Foreign ministers of the African Union (AU) adopted on Tuesday a far-reaching draft protocol on women’s rights, but Egypt and Libya attached reservations.
Sources within the AU’s Executive Council said that Egypt and Libya expressed reservations because the draft was not in line with Islamic Sharia law.
The draft will be submitted for adoption by the heads of state and government who begin meeting here on Thursday. If adopted, the protocol would require ratification by 15 member states of the 53-member grouping to come into force.
The Draft Protocol on the Rights of Women to the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights took five years to come before the ministers. It would among other things outlaw female genital mutilation, grant women the vote in all cases, set the minimum age for marriage at 18 and guarantee women the right to inherit and own property.
”Some of these seem basic in Western terms but they are very far reaching in some African societies and amount to a radical change of norms,” said an AU official who spoke on condition of anonymity. – Sapa-AFP