How Africa’s family laws increase the vulnerability of women and girls
Gender inequality in family law increases the risk of exploitation in Africa, the UK fails to track critical data on modern slavery, and Myanmar’s military forcibly conscripts Rohingya men and boys to fight against rebel groups.
A newly published report from Equality Now explores the way in which gender inequality in Africa’s family laws heightens the risk of exploitation for women and girls. The report assesses the current status of laws in 20 African countries, analyzing their compliance with the African Union’s Maputo Protocol on women’s rights, the UN’s Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), and other relevant global and regional human rights treaties.
The findings show that family law discrimination and persistent gender inequality in Africa are further exacerbated by a multitude of challenges, including legal pluralism and intersecting civil, customary, and religious systems. The authors point out that customary law is deeply patriarchal and consists of many practices which amount to discrimination against women, such as those relating to inheritance and child marriage. In addition, women fall victim to harmful traditional practices such as widow inheritance and surrogate marriage which treat women as property, to be handed over or inherited. Altogether, this unjust treatment and lack of protection not only deprives women and girls of their rights, but also leaves them vulnerable to exploitation and abuse.
In Botswana, for instance, a woman married out of community of property is at a major disadvantage regarding ownership rights and the division of assets particularly if, during her marriage, she spent her time looking after the family and children while her husband worked. Despite her contribution to the joint household, share in property will be determined on economic terms upon divorce and she will likely be left destitute. In some cases, the matrimonial property of a woman is tied to the custody of children; in Egypt, for instance, she will lose her home when her children reach the age of majority.
Similarly, unequal distribution of inheritance, as seen in cases where women receive a lower share of assets than men under certain legal systems, can contribute to financial instability and a higher risk of exploitation. Women often inherit less than men due to customary and religious laws, even where it is against the constitution, for instance in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Nigeria, Senegal and The Gambia. Meanwhile, countries such as Algeria, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Egypt, Sudan and Tunisia provide outright for unequal inheritance for female children and wives.
Limited access to legal knowledge and resources, especially for marginalized groups such as poor widows in rural areas, can prevent women from effectively challenging unjust practices and seeking protection under the law, leaving them more exposed to exploitation. Women do not always have accessible and affordable avenues through which to seek legal remedies, such as legal aid services or specialized family courts, and are not always aware of the relevant laws, procedures, and legal recourse available to them.
While there have been advancements in family law reform across the continent, progress has been slow and inconsistent, the report says. Success is visible in positive trends such as the introduction of a legal age for marriage of 18 without any exceptions in several countries, decriminalization of same-sex relationships, prohibition of FGM, and laws on violence against women. However, some states have added clauses that have reversed all or parts of these laws and many inequalities still remain, including disproportionate restrictions on the rights to inheritance; unequal divorce regimes; and lack of recognition of same-sex marriages. These setbacks have been compounded by backlash from the anti-rights movement through efforts to reverse positive gains, while some states persist in lodging reservations against international laws, citing cultural or religious grounds. Additionally, pluralistic legal systems, in which both civil and customary laws apply, are a huge stumbling block to family law reform in Africa. African Union member states should standardize their family codes, the report suggests, and religious laws should be aligned with regional and international standards where provisions are discriminatory against women.
Ultimately, for gender equality in family law in Africa to become a reality, there must be universal ratification and implementation of key human rights treaties, the authors say. It is therefore hoped the report will be a critical data source informing legal, policy, and practice reforms to end sexism and discrimination, and that law and policymakers will take steps to adopt legal reforms, strengthen legal frameworks, enhance data collection and monitoring, enforce laws, and provide legal aid and support services.
Here’s a round-up of other noteworthy news and initiatives:
The latest report by the Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially women and children, underscores the responsibilities of maritime actors and states to combat trafficking and safeguard victims, particularly children, at sea. It emphasizes the necessity for secure migration channels, improved asylum access, and global collaboration to tackle trafficking, highlighting the grave dangers and human rights infringements linked to restricted migration and perilous sea voyages.
A new report by After Exploitation highlights the UK’s deficiency in collecting and disclosing critical data on modern slavery, particularly regarding survivor support and preventative measures against exploitation. Titled “A Can of Worms”: Challenges and Opportunities in Modern Slavery Evidence Gathering, it underscores the government’s persistent failure to release figures on survivors’ access to essential services. Moreover, crucial data on industries and visa types associated with human trafficking, crucial for guiding preventative action, are inconsistently tracked by officials.
On Friday, the Counter Trafficking in Persons Centre of Excellence (CTIP-COE) opened in Bangkok, to train anti-trafficking personnel and enhance the knowledge, experience, and skills necessary for combating human trafficking and related crimes. The center is an initiative of the Thai Government, supported by the Australian Government through the ASEAN-Australia Counter Trafficking (ASEAN-ACT) program, and is the first of its kind in the region.
Also, The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) has launched an Emergency Response Network (ERN) to combat human trafficking for forced criminal activities – especially in scam operations – in Southeast Asia. The ERN aims to enhance cooperation among law enforcement agencies in the region to address the sophisticated nature of transnational organized crime, including scams involving romance, cryptocurrency, and illegal gambling.
The Myanmar military has forcibly conscripted 1,000 Rohingya men and boys since February to fight against the Arakan Army and be used as human shields, according to Human Rights Watch, while young men are also abducted from refugee camps in Bangladesh and taken to Myanmar where they could be forced to fight. The UN warns that the Rohingya are trapped between warring factions, facing violence, forced displacement, and severe humanitarian crises, with rising intercommunal tensions exacerbating their suffering.
Tunisia is forging agreements with African countries to enable the voluntary return of irregular migrants as part of its strategy to combat trafficking.
Asia Floor Wage Alliance (AFWA) and Global Labor Justice-International Labor Rights Forum (GLJ-ILRF) invite you to a webinar titled ‘Nike’s Equality Lie: Workers Speak Out,’ on 30 May – described as a space to demand that Nike reconcile its empty promises of equality with the lived experiences of the women who sew its clothes.
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