Publication

This paper examines the ongoing implementation of the African Union’s (AU) Maputo Protocol, which is more formally (and awkwardly) known as the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa. Overall, the text’s authors contend that case studies from Malawi, South Sudan, Somalia and Mozambique confirm that the implementation of the Maputo Protocol – which aims to guarantee the rights and equality of women on the Continent – is progressing slowly and episodically. Consequently, the authors argue that the AU should find innovative ways of working with national governments, civil society and grassroots organizations to realize the full potential of this “crucial instrument.”