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The
protocol on the rights of women in red, yellow and green
Pambazuka News
Extracted
from Pambazuka News 213
June 30,
2005
http://www.pambazuka.org/index.php?id=28751
Introduction:
Ratification Now!
After
the adoption of the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and
People's Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa in July 2003, women's
and human rights organizations were concerned that the ratification
and domestication of the Protocol might take the same time as its
drafting. In April 2004, these organizations noted that one year
after adoption, only one country, The Comoros, had ratified the
Protocol. In response, these national, regional and international
organizations formed the Coalition on Solidarity for African Women's
Rights (SOAWR) in order to encourage governments to ratify and domesticate
the Protocol. Since the beginning of the Coalition's campaign, nine
more countries have ratified the Protocol, bringing the total number
of ratifications to ten. Although progress has been made, 5 more
ratifications are required before the Protocol comes into force.
African Union
Member States must recognize the importance of this Protocol in
ensuring African women their rights. Rape in Congo, Sudan and Uganda
are rampant; Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) plagues girls and women
in Ethiopia, Mali, Sierra Leone and Somalia amongst other countries;
forced early marriages steal young girls of their childhood in Ghana,
Kenya and Zambia. These examples are just the tip of the iceberg!
The violence and discrimination against African women cannot continue.
At the AU Summit in Tripoli in July 2005, the Coalition looks to
the African Heads of States to recognize this fact and to take action
to uphold their promises made in the Solemn Declaration on Gender
Equality in Africa in Addis Ababa in July 2004. The AU member states
must ratify the Protocol, taking the number of ratifications above
and beyond 15 and bringing the Protocol into force this year as
they committed to. - Faiza Mohamed, Equality Now
Solidarity
for African Women's Rights (SOAWR) hands red cards, yellow cards
and green cards to African leaders
Countries
which have received red cards for failing to sign or ratify the
Protocol include:
Angola, Botswana,
Cameroon, Central Africa Republic, Cape Verde, Egypt, Eritrea,
Malawi, Mauritania, Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic, Seychelles,
Somalia, Sao Tome & Principe, Sudan, Tunisia, Zambia
Countries which
have received yellow cards for signing but failing to ratify the
Protocol include:
Algeria, Benin,
Burkina Faso, Burundi, Chad, Cote d'Ivoire, Congo, DRC, Ethiopia,
Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea- Bissau, Guinea,
Kenya, Liberia, Madagascar, Mozambique, Mauritius, Niger, Sierra
Leone, Swaziland, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zimbabwe
Countries which
have received green cards for signing and ratifying the Protocol
include:
The Comoros,
Djibouti, Libya, Lesotho, Mali, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal
and South Africa
Tell
African leaders to get on with ratification!
Nearly
4 000 people have told African leaders to ratify the Protocol on
the Rights of Women in Africa.
You can join
then now by signing a petition to African leaders online, by email
or through sending an SMS message.
To sign online,
visit http://www.pambazuka.org/petition
To sign by email,
send a message to petition@pambazuka.org
with your full name in the body of the email
To sign by mobile
phone, send a text message with the word petition followed by your
full name to +27-832-933-934
Ratify Now!
* Pambazuka
News has been supporting the SOAWR campaign. Ahead of the 5th
African Union Summit in Libya from 28 June - 5 July 2005, this edition
consists of editorials written by SOAWR members and updates about
the progress of the campaign from across the African continent.
Please credit www.kubatana.net if you make use of material from this website.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License unless stated otherwise.
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