Bid to cement Maputo Protocol to boost African women’s rights

AS PART of the drive to sensitise AU member states to the importance of protecting the rights of African women, the Committee on Gender, Family, Youths and People with Disabilities has initiated a series of consultations for the promotion, ratification and internalisation of the Maputo Protocol on the rights of women.

At the Pan African Parliament’s (PAP) Fifth Ordinary Session in Midrand, a report on the protocol was presented to parliamentarians, the media and other attendees.

The protocol, signed in Mozambique in 2003, was adopted by the AU as part of the African Charter on Human and Rights which guarantee comprehensive rights to women, including the right to take part in the political process, to social and political equality with men, improved autonomy in their reproductive health decisions and an end to female genital mutilation.

The report followed a visit by a PAP delegation to Tunisia in July, during which members met various delegations, including government members, civil society organisations and the media.

Tunisia is regarded as one of the African countries with the best record in promoting and protecting women’s rights.

Yet, the PAP committee noted, Tunisia is one of the African countries that has not yet ratified the protocol.

The law on gender parity in local elections passed by the Tunisian parliament in June 2016 is one of the reforms instituted by the Tunisian government to change this situation.

However, its enforcement will require communication strategies and a sharing of experiences with countries that have adopted similar measures.

Studying Tunisia as an example, the PAP team noted that the country’s judicial system is undergoing a total transformation, especially regarding laws that govern violence against women.

Strategies to empower women include a new law prohibiting all forms of violence against women. – ANA