Written by
Ishioma Appiah-Yeboah
“Rights to health, dignity and equality cannot be negotiated,” experts say.
A growing push to weaken protections for women and girls across Africa is raising fresh concerns among human rights advocates, who warn that reversing commitments under the Maputo Protocol could threaten decades of progress on gender equality, healthcare access and bodily autonomy.
The warning was issued during the 37th session of the She and Rights dialogue, which focused on the theme: “Protecting Maputo Protocol is Critical to Resist Anti-Rights Pushbacks and Advance Gender Equality and Right to Health.”The session examined the proposed African Charter on Family Sovereignty and Values, which participants say could undermine existing human rights commitments if adopted in its current form.
The Maputo Protocol, adopted by the African Union in 2003, provides a legal framework for protecting women’s rights, including reproductive health rights, protection from harmful practices, and equality before the law.
For many women and girls, experts say, these protections are not abstract legal principles but daily realities — determining whether they can access healthcare, escape violence, make decisions about their bodies and participate fully in society.
Speaking at the session, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Right to Health, Dr. Tlaleng Mofokeng, warned that rising anti-rights and anti-gender movements are threatening progress made through years of advocacy and legal reforms.
She said gender equality and the right to health are inseparable human rights and must be protected together.According to her, the proposed charter represents an attempt to reverse gains made in protecting women, girls and vulnerable communities.“Gender justice and human rights to health are not negotiable.
They are the foundation for human development, sustainable peace and security,” she said.Dr. Mofokeng urged governments to uphold existing commitments rather than support measures that could limit access to healthcare, justice and protection from discrimination.
She cautioned that placing family interests above individual rights could create situations where survivors of violence, coercion or abuse struggle to seek protection and justice.
The Executive Director of the Initiative for Strategic Litigation in Africa (ISLA), Sibongile Tashe, said the draft charter requires careful examination because of its possible impact on Africa’s human rights system.
Tashe explained that while the document presents itself as protecting African culture, sovereignty and family values, some of its provisions could weaken equality protections.
She argued that the language of rights must be matched with real protections, warning against using culture or sovereignty as reasons to limit accountability.
According to her, African countries already exercised sovereignty when they adopted international and regional agreements such as the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, the Maputo Protocol and other human rights instruments.
A South African legal practitioner, Lethokolo Mokgoren, said the debate is ultimately about protecting the dignity and choices of African women and girls.Reflecting on the historical struggles for freedom and dignity, she warned that attempts to control people’s bodies, identities and personal choices risk repeating patterns of exclusion and discrimination.
She stressed that legal systems must protect vulnerable groups rather than become tools that restrict their rights.The She and Rights session, hosted by the Global Centre for Health Diplomacy and Inclusion (SEHDI) and partners including the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) and other regional health and gender organisations, also highlighted the role of media in reporting accurately on human rights issues.
Organisers announced the She and Rights Awards 2026–2027, aimed at recognising journalists in Africa and the Asia-Pacific regions whose reporting promotes gender equality, health rights and accountability.
Participants agreed that protecting the Maputo Protocol remains critical to ensuring that women and girls across Africa continue to have access to healthcare, justice, dignity and equal opportunities.