This year marks twenty years since the Maputo Protocol was adopted by the African Union, and we want to tell you about our part in how it came into being and in the Protocol’s journey over the past two decades.

The Maputo Protocol offers women and girls in Africa the most progressive and comprehensive protection of their human rights in the world at present. Established by the African Union in 2003 and entered into force in 2005, the story of this groundbreaking human rights treaty could have been very different. 

Whilst we acknowledge that many individuals and organizations have worked on the Protocol at all stages of its existence and continue to do so, this isn’t their story. It’s the story of Equality Now, the SOAWR coalition, and the Maputo Protocol.