Legal Frameworks for Gender Equality

Ensure that legislation clearly prohibits discrimination in employment, promotion, remuneration, recruitment and dismissal based on sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, pregnancy, marital and family status. On the African continent, formal legal discrimination against women`s access to financial services decreased significantly between 1971 and 2021 (Figure 2.3). In 1971, women in 29 of the 54 African countries could open a bank account like a man. In 2021, this was the case in 47 of the 54 countries. In addition, over the past four years, two African countries have implemented 25 legal reforms to ensure women`s access to financial assets and services (World Bank, 2021[47]). In Mozambique, legislation passed in 2019 facilitated women`s access to credit by prohibiting gender-based discrimination in financial services. In the same year, the High Court of Eswatini ruled that the common law denying previously married women the right to act without their husband`s consent was unconstitutional, and subsequently repealed those parts of the law that allowed Swazi customary law to regulate matrimonial power and matrimonial property rights (United States Department of State, 2021[48]). In 2018, Guinea included similar prohibitions against gender discrimination in financial services in its new penal code. Also in 2018, an amendment to the Democratic Republic of Congo`s Family Code allowed women to sign contracts and open a bank account without their spouse`s consent (World Bank, 2021[47]). Figure 1: Legal frameworks negatively impact women`s outcomes relative to men according to Chopra, T. and Isser, D. (2012). Access to Justice and Legal Pluralism in Fragile States: The Case of Women`s Rights.

The Hague Rule of Law Journal, 4(2). This paper describes the two main approaches to women`s legal rights: the first assumes that informal systems are inherently incompatible with women`s rights and that, therefore, the formal system must be the main forum for resolving disputes involving women. The second approach aims to engage with informal systems in order to rethink them to meet international standards, while maintaining the positive characteristics of accessibility, familiarity and efficiency. The paper argues that both approaches are flawed and that another approach is to use social change processes as a means of initiating legal change. Standard-setting by the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women has been strengthened by the many other regional human rights instruments aimed at protecting women and girls from violence. Some of them have gone beyond CEDAW standards. For example, the 1994 Inter-American Convention on the Prevention, Punishment and Eradication of Violence against Women (Convention of Belém do Pará) recognized the fundamental right of women to a life free from violence, including the right to live free from all forms of discrimination; It also established State due diligence to prevent, punish and eliminate violence against women. This regional convention and the 2003 Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples` Rights on the Human Rights of Women (Maputo Protocol) have included both economic violence and a form of violence against women. In 2011, the Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence (Istanbul Convention) established a comprehensive set of far-reaching legal standards to ensure the prevention of violence against women in all its forms, the protection and support of victims and the prosecution of perpetrators in a comprehensive manner. Its applicability to the growing numerical dimension of violence against women has just been demonstrated by GREVIO`s General Recommendation No.

1. According to International IDEA`s Framework for Gender Policy Development for Gender Political Parties 2016, gender policy can help political parties identify gender inequalities. provide clear direction and policies to promote gender equality in policies; integrate this issue into their strategic planning; set specific objectives, measurable targets and implementation strategies; and the development of accountability mechanisms to achieve these objectives. This framework establishes a model for “supporting political parties and gender equality advocates in their efforts to develop comprehensive strategies to promote gender equality within political parties.” [4] It provides a reflection on the key principles that should guide the internal gender policies of political parties, encompassing substantive equality as opposed to mere formal equality; the use of special measures to promote women`s participation; inclusion of marginalized groups among women; work-life balance; and the collection of sex-disaggregated data and statistics within the party. The document also outlines a number of specific objectives that could be included in internal gender equality policies, such as improving women`s participation in party leadership at all levels; ensure an adequate level of power and resources for women`s groups within the Party; improve candidates` access to funding and media campaigns; increasing the pool of candidates; integrating gender equality into the Party`s training strategy; and gender mainstreaming in political positions to promote the rights of men and women. [5] Example: In Kenya, Article 91 of the 2010 constitution requires political parties to “respect the right of all persons to participate in the political process, including minorities and marginalized groups.” In addition, article 7 of the Law on Political Parties stipulates that the governing bodies of political parties must reflect gender balance, with no more than two thirds of their members being of the same sex. All registered political parties in Kenya have complied with these legal requirements and have adapted their statutes and rules of procedure accordingly. For example, the 2010 National Alliance Party Constitution was one of its core values and principles to promote equal participation and inclusion of all people in governance, equality before the law and justice in resource allocation. The Orange Democratic Movement Party commits in its 2007 constitution to support women`s empowerment, fight sexism and ensure that women`s voices are heard and that they are fairly represented in internal bodies at all levels. The Constitution and the Manifesto of the Democratic Wiper Movement include a commitment to promote the freedom to participate in political decision-making through the recognition of equality before the law and equal opportunities for all, including women and youth. The United Republican Party is committed to promoting the full participation of women, youth, persons with disabilities, and other marginalized groups through affirmative action and inclusion, while reserving a number of positions for women on its governing body. The United Democratic Forum Party, in its 2013 constitution, commits to protecting and defending the rights of all Kenyan citizens, especially women, children, youth, persons with disabilities and other marginalized groups.

[9] While the legal framework for women`s rights at work in Africa is characterized by significant gender-based discrimination, over the past four years a number of African countries have adopted legislation to eliminate discrimination and promote equality between men and women in the workplace. For example, Senegal has passed laws prohibiting discrimination in hiring on general grounds – such as gender, pregnancy, family status, etc. – and emphasizing employers` responsibility to ensure equal treatment in terms of pay, training and conditions of employment (Articles 19-20) (Government of Senegal, 2019[13]). In 2018, Sao Tome and Principe passed Law No. 6/2019 approving the Labor Code, which included a number of benefits for women in terms of rights in the workplace. The Law prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex (Article 21), includes provisions on equal remuneration for men and women (Article 22), extends maternity leave to 14 weeks (Article 249) and prohibits discrimination against women on the basis of maternity leave (Article 262) (Government of Sao Tome and Principe, 2019[14]). Zambia has also increased maternity leave to 14 weeks in line with international standards (Article 41) and explicitly prohibits dismissal or downgrading during or in connection with maternity leave (Article 43) (Zambian government, 2019[15]). In 2019, the Ethiopian Labour Proclamation No.