In a seismic win for gender justice, the African Union (AU) summit held recently in Addis Ababa, adopted the Convention on Ending Violence Against Women and Girls, a pact to dismantle a scourge blighting millions across the continent.
Born from a 2023 draft by AU Heads of State and reaffirmed in 2024, the convention, finalised at the 38th Ordinary Session, targets the root causes of violence, from Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) to sexual slavery in conflict zones, aiming to fortify laws and shift cultures steeped in patriarchy.
Janet Ramatoulie Sallah-Njie, Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Women in Africa, called it “a historic milestone in our fight for equality and dignity.”
She hailed its passage as a testament to unity and advocacy, urging swift ratification: “This isn’t just words, it is a call to build real protections, support systems, and laws so no woman or girl lives in fear, but in freedom.”
The convention builds on the 2003 Maputo Protocol, which 44 AU states have ratified, mandating action against discrimination and violence under Articles 2, 3, 4, 5, and 26. It confronts a grim reality: violence; physical, sexual, psychological, or economic, stalks women and girls across homes, schools, workplaces, prisons, and war zones.
Early forced marriages, workplace harassment, and online abuse thrive amid patriarchal power imbalances, reinforced by unequal resources and social norms. The AU notes that 36 percent of African women face intimate partner violence, per 2021 UN data, with FGM affecting 200 million globally, mostly in Africa.
The pact demands a unified state response, stronger legal frameworks, root-cause interventions, and inclusivity for marginalised groups like rural women or conflict survivors.
“The persistence of violence against women and girls is largely driven by entrenched gender power relations rooted in patriarchal systems. These systems are characterised by male dominance, an unequal distribution of resources, and power imbalances, all of which are reinforced by social norms and institutions that sustain gender inequality,” AU said in a statement.
The Convention complements existing treaties: the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, the Maputo Protocol, and UN frameworks like CEDAW and the Declaration on Violence Against Women.
First proposed amid rising calls for gender equity, the convention’s journey from 2023 draft to 2025 adoption marks a pivot after years of patchy progress—only half of AU states criminalize marital rape, per a 2022 AU report.
Sallah-Njie insisted that the real test lies ahead: “Ratification and enforcement must follow, or this victory stays on paper.”
With Africa’s women watching, the AU’s bold step could reshape a continent—or falter if action stalls.
Ntsoaki Motaung is an award-winning health journalist from Lesotho, specializing in community health stories with a focus on sexual and reproductive health and rights, as well as HIV. She has contributed to platforms like “Be in the KNOW,” highlighting issues such as the exclusion of people with disabilities from HIV prevention efforts in Lesotho.
In addition to her journalism, Ntsoaki serves as the Country Coordinator for the Regional Media Action Plan Support Network (REMAPSEN). She is also a 2023 CPHIA Journalism Fellow.
