Twenty years after the adoption of the Maputo Protocol by the African Union, inequality and discrimination against women are still on the rise in Africa. To fight this trend, the African Union needs to look to the example of western nations.
According to women’s rights advocacy group UN Women, violence against women and girls remains one of the most prevalent human rights violations worldwide, occurring every day in every corner of the globe.. While the UN’s figures indicate the global average of around 30%, based on a 2020 study, approximately 44% of women in Africa face gender-based violence. And studies show cases of sexual violence and femicide in Africa increased during the COVID-19 pandemic.
On July 11, 2003 the African Union (AU) adopted the Maputo Protocol, also known as the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa, to address women’s rights in Africa and promote their well-being in various spheres of life, including social, political, and economic. The act has since been ratified by 42 member states under the AU. However, this legal instrument has been ineffective at curbing violence against women. This is due to the numerous barriers that have hindered its implementation, as well as weak reporting mechanisms within the African Commission.
The primary barrier limiting the Protocol’s impact is the absence of a unified body to ensure its implementation in governing member states. Moving forward, the African Union must develop robust monitoring and reporting mechanisms to ensure that member states’ laws align with the Protocol’s provisions.
Currently, national laws work against the Protocol, perpetuating the gender inequality that leads to the physical, economic, and psychological abuse exercised on African women. For example, consider Malawi, where women account for 70% of Africa’s food production, yet by law often do not have secure access to land. Or Guinea and Somalia, where over 90% of women and girls aged 15 – 49 have undergone some form of genital mutilation often as a prerequisite for marriage or entrance into womanhood.
Such practices go against the Maputo Protocol Articles V and VI that prohibit and condemn all forms of harmful practices and guarantee equality for women. Tackling these issues will mean conducting comprehensive reviews of existing legislation and enacting new laws to address gaps and inconsistencies by the African Union and the African Union Member States.
The United States’ Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) is an excellent example of how gender equality legislation can be effectively implemented. VAWA enhances investigations and prosecutions of offenders and provides grant programs to tackle violence against women from various angles, including law enforcement.
The establishment of offices like the Office on Violence Against Women (OVW), a branch of the Department of Justice (DOJ), has been crucial to America’s success in this area. The OVW administers funding to grantees and facilitates technical assistance across sectors, serving as a key entity for coordinating efforts and providing resources.
African countries can draw insights from VAWA’s provisions and measures, especially by establishing relevant offices when domesticating the Maputo Protocol to inform their own legislative and policy frameworks.
African countries’ poor state reporting process further hinders the Protocol’s progress monitoring. This could be remedied by augmenting the Maputo Protocol documents that contain some ambiguities. For example, there is a requirement that state parties take measures to ensure the realization of rights, but the document did not clearly spell out what these measures should be or how they should be achieved. The report only focuses on the timeline for report submission and not how reports on the African Women's Protocol should be drafted.
The African Commission needs to establish a more effective and robust monitoring and evaluation mechanism to encourage state parties to understand the value of reporting. The U.S. has established reporting mechanisms at the national level to monitor the implementation of international human rights obligations. The U.S. Department of State prepares annual reports on human rights practices worldwide, including within the United States, to address and identify issues. The African Commission needs to establish such an effective monitoring and evaluation mechanism to encourage state parties to understand the value of reporting.
The implementation of the Maputo Protocol holds significant potential for both the economic growth of Africa and the advancement of women’s rights. African nations can harness the full potential of their population and achieve sustainable development, but they will need to follow suit with their western neighbors.
Oluwabukola Adimula is a dedicated advocate for human rights and gender equality with experience in communications and project management. She is a Prometheus fellow, African Liberty writing fellow, and an Opinion Contributor with Young Voices. Bukola writes about women's rights, politics, Free trade, policy, and human rights.
