Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Notes on Contributors
- Acknowledgments
- Introduction
- Part One The Nature and Future of Customary Law
- Part Two Ascertainment, Application, and Codification of Customary Law
- Part Three The Role and Power of Traditional Authorities
- Part Four Customary Land, Property Rights, and Succession
- Part Five Customary Criminal Law
- Part Six Customary Law, Human Rights, and Gender Equality
- 18 Customary Law, Gender Equality, and the Family
- 19 African Customary Law and Women’s Human Rights in Uganda
- 20 Women’s Rights, Customary Law, and the Promise of the Protocol on the Rights of Women in Africa
- 21 From Contemporary African Customary Laws to Indigenous African Law
- Index
- References
20 - Women’s Rights, Customary Law, and the Promise of the Protocol on the Rights of Women in Africa
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 February 2012
Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Notes on Contributors
- Acknowledgments
- Introduction
- Part One The Nature and Future of Customary Law
- Part Two Ascertainment, Application, and Codification of Customary Law
- Part Three The Role and Power of Traditional Authorities
- Part Four Customary Land, Property Rights, and Succession
- Part Five Customary Criminal Law
- Part Six Customary Law, Human Rights, and Gender Equality
- 18 Customary Law, Gender Equality, and the Family
- 19 African Customary Law and Women’s Human Rights in Uganda
- 20 Women’s Rights, Customary Law, and the Promise of the Protocol on the Rights of Women in Africa
- 21 From Contemporary African Customary Laws to Indigenous African Law
- Index
- References
Summary
Introduction
The existence of plural legal systems in Commonwealth Africa presents both challenges and opportunities for women’s rights activists in the region. Because statutory, customary, and religious laws operate as parallel systems of law in many countries, women enjoy different rights within each system of law. Customary law is dynamic, often unwritten law that governs in some countries in certain areas of law, such as family law matters. In a few cases, customary law has evolved to reflect human rights norms of gender equality. In other cases, courts have invalidated customary laws that discriminated against women. In many other cases, customary law continues to impinge on women’s rights to equality within family law. This chapter will assess the extent to which international and regional human rights treaties may prove useful in the ongoing effort to reform customary law so that it conforms to internationally recognized gender equality norms.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- The Future of African Customary Law , pp. 467 - 493Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2011
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