Protecting Progress: Rights Advocates Push African Governments to Defend the Maputo Protocol

By Alain Kabinda

As Africa races against time to achieve gender equality and improved health outcomes by 2030, a growing coalition of human rights advocates, legal experts, and health leaders is sounding the alarm over what they describe as a dangerous threat to decades of progress for women and girls across the continent.

At the center of the debate is a proposed African Charter on Family Sovereignty and Values, a draft document that critics say could weaken established protections for women's rights, sexual and reproductive health rights, and gender equality enshrined in the Maputo Protocol.

During a recent global dialogue hosted by the Global Centre for Health Diplomacy and Inclusion (CeHDI), the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF), and several international partners, experts called on African governments to reject the proposed charter and reaffirm their commitment to the Maputo Protocol, one of Africa's most significant human rights instruments.

For many advocates, the issue goes beyond legal language. It is about the future of millions of women and girls whose access to education, healthcare, protection from violence, and reproductive rights could be affected by decisions made today.

A Landmark African Achievement Under Pressure Adopted by the African Union in 2003, the Maputo Protocol is widely regarded as one of the most progressive human rights treaties on the continent. Ratified by 46 African Union member states, the protocol provides comprehensive protections for women and girls, including safeguards against discrimination, harmful cultural practices, gender-based violence, forced marriage, and female genital mutilation.

The treaty also guarantees women's rights to health, including sexual and reproductive health services.

"It demonstrates that gender equality and women's rights are not foreign concepts imposed on Africa," said communications specialist Famia Nkansa. "African women activists, policymakers, legal experts, and governments played a central role in shaping the protocol."

Yet rights defenders fear that the proposed charter could undermine those achievements by introducing provisions that prioritize state sovereignty, traditional family structures, and cultural values over individual rights and protections.

And Dr. Tlaleng Mofokeng, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Right to Health, described the draft charter as a direct challenge to progress achieved through decades of advocacy and legal reform.

"The regressive draft African Charter on Family Sovereignty and Values is yet another assault on sexual and reproductive health rights and justice, as well as bodily autonomy and human rights in general," she said.

According to Dr. Mofokeng, the draft charter encourages governments to withdraw from evidence-based agreements such as the Maputo Protocol and risks reversing gains made in advancing gender equality and reproductive health across Africa.

She also warned that amid growing global resistance to gender equality and reproductive rights, African governments must resist efforts that seek to weaken established protections.

"Gender justice and human rights to health are not negotiable. They are essential foundations for human development, sustainable peace, and security," she said.

Meanwhile speaking at the same dialogue forum Ms. Sibongile Ndashe, Executive Director of the Initiative for Strategic Litigation in Africa (ISLA), noted that the draft recognizes family primarily through heterosexual marriage and biological parenthood.

She argued that such a definition could exclude many family structures and create barriers to access services and legal protections.

"The practical implications are profound because family recognition determines access to inheritance, housing, custody, social protection, and legal recognition before the state," Ndashe explained.

She further cautioned that placing family cohesion above individual rights could leave women, children, and vulnerable groups with fewer protections when family structures themselves become sites of abuse, discrimination, or unequal power relations.

Other legal analysts have raised concerns that the draft charter limits recognition of gender diversity and rejects comprehensive sexuality education, which public health experts have linked to improved health outcomes, lower rates of HIV transmission, reduced unintended pregnancies, and lower levels of gender-based violence.

The debate unfolding in Africa mirrors broader global tensions around gender equality and reproductive rights.

Experts say anti-rights movements have gained momentum in various regions, challenging advances in women's rights, sexual and reproductive health, and protections for marginalized communities.

Dr. Pam Rajput, Professor Emeritus at Panjab University in India, warned that setbacks in one region can influence developments elsewhere.

"Patriarchy is transnational and so are anti-rights movements," she said. "The question is not only what this means for Africa but what it means for the future of women's rights everywhere."

She emphasized that human rights cannot be selectively applied based on geography, politics, or cultural interpretation.

The urgency of the debate is heightened by the approaching deadline for the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

With only 54 months remaining before the 2030 target, advocates say the world is already off track in achieving both SDG 3 (Good Health and Well-being) and SDG 5 (Gender Equality).

Instead of accelerating progress, many fear that efforts to weaken existing rights frameworks could slow progress even further.

For supporters of the Maputo Protocol, defending the treaty is not merely about preserving legal commitments—it is about protecting real lives.

Behind every policy debate is a girl seeking education, a woman seeking healthcare, a survivor seeking justice, and communities striving for equality and dignity.

As African governments consider the future of the proposed charter, rights advocates are delivering a clear message: progress achieved through decades of struggle should not be reversed.

For them, the Maputo Protocol remains more than a treaty. It is a symbol of Africa's commitment to gender equality, human dignity, and the right to health for all.

And as the continent confronts new challenges and competing visions for its future, many believe that protecting those gains has never been more important.

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