3 April 2025
Abiola Akiyode-Afolabi, Founding Director of the Women Advocates Research and Documentation Center, said that West Africa, which accounts for 5.67 per cent of the world’s population, “has suffered military rule, undemocratic Governments, wars and conflicts, putting the enjoyment of rights and women in contestation”.
She said that women and girls in West Africa have a 58 per cent chance of not being enrolled in secondary school, a 20 per cent chance of starting childbearing as a teenager and can expect to earn less than their male counterparts, regardless of the sector in which they work. “Gender equality remains unfinished business,” she pointed out, noting that many African traditional communities still conceive the duty of a woman to be primarily that of childbearing and rearing.
She therefore recommended, among other measures, that States amend or repeal discriminatory laws, particularly in areas of nationality, marriage and inheritance and implement programmes that address barriers to girls’ education, such as child marriage and teenage pregnancy. States should also develop policies that enhance women’s access to financial services, land ownership and employment opportunities, ensuring equal pay and safe working conditions.
She noted that all West African countries are signatories of the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa, the African Youth Charter and the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child. These commitments provide more opportunities for women to participate in decision-making, peacebuilding and politics. “The time is now,” she stressed.