8. “It is not a gift to offer women, it is their right”
I would first like to congratulate the African Union for the adoption of this very important legal instrument which fills a gap cruelly felt by women and all those who fight to help women secure their rights so that they can fulfil their duties. For, we cannot forget that no one can fully discharge their duties if their rights are ridiculed or categorically ignored.
It is curious to note that important international instruments, which were enthusiastically adopted, have vanished from collective memory simply because the States that adopted them wilfully forget to ratify them. We therefore need to all mobilize to prevent this from happening with the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa.
By adopting this Protocol, the African Union made significant progress in the protection of women and recognition of their rights. Now we must translate this political will into concrete action through its ratification.
The Protocol addressed several sensitive issues such as violence against women in general and Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) in particular, early marriages, divorce, involvement of women in socio-political decision making … all of which are deeply anchored in African societies and which governments are not doing enough to tackle at a national level.
The Protocol is a social, political, economic and legal instrument which protects African women and which by its title supplants pathetic political discourse for the benefit of women. The ratification of the Protocol is an opportunity for member states of the African Union to prove that they want to implement their political will to restore women’s rights. Those who do not ratify it will not convince anyone by making a few ministerial appointments to an insignificant number of women.
One cannot hide behind economic growth if the majority of the population, that is, women, cannot benefit from such growth because they are subject to discrimination and violence; moreover, is it really possible to have socio-economic growth if women are still confronted by these scourges?
The Protocol is not a gift to offer to women, it is their right. The member states of the African Union must therefore demonstrate their will to restore these rights by the ratification, and particularly the effective application, of this instrument.
In the Africa of wars and poverty, there is place for the rights of women. I am convinced that women who enjoy all their rights would play a pacifying role on our continent.
Girls that are uncircumcised, integrated, educated, married at a legal age, free from violence, empowered, and who participate fully in decision making at all levels: these are some of the results expected by the implementation of the Protocol. Which state would not want that for its citizens?
To ratify and implement the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa is therefore a priority for our states and all their citizens. Let everyone make a commitment to this goal!
* Dr Morissanda Kouyate is Director of Operations Of the Inter African Committee Secretary General CPTAFE ([email protected])
* Please send comments to
* For the French version of this article, please click on the link below.
Je voudrais d’abord saluer l’Union Africaine pour l’adoption de cet important instrument juridique qui comble un déficit cruellement ressenti par les femmes et par toutes celles et tous ceux qui luttent pour aider les femmes africaines à conquérir tous leurs droits afin qu’elles remplissent tous leurs devoirs. Car ne l’oublions pas, nul ne peut convenablement accomplir ses devoirs si ses droits sont bafoués ou catégoriquement ignorés.
“It is not a gift to offer women, it is their right”
Dr Morissanda Kouyate
I would first like to congratulate the African Union for the adoption of this very important legal instrument which makes good a deficit cruelly felt by women and all those women and men who fight to help women secure their rights so that they can fulfil their duties.
So as not to forget, no one can fully discharge their duties if their rights are ridiculed or categorically ignored. It is bizarre and intolerable to note that important international instruments adopted with enthusiasm, vanish from collective memory simply because the States that had adopted them wilfully forget to ratify them. We need therefore to mobilize ourselves to remove that phenomenon from the historical gain, which is the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa.
By adopting this Protocol the African Union made significant progress in the protection of women and recognition of their rights. This political will must now be translated into concrete action by its ratification.
The Protocol addressed several sensitive issues such as violence against women in general and Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) in particular, early marriages, divorce, involvement of women in decision making in the socio- political settings … all of which are deeply anchored in African societies and which governments are not trying enough to tackle in their national plans.
The Protocol is a social, political, economic and legal instrument which protects African women and which by its title supplants the pathetic political discussions for the benefit of women. The ratification of the Protocol is an opportunity for member states of the African Union that they want to implement their political will to restore the rights of women. Those who will not have ratified it will not convince anyone by making a few ministerial appointments to an insignificant number of women.
It is also an exercise in futility to hide behind economic growth if the majority of the population, that is, women, cannot benefit from such growth due to the suffering occasioned by violence; if anything, is it really possible to have socio-economic growth if women are still faced with these curses? The Protocol is not a gift to offer to women, it is their right. The African states, members of the African Union, need to show their will to restore these rights by the ratification and especially the effective application of this instrument.
In the Africa of wars and poverty, there is place for the rights of women. I am convinced that women who enjoy all their rights would play the role of peacekeepers and stop the wars in our continent. Uncircumcised girls that are integrated, schooled and educated, legitimately married at the right age, free from violence, empowered, participating fully in decision making at all levels: these are some of the results expected by the implementation of the Protocol. Which country would not want that for its citizens? To ratify and implement the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa is therefore a priority for our states and all their citizens. All should join in.
* Dr Morissanda Kouyate is Director of Operations Of the Inter African Committee Secretary General CPTAFE ([email protected]
* Please send comments to [email protected]
Pourquoi est-il important et urgent pour les États africains de ratifier le Protocole à la charte africaine des droits de l’Homme et des peuples relatif aux droits des femmes en Afrique.
Par Dr Morissanda KOUYATE, Directeur des Opérations du Comité Inter-Africain
Secrétaire Général de CPTAFE ([email protected])
Je voudrais d’abord saluer l’Union Africaine pour l’adoption de cet important instrument juridique qui comble un déficit cruellement ressenti par les femmes et par toutes celles et tous ceux qui luttent pour aider les femmes africaines à conquérir tous leurs droits afin qu’elles remplissent tous leurs devoirs. Car ne l’oublions pas, nul ne peut convenablement accomplir ses devoirs si ses droits sont bafoués ou catégoriquement ignorés.
Il est curieux et intolérable de constater que d’importants instruments internationaux adoptés avec enthousiasme, disparaissent de la mémoire collective parce que tout simplement les États qui les ont adoptés, oublient volontairement de les ratifier. Nous devons donc tous, nous mobiliser pour éviter ce phénomène à l’acquis historique qu’est le protocole à la charte africaine des droits de l’Homme et des peuples relatif aux droits des femmes.
En adoptant ce protocole, l’Union Africaine a pris une sérieuse avance dans la protection des femmes et la reconnaissance de leurs droits. Maintenant il faut traduire cette volonté politique en acte concret par sa ratification.
Le protocole traite de questions sensibles telles que les violences faites aux femmes en général et les Mutilations Génitales Féminines en particulier, les mariages précoces, le divorce, l’implication des femmes dans la prise de décisions socio-politiques… toutes choses qui sont ancrées dans les tréfonds des sociétés africaines et auxquelles les gouvernants osent difficilement s’attaquer au plan national.
Ce protocole est un instrument social, politique, économique et juridique qui protège les femmes africaines et qui, à ce titre, supplante tous les discours politiques pathétiques en faveur des femmes. La ratification du protocole est une occasion pour les états membres de l’Union Africaine de prouver qu’ils veulent mettre en uvre leur volonté politique de restituer aux femmes tous leurs droits. Ceux qui ne l’auront pas fait, ne convaincront personne par l’octroi de quelques postes ministériels à un nombre insignifiant de femmes.
Il ne sert à rien aussi de courir derrière les fruits de la croissance économique si la majorité de la population, c’est-à-dire les femmes, ne peuvent même en bénéficier parce qu’occupées à subir la discrimination et la violence ; d’ailleurs, est-il vraiment possible de créer la croissance socio-économique avec des femmes confrontées à ces fléaux ?
Ce protocole n’est pas un cadeau à offrir aux femmes, c’est leurs droits. Les états africains membres de l’Union Africaine doivent donc poursuivre leur volonté de restituer ces droits par la ratification et surtout par l’application effective de cet instrument.
Dans l’Afrique des guerres et de la pauvreté, il y a de la place pour les droits femmes ; je suis convaincu que les femmes jouissant de tous leurs droits joueront un rôle d’extincteur et de pacificateur de notre continent.
Des filles non mutilées, intègres, scolarisées et éduquées, mariées légalement à l’âge requis, indemnes de violences, épanouies, participant activement à la prise de décisions à tous les niveaux, voilà quelques résultats attendus de la mise en uvre de ce protocole. Quel État ne le souhaiterait pas pour ses citoyennes ?
Ratifier et mettre en uvre le protocole à la charte des droits de l’Homme et des peuples relatif aux droits des femmes en Afrique est donc une priorité pour nos États et tous leurs citoyens. Que chacun s’y mette.