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The history of women’s struggle for gender equality must be taught and retold at every opportunity. The history shows that the gains made by and on behalf of women were realised through sustained activism and collective action. The freedoms we enjoy today were not handed on a silver platter.
Africa, and particularly Nairobi, occupies such an important place in that history. In 1975, the United Nations proposed that the following decade be proclaimed the UN Decade for Women. During the decade for women, many women from different backgrounds came together to challenge gender inequality and exclusion from the public sphere.
Key moments during the struggle for gender equality were the conferences hosted in various locations such as Nairobi and Beijing. In 1995, during the Beijing Conference, a global policy framework for advancing women’s rights and gender equality in the areas of health, education, and economic participation was adopted. Governments committed themselves not only to action but also to periodic review of progress through processes such as the annual Commission on the Status of Women.
Happening during the same time were population conferences. One of the most consequential conferences, hosted a year before the Beijing Conference, was the International Conference on Population of Development hosted in Cairo. The conference resulted in the adoption of a Programme of Action (PoA)that contained recommendations for health, development and social welfare. The PoA emphasised people’s ability to have a satisfying and safe sex life, the capability to reproduce and the freedom to decide if, when and how often to do so. This marked a major shift from other discussions on population that solely focused on family planning from a population control perspective.
Yet many of these hard-won gains are facing renewed threats.
Across the world, a wave of anti-human rights actors is challenging long-standing commitments to gender equality. Although the actors and strategies differ from country to country, a common thread runs through many of their efforts: the reassertion of patriarchal norms that limit women’s autonomy and reinforce traditional hierarchies. In this scenario, an overemphasis on women’s childbearing role restricts their access to family planning and other essential services that could facilitate their participation outside of the domestic sphere.
The goal is not always stated openly. It is often presented through the language of culture, tradition, family protection or national sovereignty. But beneath these rhetorics lies a familiar proposition: that women should have less control over their bodies, fewer choices over their lives and a reduced voice in public affairs. In Kenya, policies such as the national policy on family promotion and protection and the contested Kenya National Health Policy 2022-2032 have been framed as part of calculated attempts to reduce women’s control over their bodies, and to reduce the possibility of leaving abusive marriages in the name of protecting the family.
The newest threat has been made against the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights on the rights of women, otherwise known as the Maputo Protocol. Maputo Protocol represents one of the most significant contributions by Africa to the human rights architecture. The protocol directly addresses issues affecting women in Africa, including female genital mutilation, political participation and reproductive health.
Besides the known challenges of enforcement and implementation, a proposed African Charter on Family Values and Sovereignty further risks undermining the influence of the Maputo Protocol. Human rights organisations such as Initiative for Strategic Litigation in Africa (ISLA) argue that the proposed charter contradicts the spirit and letter of the Maputo Protocol. The draft charter requires that states review, nullify, and rescind existing legal instruments based on ideological incompatibility. The charter finds sexual and reproductive health and rights to be opposed to African values and family life. Finally, the charter delegitimises gender equality by framing it as ideological and harmful.
Given the attractive language used to package the proposed charter, it is unlikely that many African leaders will bother to oppose ‘Family values and sovereignty.’ The fundamental question for countries before committing to such a charter is, whose freedoms will be sacrificed on the altar of ‘protecting family values and sovereignty ’?
It is undeniable that the family is a very important institution in society. The family plays a very influential role in the life of its members. It is in the family that social norms are passed from one generation to the next. While this remains true for the family, it can also be used as a site for instilling harmful stereotypes and reinforcing traditional gender roles. Unfortunately, the stereotypes may further be reproduced in the larger society through institutions such as school, the church and, worse still, policymaking organs.
In this moment of uncertainty, African women and all those who believe in equality are asked to answer an urgent call. The call is clear: collectively push back against anti-human rights attacks, or be ‘pushed back to the kitchen.’
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The history of women’s struggle for gender equality must be taught and retold at every opportunity. The history shows that the gains made by and on behalf of women were realised through sustained activism and collective action. The freedoms we enjoy today were not handed on a silver platter.
Africa, and particularly Nairobi, occupies such an important place in that history. In 1975, the United Nations proposed that the following decade be proclaimed the UN Decade for Women. During the decade for women, many women from different backgrounds came together to challenge gender inequality and exclusion from the public sphere.
Key moments during the struggle for gender equality were the conferences hosted in various locations such as Nairobi and Beijing. In 1995, during the Beijing Conference, a global policy framework for advancing women’s rights and gender equality in the areas of health, education, and economic participation was adopted. Governments committed themselves not only to action but also to periodic review of progress through processes such as the annual Commission on the Status of Women.
Happening during the same time were population conferences. One of the most consequential conferences, hosted a year before the Beijing Conference, was the International Conference on Population of Development hosted in Cairo. The conference resulted in the adoption of a Programme of Action (PoA)that contained recommendations for health, development and social welfare. The PoA emphasised people’s ability to have a satisfying and safe sex life, the capability to reproduce and the freedom to decide if, when and how often to do so. This marked a major shift from other discussions on population that solely focused on family planning from a population control perspective.
Yet many of these hard-won gains are facing renewed threats.
Across the world, a wave of anti-human rights actors is challenging long-standing commitments to gender equality. Although the actors and strategies differ from country to country, a common thread runs through many of their efforts: the reassertion of patriarchal norms that limit women’s autonomy and reinforce traditional hierarchies. In this scenario, an overemphasis on women’s childbearing role restricts their access to family planning and other essential services that could facilitate their participation outside of the domestic sphere.
The goal is not always stated openly. It is often presented through the language of culture, tradition, family protection or national sovereignty. But beneath these rhetorics lies a familiar proposition: that women should have less control over their bodies, fewer choices over their lives and a reduced voice in public affairs. In Kenya, policies such as the national policy on family promotion and protection and the contested Kenya National Health Policy 2022-2032 have been framed as part of calculated attempts to reduce women’s control over their bodies, and to reduce the possibility of leaving abusive marriages in the name of protecting the family.
The newest threat has been made against the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights on the rights of women, otherwise known as the Maputo Protocol. Maputo Protocol represents one of the most significant contributions by Africa to the human rights architecture. The protocol directly addresses issues affecting women in Africa, including female genital mutilation, political participation and reproductive health.
Besides the known challenges of enforcement and implementation, a proposed African Charter on Family Values and Sovereignty further risks undermining the influence of the Maputo Protocol. Human rights organisations such as Initiative for Strategic Litigation in Africa (ISLA)
argue that the proposed charter contradicts the spirit and letter of the Maputo Protocol. The draft charter requires that states review, nullify, and rescind existing legal instruments based on ideological incompatibility. The charter finds sexual and reproductive health and rights to be opposed to African values and family life. Finally, the charter delegitimises gender equality by framing it as ideological and harmful.
Given the attractive language used to package the proposed charter, it is unlikely that many African leaders will bother to oppose ‘Family values and sovereignty.’ The fundamental question for countries before committing to such a charter is, whose freedoms will be sacrificed on the altar of ‘protecting family values and sovereignty ’?
It is undeniable that the family is a very important institution in society. The family plays a very influential role in the life of its members. It is in the family that social norms are passed from one generation to the next. While this remains true for the family, it can also be used as a site for instilling harmful stereotypes and reinforcing traditional gender roles. Unfortunately, the stereotypes may further be reproduced in the larger society through institutions such as school, the church and, worse still, policymaking organs.
In this moment of uncertainty, African women and all those who believe in equality are asked to answer an urgent call. The call is clear: collectively push back against anti-human rights attacks, or be ‘pushed back to the kitchen.’
By Wangari Ireri