Honourable Chairperson of the ACHPR, Commissioners, State-Party Representatives, National Human Rights Institutions present, and Fellow Civil Society Representatives:
1. Urgent Call to Address Femicide in Africa
Equality Now remains deeply concerned by the femicide epidemic in the continent. For example, in Kenya, in July 2024, several mutilated bodies of women were retrieved from a dumpsite in Nairobi’s Mukuru kwa Njenga informal settlement following the anti-Finance Bill protests. In September, Ugandan olympian Rebecca Cheptegei died upon being set on fire by her partner. In Ethiopia, seven year old Heaven Awot was brutally raped and murdered by her mother’s landlord who received a lenient sentence of 25 years in prison. This year has been characterised by a wave of gruesome killings of women that have triggered massive protests in Cameroon, Kenya and Somalia among other African countries.
A 2022 report by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and UN Women indicated that Africa has the highest rate of femicide in the world after recording an estimated number of 22,000 gender-related killings of women in the continent. Most victims of femicide are killed by their former or current partners as a culmination of prior gender-based violence. Many African women currently live in fear of being the next victim. Despite several campaigns by feminist activist groups such as #AmINext in South Africa and #EndFemicideKe in Kenya, Member States have responded to the calls for reform through silence, non-action, or delayed action to address this alarming situation. We call upon the African Commission to urge Member States to fully and expeditiously implement Article 4 of the Maputo Protocol in relation to femicide by considering legal and any other measures, including preventative measures, that take into account femicide as a distinct crime due to its misogynistic nature.
2. Urgent Need to Reform Discriminatory Family Laws in Africa
Equality Now expresses deep concern over the continued existence of discriminatory family laws, policies, and practices in the continent. In May, we launched and published the “Gender Inequality in Family Laws in Africa: An Overview of Key Trends in Select Countries Report.” The report which features 20 countries demonstrates that while there is progress in family law reform on the continent, none of the featured countries have attained full family law equality. Discriminatory family laws, policies, and practices continue to perpetuate barriers to registration and legal recognition of marriages; allow polygamy, marital rape and domestic violence; and perpetuate inequalities in divorce, child custody, inheritance, and matrimonial property legal regimes. Reservations on Article 16 of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) and Articles 6 and 7 of the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa (the Maputo Protocol) on grounds of culture and religion continue to hinder progressive family law reforms in the continent. There can be no equality in society without equality in the family. We call upon the African Commission to urge Member States to urgently reform discriminatory family laws, policies, and practices including those based on religion and culture; and to partner with women’s rights organisations including the Africa Family Law Network to steer the family law reform campaign in Africa.
3. Call to Address Technology-Facilitated Gender-Based Violence
Equality Now is concerned that technology-facilitated gender-based violence (TFGBV), which disproportionately affects women and girls, is on the rise in Africa, driven by rapid digitalization and increased internet usage. This violence includes cyberstalking, harassment, doxxing, and the non-consensual sharing of intimate images, including AI-generated deep fakes and other forms of sexual exploitation and abuse. The impacts are severe, leading to anxiety, depression, and withdrawal from online spaces. Women and girls, especially those facing intersecting inequalities like LGBTQ+ individuals and women with disabilities, are particularly vulnerable. Women professionals such as journalists, activists, and politicians are also disproportionately targeted, facing attacks aimed at silencing their voices and undermining their work. Equality Now commends the recent adoption of the Resolution on the need to study digital violence against women’s rights in Africa by the African Commission in August 2024 as it will help to address the lack of adequate information on the continent regarding digital violence and its impact on women. We call upon the African Commission to urge Member States to enact effective laws and policies, in consultation with women in their diversity, to prevent, respond to, protect and support victims/survivors of digital harms including gender-based violence, mis- and dis-information, and cyberbullying, and ensure that oversight mechanisms are effective and accountable in line with the African Union Child Online Safety and Empowerment Policy, 2024. Additionally, Member States should promote and ensure gender equality in decision-making at all levels of digital governance and cooperation.
4. Call to Address Regression in Sexual Health and Reproductive Rights in Africa
Equality Now notes the significant progress that has been made in recognizing the reproductive rights of women and girls in Africa per Article 14 of the Maputo Protocol. However, despite these commitments, we are witnessing alarming setbacks. In Zambia, even with the expanded access to comprehensive abortion care due to more liberal laws and better-trained healthcare providers, the demand for high-quality post-abortion care remains a critical need. In Uganda, despite existing legislation that allows for abortion in cases where the mother’s life is at risk, women and girls still face significant legal and societal barriers to accessing safe services. Kenya has seen a regression with the government issuing guidelines that roll back access to safe abortion services, despite court rulings that declared reproductive rights as constitutional. Kenya also continues to retain a reservation on Article 14 (2) ( c ) of the Maputo Protocol despite the incompatibility of the reservation with Article 26 (4) of its Constitution. In Sierra Leone, the maternal mortality rate remains among the highest globally, and yet multiple attempts to liberalise abortion laws have stalled. We call upon the African Commission to demand accountability from governments that fail to uphold their commitments to reproductive health rights. We further urge the Commission to call upon the countries that have reservations on Article 14 of the Maputo Protocol to lift those reservations.
5. Call for member states to accelerate action to end Child marriage
Equality Now joins hands with the African Union Community to celebrate the theme of the year on educating an African fit for the 21st century. We are concerned that the dream of increased access to inclusive, lifelong, quality, and relevant learning in Africa remains out of reach for many girls due to child marriage. We call upon the African Commission to urge Member States to adopt a multi-sectoral approach that involves various government ministries and departments, such as health, education, social welfare, finance, and justice, to comprehensively address the issue of child marriage by prioritising the needs of the most vulnerable and at-risk groups of girls and ensuring all legal and other measures are in place to end marriage under 18 without exception.
Thank you.