combating Corruption	Ratified 12/04/2007	14/02/2023
AU Convention on Cyber Security and Personal Data Protection (Malabo)	Ratified 03/08/2016	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	Signed 2008, not ratified	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	Signed 2003, not ratified	18/06/2020
Protocol on the Peace and Security Council	Ratified 09/09/2003	27/04/2022
Protocol to the OAU Convention on Terrorism	Signed 2008, not ratified	15/06/2017
OAU Convention on Mercenarism	Ratified 02/10/1981	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 03/08/2023	19/09/2023
Statute of the Pan African Intellectual Property Organization	Not signed	19/09/2023
African Road Safety Charter	Ratified 03/08/2023	22/05/2026
Revised African Maritime Transport Charter	Not signed	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 1976, not ratified	16/05/2019

Sources (18)

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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Aid to women’s organisations is falling. RFLD moves funding fast to women-led organisations and defenders, in French and English, through a network of 1,143 member organisations in more than 35 African countries.L’aide aux organisations de femmes recule. Le RFLD achemine vite les financements vers les organisations de femmes et les défenseures, en français et en anglais, grâce à un réseau de 1 143 organisations membres dans plus de 35 pays africains.

RFLD currently serves as Co-Chair of the SEA-T Programme Advisory Council, mandated to ensure the programme’s direction, priorities, and resources are meaningfully aligned with the visions of African women-led civil society. The SEA-T Programme is funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and implemented by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH.Le RFLD assure actuellement la coprésidence du Conseil consultatif du programme SEA-T, chargé de veiller à ce que l’orientation, les priorités et les ressources du programme soient réellement alignées sur les visions de la société civile africaine portée par les femmes. Le programme SEA-T est financé par le ministère fédéral allemand de la Coopération économique et du Développement (BMZ) et mis en œuvre par la Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH. See the partnershipVoir le partenariat

1,143member organisationsorganisations membres
35+African countriespays africains
N°553ACHPR observer statusstatut d’observateur CADHP
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