Africa for Women’s Rights: Cote D’Ivoire

Africa for Women’s Rights: Cote D’Ivoire

<p><b>Women’s rights protection instruments ratified by Cote D’Ivoire:</b> </p>
<ul><li>CEDAW: ratified in 1995
</li><li>CEDAW Protocol: not signed
</li><li>Maputo Protocol: signed n 2004, not ratified<br />
</li></ul>
<p><br />
</p>
<div id="toc"><h2>Table of Contents</h2>
<ul>
<li class="toclevel-1"><a href="#w_ratify"><span class="tocnumber">1</span> <span class="toctext">Ratify!</span></a></li>
<li class="toclevel-1"><a href="#w_respect"><span class="tocnumber">2</span> <span class="toctext">Respect!</span></a></li>
<li class="toclevel-1"><a href="#w_some-positive-developmentsad"><span class="tocnumber">3</span> <span class="toctext">Some positive developments…</span></a></li>
<li class="toclevel-1"><a href="#w_but-discrimination-and-violence-persist"><span class="tocnumber">4</span> <span class="toctext">But discrimination and violence persist</span></a>
<ul>
<li class="toclevel-2"><a href="#w_discrimination-in-the-family"><span class="tocnumber">4.1</span> <span class="toctext">Discrimination in the family</span></a></li>
<li class="toclevel-2"><a href="#w_violence"><span class="tocnumber">4.2</span> <span class="toctext">Violence</span></a></li>
<li class="toclevel-2"><a href="#w_obstacles-to-freedom-of-movement"><span class="tocnumber">4.3</span> <span class="toctext">Obstacles to freedom of movement</span></a></li>
<li class="toclevel-2"><a href="#w_obstacles-to-access-to-education"><span class="tocnumber">4.4</span> <span class="toctext">Obstacles to access to education</span></a></li>
<li class="toclevel-2"><a href="#w_under-representation-in-public-and-political-life"><span class="tocnumber">4.5</span> <span class="toctext">Under-representation in public and political life</span></a></li>
<li class="toclevel-2"><a href="#w_obstacles-to-access-to-health"><span class="tocnumber">4.6</span> <span class="toctext">Obstacles to access to health</span></a></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li class="toclevel-1"><a href="#w_"><span class="tocnumber">5</span> <span class="toctext"></span></a></li>
<li class="toclevel-1"><a href="#w_principal-sources"><span class="tocnumber">6</span> <span class="toctext">Principal Sources</span></a></li>
<li class="toclevel-1"><a href="#w_see-also"><span class="tocnumber">7</span> <span class="toctext">See also</span></a></li>
</ul>
</div><h2 id="w_ratify">Ratify!</h2>
<p>Although "Gender has ratified the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), as well as the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa (Maputo Protocol), the Government has yet to ratify the Optional Protocol to CEDAW.
</p>
<h2 id="w_respect">Respect!</h2>
<p>The Coalition of the Campaign is particularly concerned by: persistent discriminatory legislative provisions; discrimination within the family; violence; limited access to education, property, health services and justice; and under-representation in public and political life.
</p>
<h2 id="w_some-positive-developmentsad">Some positive developments…</h2>
<p>The Coalition of the Campaign acknowledges the recent adoption of several policies aimed at improving respect for women’s rights, including: – The establishment in 2006 of the Equality and Gender Directorate within the<br />Ministry of the Family, Women and Social Affairs, responsible for coordinating government activities in the fight against gender discrimination and the adoption of the National Policy on Equal Opportunities, Equity and Gender in April 2009 to promote the consideration of gender in the public and private sectors.
</p><p><br />
</p>
<h2 id="w_but-discrimination-and-violence-persist">But discrimination and violence persist</h2>
<p>Many discriminatory provisions persist in Ivorian legislation, including:
</p>
<h3 id="w_discrimination-in-the-family">Discrimination in the family</h3>
<p>The Civil Code provides that the man holds the status of head of the family (art. 58). The husband chooses the family residence (art. 60). The husband has the right under common law to administer and dispose of marital property (art. 81). A divorced woman cannot remarry during a period of 300 days from the date the divorce is pronounced (arts. 25 and 26). A woman can be punished for adultery wherever the offence is committed, while the man is only punished in the case of habitual adultery or adultery that takes place in the marital home (Criminal Code, art. 391).<br />According to the Law on Succession 1964 (n° 64-374), “property is passed to the parents and his spouse, in that order”.
</p><p>The abolition of polygamy by the Civil Code has had the perverse effect of increasing cases of repudiation and eviction of women. They find themselves with no protec- tion or legal recourse and often with the responsibility of looking after children. In addition, forced and early marriages remain very common. In 2008, it was estimated that over one third of girls were married before the age of 18 years.<br />In spite of the 1983 law on marriage that provides for a regime of separation of marital property, most couples still chose the common law regime that gives the husband alone the right to administer the common property in the marriage.<br />
</p><p><br />
</p>
<h3 id="w_violence">Violence</h3>
<p>Despite the adoption in 1998 of a law punishing some forms of violence against women (Law n° 98-757), and a law criminalising rape (Law n° 81-640), perpetrators of these crimes continue to benefit from general impunity, partly due to a culture of silence. During the armed conflict between 2002 and 2007, crimes of sexual violence were perpetrated on a large scale by members of armed groups. Such crimes have since become ‘normalised’ and victims of such crimes rarely file complaints for fear of social stigmatisation or reprisals by the perpetrator or his family.<br />Although female genital mutilation (FGM) has been a crime since 1998, it is still prac- tised, especially in rural areas and amongst the Muslim population, partly as a result of the failure of government to implement awareness-raising programmes.
</p>
<h3 id="w_obstacles-to-freedom-of-movement">Obstacles to freedom of movement</h3>
<p>Certain traditions deprive women of their freedom of movement and confine them indoors. In the Ouémé Valley during the period of “ORO” worship in August, women are forced to remain inside for 17 days.
</p>
<h3 id="w_obstacles-to-access-to-education">Obstacles to access to education</h3>
<p>The general level of schooling in Côte d’Ivoire is very low, especially for girls: in the northern areas of the country, under the influence of tradition, the population remains reluctant to educate girls, who are often responsible for domestic tasks. In 2009, only 49% of girls were educated at primary school level as opposed to 61% of boys, and over 75% of girls received no secondary school education. The literacy rate for young women aged between 15 and 25 was only 40%.
</p>
<h3 id="w_under-representation-in-public-and-political-life">Under-representation in public and political life</h3>
<p>Women are poorly represented in political life in Côte d’Ivoire: during the last elections, held in 2000, only 18 women were elected out of 224 members of parliament (8.9%). In 2009, there were only 8 women mayors, one woman village chief (of a total of 1500), and one woman held the post of president of a regional council. No legal steps have been taken to promote parity. Although women can now enter the pollice force, they are often relegated to low-status voles such as traffic police and administrative positions. Women still do not have access to posts within military police.<br />
</p>
<h3 id="w_obstacles-to-access-to-health">Obstacles to access to health</h3>
<p>The generalisation of rape has contributed to making Côte d’Ivoire the country with the highest rate of HIV/AIDS in West Africa. Although this rate decreased significantly since 1990 (from 14% to 4.7%), it remains 3 to 4 times higher than in neighbouring countries. Apart from a pre-draft law, which has seen no progress (which would establish prison sentences for voluntary contamination), the authorities have not made any legislative commitments to assist victims of HIV/AIDS.<br />Abortion is an offence that incurs a prison sentence resulting in widespread practice of non-medical abortions.
</p>
<h2 id="w_"></h2>
<p><b>The Coalition of the Campaign calls on the authorities of Côte d’Ivoire &nbsp; to:</b>
</p>
<ol><li>Reform or abolish all discriminatory legal provisions, in accordance with CEDAW, in particular within the Civil Code, the Labour Code, the Civil Service Code and the Criminal Code.
</li><li>Strengthen laws and policies to combat violence against women, including by establishing awareness-raising campaigns and training programmes for legal personnel and health professionals; by ensuring that perpetrators are prosecuted and punished; and sensitizing the population on the harmful effects of FGM..
</li><li>Promote access to education for girls, by guaranteeing free, compulsory schooling up to the age of 15 and by taking steps to encourage girls to enroll in higher education.
</li><li>Reinforce women’s access to decision- making positions, in particular by adopting temporary special measures including a law on quotas.
</li><li>Guarantee women’s access to land and property, by implementing awareness-raising programmes for women on their rights, especially in rural areas.
</li><li>Guarantee women’s access to health, including by promoting access to family planning, especially in rural areas; by decriminalising abortion; and by adopting the draft law on the fight against HIV/ AIDS.
</li><li>Guarantee women’s access to justice, in particular by setting up education and awareness-raising programmes for all those responsible for the application of laws relating to women’s rights; by informing women of existing recourse mechanisms for violations; and by setting up legal assistance services for victims.
</li><li>Submit the initial report on implementation of CEDAW provisions to the CEDAW Committee which is overdue since 1996.<br />
</li><li>Ratify the Maputo Protocol, the Optional Protocol to CEDAW and the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.<br />
</li></ol>
<h2 id="w_principal-sources">Principal Sources</h2>
<ul><li>Focal Points: WILDAF-Côte d’Ivoire, AFJCI, MIDH, LIDHO
</li><li>UNICEF, The State of the World’s Children, 2009: www.unicef.org
</li></ul>
<h2 id="w_see-also">See also</h2>
<ul><li><a href="http://www.africa4womensrights.org" alt="The Africa for Women’s Rights Campaign’s Blog">The Africa for Women’s Rights Campaign’s Blog</a>
</li><li><a href="http://www.wikigender.org/w/index.php/Cote" alt="d’Ivoire Gender Equality in Cote d’Ivoire">d’Ivoire Gender Equality in Cote d’Ivoire</a><br />
</li></ul>
<p><br /><br />WiLDAF-Cote D’Ivoire is a member of the pan-African network WILDAF. Created in 1999, its main activities include: the establishment of a shelter and legal advice centre for women; training for legal personnel; fighting harmful traditional practices concerning widows; and implementing awareness-raising campaigns.
</p><p>[Category:Gender Equality Theory

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