Breathing Life into the African Union Protocol on Women’s Rights in Africa

Edited by Roselynn Musa, Faiza Jama Mohammed and Firoze Manji

The groundbreaking Protocol to the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights on Women’s Rights came into force in 2005. The protocol commits the states that sign it to eliminating all forms of discrimination against women.

This book documents the experiences and strategies that could be used to ensure its ratification and implementation by all countries in Africa. The idea for it came from a conference jointly convened in Addis Ababa by the African Union Women, Gender and Development Directorate and Solidarity for African Women’s Rights (SOAWR), a coalition of more than 20 gender, human rights and development NGOs.

Some examples of topics covered are: the provisions of the protocol; the campaign for its ratification; strategies for implementing the protocol; harmonising the protocol with national laws; the protocol and women with HIV/AIDS; the protocol and women in conflict situations.

Also available in French with the title Vulgarisation du protocole de l’union africaine sur les droits des femmes en Afrique.