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#MaputoAt23: Keep the Fire Burning 🔥

Today, 11 July 2026, marks 23 years since African governments made a promise to the women and girls of this continent. On this day in 2003, the African Union adopted the Maputo Protocol, the most comprehensive and progressive legal instrument for women’s human rights in the world. Twenty-three years on, the SOAWR Coalition and its 77 member organisations are here

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#MaputoAt22: Our Rights Are Non-Negotiable

Today, on 11 July 2025, we mark 22 years since the adoption of the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa, also known as the ‘Maputo Protocol’: a landmark moment in Africa’s legal and political history. But this year’s commemoration comes at a time when the rights enshrined in the

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A Memoir: Celebrating 20 Years of the Maputo Protocol

In commemoration of the 20th Anniversary of the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa (Maputo Protocol), SOAWR Member Equality Now took on a special initiative to gather statements from presidents, prime ministers, and ministers of the first countries that ratified the Protocol. In instances where the heads of state/government

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South Sudan Ratified the Maputo Protocol – Now What?

Status of women’s and girls’ rights in South Sudan Women and girls in South Sudan face extreme challenges with limited rights to protection, participation and inclusion. As such, South Sudan is among the countries with the highest rates of Sexual and Gender Based Violence in the world. Opportunities for education and vocational training are scarce. Laws and patriarchal norms limit

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