1

1.1.

INTRODUCTION:

1.1. BACKGROUND:
The popular maxim that all men are created equal has created a universal perception that all
regardless of location or sex-gender, class or nationality should be treated the same way.1 However,
in contrast the reality has shown that women and men are treated quite differently owing to varying
laws and customary practices. Men tend to be more equal than women and generally preside over
societal systems of power and wealth. African legal and social cultures are laden with various
considerations that discriminate against women and regard them as being less equal to men. And
thereby less entitled to the same treatment as men. When one studies the customary, civil and sharia
law cultures across the African continent, it is not uncommon to finds differences between men and
women regarding the enjoyment of certain rights and privileges. Some of the various important and
sensitive subjects to do with building the social fabric include succession and inheritance, marital
rights and divorce entitlements, access to justice, labor and property rights, leadership amongst
others. Our purpose here is to analyze the construct of and interpretations of various discriminatory
laws and practices emanating from the provisions of the various types of laws mentioned earlier.
Our main focus is therefore, to highlight how differently men and women are seen and treated under
customary, sharia and civil laws in Africa and why.
In this regard, this paper shall discuss issues dealing with standing, access to justice, labor,
property rights, and marriage and divorce situations underscoring the treatment of women under
Sharia, customary and civil laws employing a regional approach that reflect north, south east and
west applications and perspectives. In so doing, I consider the legal standards applicable under each
of the laws specified above to depict laws and practices which demands a rethink of the concept of
equality. Some of the topics may be unfamiliar, or even known within certain spheres but never
really considered within a context of regional reinforcement inherent in interconnectedness.
The main hypothesis suggested here is that serious disparities exist between women and
men in Africa because the legal cultures (customary, sharia and civil) are replete with contents and
social practices that clearly favor men over women. And because of these, women are nowhere near
been equal to men, unless radical changes can be effected within Africas legal and traditional
cultures.
This paper is structured into four main sections, including an introduction, followed by a
methodology, and subsections that set up and explore laws and practices reinforce inequalities
1 "ALL MEN ARE CREATED EQUAL": Abraham Lincoln,
www.academia.edu/3827932/_ALL_MEN_ARE_CREATED_EQUAL_Abraham

between men and women in Africa. The paper ends with an analytical conclusion and
recommendations on how to approach prevailing inequality concerns.

1.2. Methodology:
This paper is a comparative study that is based on desktop studies complimented by web
search and review of scholarship, including articles and books on three legal cultures in Africa,
specifically customary, sharia and civil laws. It is an effort to analyzed the difference in treatment
and or standings according to men and women in practice on the continent. Other documents
analyzed include constitutions, statutory laws, report from both international and local institutions,
regional and country specific statistics, and newspapers. This paper is a descriptive account that
draws on country specific, regional and international statistical sources on gender inequalities in
Africa. The statistical analysis is limited to the extent that some may not depict the most current
status of some of the issues discussed here. The paper examines four critical areas of inequality
between men and women in Africa on a regional basis. I could however have benefited from a more
extensive local examination of this matter through survey of key actors. Most of the data analyzed
by this paper were obtained from both primary and secondary sources, and draws on my fifteen
years of professional experience as a democratic activist. It is in partial fulfillment of an end of term
paper for the Masters of Law (LLM) Degree in Rule of Law for Development (PLAW
101/Comparative and Ethical Lawyering for Rule of law) at the Loyola University Chicago.
The net effect of the assertions presented above is that gender-based discrimination
permeates all cultures, and is often manifested in the laws, policies, and practices of institutions. For
example, in many countries women are not afforded the same inheritance rights and property rights
as men, nor are they allowed to testify in court. Even where constitutional guarantees provide for
equality and laws protect womens rights, discriminatory practices by law enforcement and security
services, courts, lawyers and social services can serve as major obstacles to womens security and
access to justice. Customary and traditional norms and practices, including informal justice
mechanisms, may perpetuate gross violations of the rights of women.2
Definition of Key Terms:

1. Gender inequality: refers to unequal treatment or perceptions of individuals based on their

gender. It arises from differences in socially constructed gender roles as well as biologically
through chromosomes, brain structure, and hormonal differences. Gender systems are often
dichotomous and hierarchical; gender binary systems may reflect the inequalities that

2 http://unrol.org/

manifest in numerous dimensions of daily life. Gender inequality stems from distinctions,
whether empirically grounded or socially constructed.3
2. Gender equality: also known as sex equality, gender egalitarianism, sexual equality or
equality of the genders, is the view that all genders, including men and women, should
receive equal treatment, and should not be discriminated against based on their gender.4
2.1. Are men and women really equal in Africa? Laws versus practice
According to the latest OECD's Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI), the countries
with the highest levels of discrimination between men and women are in Africa. 5 This has
unimaginable implications and the following statistics and facts illustrate African societys
preferences for males and prejudices against females. Over 67 million women (20-24-year-old) in
2012 had been married as girls, one-fifth in Africa. In the next decade an estimate of 14.2 million
girls under 18 years will be married every year; that is, 39,000 girls married each day. 15 out of the
20 countries with the highest rates of child marriage are in Africa. 39 per cent of girls in subSaharan Africa are married before their 18th birthday; 13 per cent are married by their 15th
birthday. In Gambia as in Liberia, west of Africa, girls are highly vulnerable to early marriage and
forced marriage is a long-standing tradition in The Gambia. Although research is scant, data from
MICS 2010 finds that almost 9 per cent of girls are married under Sharia law before the age of 15,
and 46.5 per cent before 18, with the poorest rural girls most vulnerable to the practice.6
In 2001 in Eastern Africa, Makeda, a 13-year-old Ethiopian girl, was kidnapped, raped and
compelled to marry her rapist. Although there were laws against kidnapping and rape, such laws
were not being applied in the Oromiya region where this practice have persisted unrestricted. 7
Indeed, until 2005, under the old Penal Code rapists who married their victims were exempt from
punishment. The Penal Code of Northern Nigeria permits husbands to correct their wives as long
as it does not inflict grievous hurt. The Kenyan (Eastern Africa) 2013 Marriage Bill which outlaws
gay marriage and purports to accord Parties to a marriage (men and women) equal rights at the time
of the marriage, during the marriage and at the dissolution of the marriage, not only also permits
men to marry as many women as they wish, but eliminated the popular western and southern Africa
customary laws requirement of soliciting the consent of the pre-existing wife or wives as
3 http://www.definitions.net/definition/Gender%20inequality
4 Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights, objective
5 OECD's Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI).
6 Zineb Yahya Jammeh ,Celebrating The Accomplishments Of Women, Friday, 13 March 2015

7 Adapted from Expert paper prepared by Yasmeen Hassan, Global Director Equality Now, Laws and Legal systems as an essential
strategy to prevent violence against women and girls, EGM/PVAWG/EP.3, Sept. 2012

precondition for marrying another wife. 8 In South Africa, Southern Africa, statistics show that men
are more than twice likely to be top earners compared to women. 9 In the west of Africa, in NigeriaAfricas most populous nation, women are far less equalled to men. According to a 2012 Gender in
Nigeria Report launched recently 80.2 million women and girls have a significantly worse life
chances than men and also their sisters in comparable societies; 60-79% of the rural workforce is
women but men are five times more likely to own land. 10 Article 26(2) limits the rights of Nigerian
women to transmit their nationality to foreign spouses. 11 Article 29(4) deems a woman to be of full
age upon marriage, which lends support to early marriages and contradicts the minimum age
requirement (18 years for men and women) set by the Childs Right Act 2003.
Similarly, in Africas oldest independent state, Liberia, women were considered as
properties and could not inherit from their spouse until the passage of the new inheritance law in
2003. Article 28 of the Countrys constitution provides in part that Any person, at least one of
whose parents was a citizen of Liberia at the time of the Persons birth, shall be a citizen of
Liberia, but in reality this law has been interpreted to mean only male citizens can transmit their
citizenship to their children.12 In Northern Africa, under Moroccan law, smilar to the Ethopian
discussed above, a rapist could escape punishment by marrying his victim. Amina, a sixteen-yearold Moroccan girl, was raped and forced by the judge hearing her case to marry her rapist. Amina
took her life by swallowing rat poison after being subjected to further rapes and domestic
violence.13
Women, unlike men in Africa have had to endure unthinkable ordeals and are required to
make great sacrifices from deprivation to outright physical abuses and societies have had to fight,
campaign, legislate and promote womens right before they could exercise them. This has never
been the case for men. Just as many parallel effort it, Maputo Protocol had to be promulgated after
much debates in order to guarantee the comprehensive rights to women, including the right to take
part in the political process, to social and political equality with men, to control of their
reproductive health, and an end to female genital mutilation. It was adopted by the African Union in
the form of a protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights, and came into force in
8 Marriage Bill, 2013 - Kenya Law Reform Commission (KLRC) www.klrc.go.ke/index.php/bills/459-marriage-bill-2012
9 The wage gap between men and women in South Africa is causing concern. The Statistician General has released a report on
National Gender Equity. Video: eNCA

10 http://allafrica.com/stories/201206080211.html Gender in Nigeria Report, 2012

11 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria
12 Constitution of Liberia, 1986
13 Submission to the Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and in practice,
adapted from Expert paper prepared by Yasmeen Hassan, Global Director Equality Now, Laws and Legal
systems as an essential strategy to prevent violence against women and girls, EGM/PVAWG/EP.3, Sept.
2012

2005.14 A comparable effort has never been necessary in order for men to enjoy their right to do
practically anything. The customary law rule of the Kamba people is that a female married under
African customary law is ineligible to inherit from the estate of her deceased father.15
The Guardian noted in its September 29, 2014 edition, that: Women are better off today,
but still far from been equal with men. An African women posting in an online debate of this very
question, read, this is still a mens world, even in the west. 16 It can be recalled that despite racial
inequalities in America, black men got the right to vote 50 years (1870-1920) before any white
women17 and years on in 2008, America elected a black man over a white woman. 18 How these
impacts Africa is a completely different discussion. In a recent online debate regarding the equality
of men and women, a male, only identified as Simple from the United Kingdom wrote. No we are
not equal.19 Things have certainly improved for women in Africa, but at the top of both industry
and government the faces remain stubbornly male.20 And so has the laws and institutions remained
significantly path-dependent-changing but slowly.
Access to Justice & standing before / under the law: From the foundation of the Liberia
state, the Temple of Justice, which seats the judiciary, carried the words Let Justice Be Done To
All Men. Of course these meant more than just words. It was a bold communication of long held
beliefs and proctices that ran deep within the west African nations fabric. But even more so, those
words connoted a wider shared belief system which classified and treated women less than men.
Relegated to performing domestic chores and child rearing for decades. Excluded from the formal
education systems in most African states, and decision-making, women lags behind considerably
in economic status( lack income), literacy, and in their overall development and participation in
the social and civic life in Africa. Customary laws and norms entrenched in Africa, have only
served to worsen this condition. Saturated with values, practices, ideas that project the sense that
men and women are not equal, customary practices accord different privileges and standards of
treatment that favors men as a sign of being natural and part of the way things are or should be.
While most African countries civil statues and laws provide for equality of man and women,
14 The protocol was adopted by the African Union on 11 July 2003 at its second summit in Maputo, Mozambique. On 25
November 2005, having been ratified by the required 15 member nations of the African Union, the protocol entered into force.

15 African Customary Law, Customs, And Women's Rights; An African Perspective (Empowerment & Action Research Centre,
Annual Lecture, Series No. 4, 1998).

16 http://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2014/sep/29/women-better-off-far-from-equal-men
17 http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x3084418
18 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barack_Obama
19 www.debate.org Opinions Society
20 Ibid.

customary laws are interpreted broadly to fill the void. The harm done where there is no a law in
place to protect the rights of women and girls, are as significant as where there are explicitly
discriminatory laws in place; and where there is a good law but poor or no implementation. 21 The
analysis of both customary and Sharia laws in this regard are against the standards of international
human rights laws because norms common to both systems capture and reinforce deep and
discriminatory cultural norms and community practices which favor men in the everyday life . In
Northern Africa, which operate under sharia law, a womans testimony is only worth half of a
mans. In the western African nation, Nigeria, laws protecting the rights of widows have been
adopted in several states, across the country, but women continue to be subjected to widowhood
rites. Such rites include forcing widows to drink the water used to bathe the husbands corpse, or to
crawl over his corpse. According to the practice of levirate, a widow can be forced to marry to her
deceased husbands male relative. And despite the adoption of the Trafficking in Persons
Prohibition Law Enforcement and Administration Act in 2003 (amended in 2005) and the
establishment of the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons, trafficking
remains widespread. In fact, in some parts of Liberia widows are required to morn their dead
husband for one year by shaving their hair and wearing black attire only; also in Ghana, the culture
of Trokoci, practiced widely within the Volta region, permit the exchange of girls and women for
debts. The exchanged females are subjected to hard labor under the watch of a traditional priest,
who abuse them sexually. 22 It can be gleaned from various circumstances across Africa that poverty
amongst women and lack of education are visible indications of the effects of inequality and are at
the core of the reasons why women access to justice remain constrained. The limited access to
Justice by women and the resultant prevalence of Gender violence in communities across Liberia,
without recourse to justice for a long period, even within the formal system/civil law can be
perceived in light of the Liberian Temple of Justice motto: Let Justice Be Done to All Men., a motto
which was only change (to Let Justice be Done to All) recently following the election of Madan
Ellen Johnson Sirleaf.
Since most formal (civil laws systems) legal systems are way too complex for the majority
of African women, expensive and laden with prolonged processes, most claims are settled under the
customary and or sharia law systems. This is especially caused by the fact that accessing the formal
civil law courts include dealing with a corrupt cartel. Lawyers tend to seek favor or bribes for
services that should be free; lawyers charge additional fees to expedite or delay cases; judges
remain susceptible somehow because of limited incentives or poor salaries, insecure working
conditions, including unfair promotion and transfer processes and a lack of continuous training.
Likewise, traditional leaders, who determine customs, and norms and or elders that decide matters
in Africa, hold general beliefs that women and men are unequal and as such often make unfair
decisions when men and women are involved.
Because money and influence have become the basis of justice n most formal court systems,
and the majority of women in Africa are poor, most cannot experience the much proclaimed equal
standing and protection under the law. Bribery has not only made justice unaffordable for women,
but has limited the tendencies for courts to serve as a beacon of equality and accountability.
21 Expert paper prepared by Yasmeen Hassan, 3, Sept. 2012
22 See International Needs work in Ghana, 2007

The maneuvers of legal processes by traditional leaders, and members of the legislative or
executive branches, significantly undermine the standing of men and women and create one system
for the men and another for women. And since equal treatment before the law is a pillar of
democratic societies, courts that are corrupted by greed or political expediency, tipped the scales of
justice against women. Judicial exploitation in this context does not just mean that the voice of
women goes unheard, but that men, even when adjudged guilty go with impunity. In some
instances, it is not uncommon for traditional leaders, elders and lawyers, who refuse to be
compromise womens rights to experience setbacks in social or political retaliation and even suffer
swift and harsh treatment/intimidations. This is exemplified in appointment of societal leaders and
judicial officials known to be strong men without consideration for merit, which in affect
translate into selection of a pliant, corruptible judiciary. Challenging judges are quickly
reassigned, while sensitive cases are transferred to more pliable judges. These overly worn tactics
continue to be utilized to perpetuate inequality during legal processes and thereby eroding standing
between men and women in Africa.
Work and worth: Demystifying reward for labor (men v. women):
Today it is widely acknowledged that to enable women to escape poverty, development
policies must recognize their contributions to the economy. Even though women make up a
significant proportion of the economically active population, their contribution is not fully recorded
because they are mainly engaged in subsistence farming or in the informal sector. In addition to
which they carry the burden of performing household work, including, cooking, cleaning, child
rearing and care for the ailing or elderly-all of which are not considered an economic activity. In
agriculture, sub-Saharan Africas most vital economic sector, women contribute 6080 per cent of
labor in food production, both for household consumption and for sale. But while they do most of
the work, they lack access to markets and credit. In Uganda, women make up 53 per cent of the
labor force, but only sell 11 per cent of the cash crops. The scenario reverberates throughout Africa
and severely undermines womens development. Under both customary and sharia laws their
ownership of land is restricted and even where civil laws provide for their access, traditional
practices constrain implementation or enforcement.23

2.2. Who owns the land? Property and Inheritance Rights (Male vs. Female)
At a recent meeting attended by women from 165 countries across the world to take stock
on the equality of women, Ms. Gladys Mutukwa of the Zimbabwe-based non-governmental
organization Women in Law and Development in Africa (WILDAF), declared that poverty has a
womans face. In spite of various international instruments signed by Africa governments, Africa
women have yet to experience steady positive changes in their daily lives. They remain at the
bottom of the social hierarchy, with poor access to land. 24 A UN Food and Agricultural Organization
study on Benin, Burkina Faso, Congo, Mauritania, Morocco, Namibia, Sudan, Tanzania and
23 http://www.un.org/africarenewal/magazine/july-2005/african-women-battle-equality#sthash.1zCoQOLO.dpuf
24 See more at: http://www.un.org/africarenewal/magazine/july-2005/african-women-battle-equality#sthash.1zCoQOLO.dpuf

Zimbabwe shows that women rarely own land. When they do, their holdings tend to be smaller and
less fertile than those of men. Studies also show that if women farmers had the same access to
inputs and training as males, overall yields could be raised by between 10 and 20 per cent. The
majority of African live under customary laws, which consigns land ownerships to men and at the
same time denied women both succession and inheritance rights to land and real properties. 25 Muna
Ndulo make a compelling argument in her paper on African customary laws, custom and womens
right that the sources of law in most African countries are customary law, the common law and
legislation both colonial and post-independence. In a typical African country, the great majority of
the people conduct their personal activities in accordance with and subject to customary law.
Customary law has great impact in the area of personal law in regard to matters such as marriage,
inheritance and traditional authority, and because it developed in an era dominated by patriarchy
some of its norms conflict with human rights norms guaranteeing equality between men and
women. While recognizing the role of legislation in reform, it is argued that the courts have an
important role to play in ensuring that customary law is reformed and developed to ensure that it
conforms to human rights norms and contributes to the promotion of equality between men and
women. The guiding principle should be that customary law is living law and cannot therefore be
static. It must be interpreted to take account of the lived experiences of the people it serves. 26 In the
introduction that followed, she makes the point that the national legal system of a typical African
state is pluralistic and composed of African customary law, religious laws (especially where there is
a significant Muslim population); received law (common law or civil law depending on the colonial
history)'; and legislation, both colonial (adopted from the colonial state) and post-independence
legislation enacted by legislatures.27 The rights of women and men under the different types of law
varies greatly. While most African civil laws have made progress in their provisions regarding the
protection of the rights of women to land ownership and real properties, Sharia and customary laws
are bonded in an unholy marriage by their restrictions of these rights. The span of the deprivations
suffered by women in this respect can be more fully depicted in the fact that these two laws (Sharia
and Customary laws) formed the prevalent mode of social order since pre-colonial era; and still
remain applicable throughout the continent.28
In their application, both customary and sharia laws are often discriminatory against women
in areas such as property rights, and bride price.29 Bokina Faso and Cameroon, are signatory of the
Maputu Protocol, incorporated into the ACHPR, but women and girls in those countries are still
barred under customary laws and practices from succession and inheritance of properties.

25 https://www.boell.de/en/2013/10/14/perspectives-africa-women-landrights
26 http://scholarship.law.cornell.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1186&context=facpub
27 Ibid.
28 Ibid.
29 Ibid., 19

3.1. Marriage mirage: the myth that men and women becomes one in marriage, but yet unequal:
As shown earlies, civil law (statues regarding property, family and succession law) , though
profoundly progressive in respect of ensuring equality of men and women-at least on paper, are not
all together without concerns because many constitutions still contain draw-back clauses; and
implementations can be weak or problematic. For instance, even where land legislation per se is
gender neutral, womens land rights may be curtailed by discriminatory norms of family law (e.g.
restricting the legal capacity of married women to administer property) and of succession law
(especially where land sales are rare and inheritance is the primary form of land acquisition-also the
age of adulthood can vary significantly between statues and result in hard to females.). 30 Using
Zambia's Constitution as an example, drawback clauses can undermine the application of provisions
prohibiting discrimination by prescribing that such provisions shall not apply to 31 any law so far as
that law makes provision: (d) for the application in the case of members of a particular race or tribe,
of customary law with respect to any matter to the exclusion of any law with respect to that matter
which is applicable in the case of other persons . However, the greatest difference between men and
women regarding marriages pertains predominantly to customary laws, which inherently espouse
polygamous marriages and then to sharia law, which scrapes women of their personalities and
rights. Under sharia law, for example, four main types of divorces (Talaq, Thekhul,u; Tafriq and
Faskh )are practiced. For the purpose of this paper, I will highlight the practices under two which
discriminate against women. Under Talaq procedure, divorces can only be initiated by the
husband. It allows him to repudiate the marriage by just announcing out loud that he intends to
divorce his wife. Whereas under Thekhulu procedure, a woman is allowed to request a divorce, but
must first pay a ransom to her husband in order to terminate the marriage. 32 Peculiarly, under the
Penal Code of Northern Nigeria, husbands are permitted to beat their wives provided it does not rise
to the level of grievous hurt (s. 55). Under Sharia law, the husband can withdraw maintenance if
his wife refuses sexual intercourse. Under Sharia law (eg. Kano State Sharia Penal Code), a woman
alleging rape must produce 4 witnesses to the rape. If the rape is not proved she can be punished for
adultery with a prison sentence or flogging. Whilst most civil laws permit both gender to own land
and properties, either jointly or individually, customarily practices in some countries in Africa still
limit women right to land; by the same token, Sharia law gives exclusive child-custody to the father
at a pre-set age, even if the father is abusive. Women who remarry lose custody of their children.
More beside, sharia awards a women only half the inheritance of her male siblings. Under sharia law,
women are subjected to male guardianship and her marriage contract is between her male guardian and her
husband. Therefore, once the guardian consents, a marriage can be consummated in her absence . 33 Sharia
30 http://www.fao.org/docrep/005/Y4311E/y4311e04.htm
31 Zambia Constitution, Adopted on: 24 Aug 1991
32 Holy Quran

10

also completely shuts the door to widows inheritance of her husbands property. 34 Thereby
hindering womens access, control and ownership of land, which remain largely the exclusive
preserve of male privilege, entrenching patriarchal structures of power and control over community
resources, history, culture and tradition. For the majority of women in Africa, access to land is still
linked to their relationship with a male family member and is forfeited if the relationship ends35
4.1. Analytical Conclusion & Recommendation:
Like Customary law, Sharia laws discriminates against women (and Muslim women
specifically). Civil laws however, progressive tend in most cases to either ignore conflicting
customary law thereby permitting the spurring of inequality between men and women. Due to the
widespread inequality between men and women, traceable to the application of sharia law, OECD
SIGI 2014, report ranked North Africa as the most discriminatory of the four regions, followed by
West and East Africa. Much more work is however, still required in Southern Africa in order to end
domestic violence against women and to empower them economically. Judicial reviews or
progressive ruling in formal courts could play a major role by steadily interpreting statues which are
consistent with international humanitarian and human rights laws. This is particularly import as
both the awareness and will to end inequality increases. Because opposition by beneficiaries willing
powers at all levels and across all spectrums of the African societies, are already defending negative
aspects of this fatalistic system by arguing that campaigns to reverse the inequalities between men
and women in Africa, are promoting imperialist (Western) values and norms over customary
African laws and belief systems. The possibility of succeeding is great especially since most
African countries have constitutions which contain provisions guaranteeing equality, human
dignity, and prohibiting discrimination based on gender. However, it is vital to note the same
constitutions recognize the application of customary law and they do this without resolving the
conflict between
customary law norms and human rights provisions.
Reforming customary, sharia and civil laws and putting in place effective mechanisms for
curbing discriminatory practices is crucial and could be considered in ways that adopts and
integrates positives inspective of customary laws, which facilities speedy, non-expensive, noncumbersome procedures in resolving matters with the view to reconcile the parties. Such
harmonization need to take into account the necessity for one predictable and equal system of law
for all. In this regard, all customary practices that conflict with standing statues shall be
subordinated to existing legislations. Discriminations against women arising from both sharia and
customary laws can be resolve considering states obligations under international laws. Beginning
with whats good, and relying on African policies ( African Charter of Human and People Right,
Maputo Protocol etc.) would provide an import window to encourage African states to do more to
address the issues of inequalities between men and women in Africa. Law that discriminates against
33
34 See Africa for womens right: Ratify & Respect
35 https://www.boell.de/en/2013/10/14/perspectives-africa-women-landrights

11

women on the basis of gender or marital status shall be address through legislative measures that
eliminate customs and practices that discriminate against women. If men and women are to ever be
equal in Africa, constitutional provisions that shield African customary norms, against human rights
scrutiny should represent cases for prompt actions.