region: East Africa

Somalia

Somalia did not ratify the Maputo Protocol but signed it on February, 2006.  “The Constitution of Somalia (2012) protects human dignity and equality under Articles 10 and 11 respectively, and, most significantly in relation to FGM, sets out under Article 15(4) that: Circumcision of girls is a cruel and degrading customary practice, and is tantamount totorture. The circumcision of girls is prohibited.” Somalia’s constitution states: Article 24–“Allworkers, particularly women, have a special right of protection from sexual abuse, segregation and discrimination in the work place. Every labour law and practice shall comply with gender equality in the workplace.” The Ministry

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Seychelles

Seychelles signed the Maputo Protocol in January 2006 and ratified it on March 2006. 2020: Civil Code Amendment Act An amendment to the civil code signed into law in November by the president provides equal rights to children. The revision applies to the sharing of inheritance as well as the responsibilities of parents to their children regardless of whether they are married. The revised civil code also addresses the sharing of property in married or unmarried intimate-partner relationships. 2019: Employment (Conditions Of EmploymentOfDomestic Workers) Regulations: specifies mandatory working conditions,annual leave, and maternity/paternity leave for domestic workers. 2020: Domestic Violence Act

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Rwanda

Rwanda ratified the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa best known as the Maputo Protocol on the 25th June 2004. Rwanda has made considerable progress in promoting gender equality and women’s empowerment. Most notably, as of January 2021, Rwanda is ranked first in the world according to the percentage of women in unicameral parliaments or the lower house of parliament, with 61.3% of members of the lower house being women and 38.5% in the upper house (IPU, 2021). However, despite these achievements, many challenges of inequality between men and

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Mauritius

Mauritius did not sign the Maputo Protocol but did ratify it at September 2005.  Protection from Domestic Violence (Amendment) Act 2016: The amendments redefine the term “spouse” to include unmarried couples of the opposite sex; redefine “domestic violence” to include verbal, psychological, economic, and sexual abuses. Although the amendments do not mention spousal rape, section 2.d. stipulates that a spouse cannot force or threaten the other partner into a sexual act “from which the spouse or the other person has the right to abstain.” 2020-2024 National Strategy and Action Plan of the High Level Committee on the Elimination of Gender

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