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A Detailed Look: Sub-Saharan Africa
Gender discrimination in social institutions is very high in the 44 Sub-Saharan African countries. Of the ranked countries, all except six are in the bottom half of the SIGI. Just one – Mauritius – is in the top 20. Overall, the main regional concerns relate to ownership rights, physical integrity and family code.
Most Sub-Saharan African countries operate under a dual or tripartite system of law – civil, traditional or customary, and religious – making it difficult to harmonise legislation and remove discriminatory practices. In many countries, continuing civil wars have further affected the lives of many women. Much discrimination is related to inheritance and ownership rights, since husbands are often considered to be heads of households and women remain dependent on them for financial matters.
There have been isolated improvements with regards to women’s financial independence. In Mali, women’s access to bank loans has improved since a law was passed in 1994 to strengthen micro-credit programmes; similar progress has been made in other countries, mainly thanks to grassroots organisations. Women are increasingly active in starting up and running small businesses.
Female genital mutilation remains a key challenge. Government efforts coupled with NGO-led educational programmes have gone some way to increasing awareness of the health risks: in Senegal, for instance, more than half of women support the abandonment of the practice. Despite these efforts, and the introduction of laws criminalising it in some countries, the practice remains prevalent in rural areas and among illiterate women.
Key issue: Access to land
Legal protection may exist in theory, but in practice women’s ownership rights remain highly restricted in Sub-Saharan Africa. Discrimination is clearest in access to land, where traditional law often prevails. In Rwanda and Ethiopia, land is transferred from father to son and women can only access it through marriage. This is despite the fact that women often make up a sizeable proportion of farm workers: In Congo, women account for 60% of the agricultural workforce, but own only 25% of agricultural land; in Kenya, women only own 4% of land.
This phenomenon has a knock-on effect when it comes to bank lending: As banks often demand land as a guarantee, women can find it hard to access loans. Finally, access to property other than land often depends on whether a woman is married and under which legal regime her marriage is recognised.
