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2.2. Laws, Policies, Strategies/National Action Plans
Over the Decade, 23 African countries implemented constitutional reforms that have a bearing on women in governance and decision-making positions. The majority of constitutional reforms contain provisions that prohibit discrimination based on gender and commit the State to eliminate such practices, and include provisions that guarantee the right to vote and stand for election. Moreover, the right to equal participation of women in decision-making and politics is guaranteed in the constitutions of Angola, Mali and Niger.
The constitutions of Burundi, Egypt, Rwanda and South Sudan include provisions that explicitly guarantee a certain percentage of seats in elected bodies to women. For example, the 2018 Constitution of Burundi guarantees that a minimum of 30% of the members of the Senate are women (Article 185).742 In the case of Egypt, the Constitution guarantees a quota not only at the national level but also at the local level. Other constitutions, although not guaranteeing a specific percentage or number of seats in elected bodies, stipulate the role of the State in promoting the role and participation of women in political life and decision-making. For example, under the 2016 Constitution of Côte d’Ivoire, the State commits to promoting the political rights of women by increasing their chances of access to representation in elected assemblies (Article 36).743
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Half of the countries in Africa passed legislation over the Decade that addresses women’s political participation and representation in governance and decision-making positions, such as by establishing quotas. Legislation on gender quotas may establish that a certain number or percentage of candidates on party lists are female. At other times, such legislation reserves a specific number or percentage of seats in national and/or local elected bodies for women. Burundi, Côte d’Ivoire, Liberia and Republic of Congo, for example, have all adopted legislation stipulating that 30% of the candidates on party lists should be women. In Egypt, under the 2014 Law on Political Rights, half of the seats on each party list must be allocated to women.744 Both Benin and Djibouti have passed legislative reforms that state that 25% of seats in parliament are reserved for female members. In Zimbabwe, members of parliament introduced a bill in 2019 to extend the gender quota for another two parliamentary sessions and to introduce a gender-balanced youth quota.
Over the Decade, the vast majority of countries introduced policy reforms dedicated to increasing women’s representation. Most commonly, countries advance goals and strategies for increasing women’s representation and political participation and achieve gender parity in decision-making through their national gender policies and strategies. The National Strategy for Empowering Egyptian Women 2030 includes four areas of focus, one of which is political empowerment. The National Gender and Women Empowerment Policy of Gambia aims to improve women’s participation at all levels in politics and decision-making by providing information and leadership training. While the majority of gender strategies contain goals concerning women’s political empowerment and gender parity, few include specific targets. In Lesotho, however, the National Strategic Development Plan 2012/13–2016/17 aimed for 30% of seats in the national parliament to be held by women by 2015/16.745 Notably, Uganda has adopted a strategy explicitly focused on increasing women’s representation in parliament. The Uganda Women Parliamentary Plan 2016–2021 seeks to achieve 50/50 representation, and advocates a law that would make this goal legally binding.
When it comes to institutional reforms, most of the countries have made significant steps through the introduction of groups, focal points and gender departments to secure women’s participation in leadership. Countries such as Malawi, Morocco and Nigeria have introduced initiatives that establish financial resources to facilitate women’s political participation. Both Morocco and Niger have set up funds to provide support for female political candidates and increase women’s representation. In other countries, the institutional mechanism aims to provide training and capacity-building for women in leadership positions. For example, Togo has set up an academy to help train and strengthen the skills of young future female leaders who wish to enter the political arena.
