The Protocol on the rights of women in Africa



After the adoption of the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa in July 2003, women’s and human rights organizations were concerned that the ratification and domestication of the Protocol has being slow.



African Union Member States must recognize the importance of this Protocol in ensuring African women their rights. Rape in Congo, Sudan and Uganda are rampant; Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) plagues girls and women in Ethiopia, Mali, Sierra Leone and Somalia amongst other countries; forced early marriages steal young girls of their childhood in Ghana, Kenya and Zambia. These examples are just the tip of the iceberg! The violence and discrimination against African women cannot continue.



Solidarity for African Women’s Rights (SOAWR) hands red cards, yellow cards and green cards to African leaders



Countries which have received red cards for failing to sign or ratify the Protocol include:



Angola, Botswana, Cameroon, Central Africa Republic, Cape Verde, Egypt, Eritrea, Malawi, Mauritania, Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic, Seychelles, Somalia, Sao Tome & Principe, Sudan, Tunisia, Zambia



Countries which have received yellow cards for signing but failing to ratify the Protocol include:



Algeria, Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Chad, Cote d’Ivoire, Congo, DRC, Ethiopia, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea-Bissau, Guinea, Kenya, Liberia, Madagascar, Mozambique, Mauritius, Niger, Sierra Leone, Swaziland, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zimbabwe



Countries which have received green cards for signing and ratifying the Protocol include:



The Comoros, Djibouti, Libya, Lesotho, Mali, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal and South Africa



Tell African leaders to get on with ratification!

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