Protocol to the African Charter On Human and Peoples' Rights on The Rights of Women in Africa.

The Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa (Women’s Protocol) was adopted in Maputo, Mozambique, in July 2003 and entered into force in November 2005. It is inspired by a recognised need to compensate for the inadequate protection afforded to women by the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights. While the African Charter guarantees non-discrimination on the basis of sex, equality before the law, and the elimination of discrimination against women, it does not articulate specific violations of women’s rights which result from discrimination. This Protocol is comprehensive with its inclusion of civil and political rights, economic, social and cultural rights, group rights and health and reproductive rights. Provisions address, among other things, violence against women, harmful traditional practices, child marriage, polygamy, inheritance, economic empowerment, women’s political participation, education, and women in armed conflict.
The Protocol states the obligation of Parties to combat and eliminate all forms of discrimination against, require Parties to undertake certain measures to guarantee (equal) rights to women, and affirm rights of women, among them, the right to an equitable share in the inheritance of the property of her husband, the right to live in a healthy and sustainable environment and the right to fully enjoy their right to sustainable development. They shall also ensure that women have the right to nutritious and adequate food. States Parties shall take all appropriate measures to, among other things - a) provide women with access to clean drinking water, sources of domestic fuel, land, and the means of producing nutritious food; b) establish adequate systems of supply and storage to ensure food security; c) ensure greater participation of women in the planning, management and preservation of the environment and the sustainable use of natural resources at all levels; d) protect and enable the development of women’s indigenous knowledge systems; e) regulate the management, processing, storage and disposal of domestic waste and ensure that proper standards are followed for the storage, transportation and disposal of toxic waste.
As to governance, States Parties shall take all appropriate measures to: a) introduce the gender perspective in the national development planning procedures; b) ensure participation of women at all levels in the conceptualisation, decision-making, implementation and evaluation of development policies and programmes; c) promote women’s access to and control over productive resources such as land and guarantee their right to property; d) promote women’s access to credit, training, skills development and extension services at rural and urban levels in order to provide women with a higher quality of life and reduce the level of poverty among women; e) take into account indicators of human development specifically relating to women in the elaboration of development policies and programmes; and f) ensure that the negative effects of globalisation and any adverse effects of the implementation of trade and economic policies and programmes are reduced to the minimum for women.