5.3 Challenges and Gaps B. CASE STUDIES ......................................................................................................................................................................................... 121

5.3 Challenges and Gaps

Despite the numerous laws aimed at protecting women, many women across the West African region continue to face discrimination and challenges in achieving the AWD goals on women’s economic empowerment, such as access to financial resources. Most of the West African states do not proscribe prohibition against discrimination in access to credit based on gender. Two countries have provisions prohibiting discrimination based on gender regarding credit access, through Law No. 2016/059 in Guinea and the Penal Code in Cabo Verde. Most countries in West Africa do not have relevant provisions on equal remuneration for work of equal value. In Togo, Law No. 2015-010 prohibits sexual harassment in employment and provides criminal penalties and civil remedies, although under customary law a husband can restrict his wife’s freedom to work and control her earnings.

In Gambia, sections of the Women’s Act dealing with widows’ rights and the right to inheritance are subject to personal law, which contains discriminatory provisions against women (notably Sharia Law applicable to Muslims, and customary law for persons who are traditionalist). In addition, the Women’s Act provides only for women’s “equitable” access to property (equitable rights to those of men in case of separation, divorce or annulment of marriage, an equitable share in the inheritance of the property of their husbands and equitable shares in the inheritance of parents’ properties) and not equal access. Furthermore, the acquisition of customary land under the informal land tenure system remains a complex issue for women.706 In Cabo Verde, the law does not ensure that the jointly owned property of women and men in de facto unions is registered in the name of both partners from the outset.707 In Côte d’Ivoire, a high percentage of marriages are not formally registered, leaving women without economic protection upon dissolution of the union.708

Although countries have legislation prohibiting discrimination in employment, women face barriers and stereotypes that prevent them from seeking employment opportunities. For example, while the Labour Code of Niger mandates non-discrimination in employment based on sex and requires equal pay for equal work, women are prohibited from entering some professions. Moreover, the Civil Code still states that women need their husband’s consent to pursue their chosen profession.709

Another area of contention observed concerns maternity leave. While most West African countries provide maternity leave, the laws protecting women related to job security during pregnancy and maternity leave are often poorly enforced. For example, in Sierra Leone, it is common for an employer to lay off a woman if she becomes pregnant during her first year on the job.710 Based on the survey of laws adopted during the Decade, several countries do not have relevant legislation giving women the right to equal pay for work of equal value.

Implementation of GRB varies across the West African region. Some countries, such as Niger, have developed a GRB action plan; however, GRB is not yet institutionalised.711 In other countries, while reports indicate investments in promoting women’s economic empowerment and gender equality, many budgets allocated to ministries and departments do not include a specific line related to gender and gender equality. Moreover, some countries lack the capacity to monitor and assess the quality of investments in terms of women’s economic empowerment and gender equality.

Lack of data on government budget allocations to gender is another challenge observed within the region. Linked to this are reductions in the budget allocated to gender. For example, Senegal has experienced a reduction in the specific budget allocation to gender owing to mainstreaming policies.712 The political crisis in the north of Mali has also distracted from the government’s gender priorities, which is projected to decrease budget commitments.713 Other countries have experienced a reduction in the budget owing to socioeconomic and political factors. Most notably, the 2014 Ebola outbreak limited resources allocated to gender policies in Liberia and Sierra Leone. The hard-earned gains recorded by the Liberian Agenda for Prosperity were mostly reversed. The constitutional review process of gender policies in Sierra Leone was also stalled in 2017 as the government focused its attention on humanitarian responses.714