Unfair family laws in Nigeria and other African countries are hindering progress on women’s rights in some countries, a new research says.
The study by Equality Now in 20 countries identifies a key challenge: legal systems where written laws clash with traditional and religious codes. This confusion creates difficulties in interpreting and enforcing women’s rights in areas like marriage, divorce, child custody, and inheritance.
The study acknowledges progress, with some countries raising the minimum marriage age to 18. However, it highlights the persistent issue of child marriage, particularly in regions like northern Nigeria.
Mass underage marriage
The report comes amidst Nigeria’s latest case of mass marriage, as authorities in Niger state, located near the capital Abuja, have ignited controversy with plans to wed 100 orphan girls.
The girls, orphaned by bandits and jihadists linked to the Islamic State, have become central to a wedding proposal initiated by the state House of Assembly speaker, Abdulmalik Sarkindaji.
Mr Sarkindaji backed off after the federal women’s minister threatened legal action, but claimed the girls were not underage. On Thursday, Abiodun Essiet, aide on community engagement to President Bola Tinubu, said she found many of the proposed brides were not up to 18.
She said local politicians, traditional and religious leaders in the predominantly Muslim state had vowed to go ahead with the marriage despite offers to enrol the girls in federal government programme.
A UNICEF report revealed that Nigeria has the highest number of child brides in West and Central Africa, with the number of girls and women who were first married before the legal age reaching 23.6 million out of the 60 million in the region. About 10.3 million of them were married before the age of 15.
Legal contradictions
The new report said while most of the 20 countries have ratified the Protocol to the African Charter on the Rights of Women in Africa (Maputo Protocol) and Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women CEDAW (key agreements promoting women’s rights), significant problems remain.
Legal systems in some nations fail to translate these protections into reality. Marital rape remains legal, women struggle to leave marriages, and inheritance rights are unequal.
In nations like Nigeria, Algeria, and Cameroon, women receive less inheritance than men.
Several countries, including the Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya, and Mozambique, have outlawed child marriage, raising the legal marriage age to 18. However, this practice persists in Cameroon, Senegal, and Tanzania.
Even in countries with legal bans, like Nigeria (which outlawed child marriage in 2003), the reality on the ground differs. Here, approximately half of girls are still married before 18, particularly in the north.
“Culture and religion frequently act as major impediments in the struggle for family law equality, stalling reforms,” said Esther Waweru, report co-author and a senior legal adviser at Equality Now.
“Claw-back clauses water down the full impact of some progressive laws, and we are now witnessing backlash from anti-rights movements seeking to reverse hard-won gains made in ending harmful practices such as child marriage and female genital mutilation.
“Stagnation is also a problem, with governments pledging to reform discriminatory laws but failing to take meaningful action. In some instances, progressive family codes have remained in limbo for decades, awaiting enactment.”
The report calls for urgent reform of these legal structures to bridge the gap between outdated laws and modern realities, including evolving family structures and rising divorce rates.
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