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GENDER
PROMOTING WOMEN'S LEGAL RIGHTS IN BENIN
Alima, a schoolgirl from a Peulh family of northern Benin was betrothed to her mother's cousin right from her birth according to tradition. Her parents enrolled her in school. She passed her primary school leaving exams when she was 13 and was going to start secondary school. Unfortunately, in the meantime, Alima's parents had received not only the dowry but also a lot of presents from her "fiancé." When schools reopened in October 2004, Alima was to resume classes at Nikki's secondary school but her "fiancé" chose that very time to claim her. Alima wanted to continue her studies but he did not want to hear about that. The case was referred to the Association of Pupils' Mothers (AME) of the area. They convinced her parents to let her continue studying at least up to the eighth grade. Alima was enrolled in Parakou's girls' high school. She stayed with a host family during the December vacation to prevent a possible kidnapping by her fiancé. But three days after school reopened, the headmistress of the girls' high school said that Alima had disappeared. Alima had left for an unknown destination allegedly because her return to the girls' residence could result in her death. Her father thinks that she has been bewitched.
Alima is just one example among other young women whose plans are thwarted by customary laws and practices that deny women and girls their basic human rights. Women are defined by their relationships with men.
| There is strong resistance to the idea of women's equality with men. Customary practices such as forced or early marriages, child exchange, levirate (the custom which forces a widow to marry her dead husband's brother or son), polygamy, widowhood ceremonies (when widows are obliged to cease their activities during the bereavement months), barriers to inheritance of property and land by women, domestic violence, and female genital mutilation all show that violence and force against women is condoned. This increases their poverty. Ultimately this slows progress towards democracy and economic and political development. |
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Parents don't see the use of sending their daughters to school as they are destined to get married very early like Alima. As a consequence, most women in Benin are illiterate. They depend on their husbands for financial matters. They cannot own land, and they are not encouraged to participate in political decision making.
Over a decade ago some dedicated women leaders gathered to think about strategies for the improvement of women's living and working conditions. The AFJB (Women Lawyers' Association of Benin), a nonprofit organization, was born in January 1990 to promote human rights, especially women's rights. AFJB collaborated with Women In Law and Development in Africa (WILDAF-Benin) and other organizations in a long, arduous process to develop new legislation that would promote women's rights. The Government of Benin drafted the new Code of Persons and Family in 1990. It was eventually voted on June 14, 2004 and promulgated by the President of the Republic on August 24, 2004.
This new law marks a watershed in the history of Benin legal environment that is constituted of retrograde customs and traditions. Old laws were hostile to the recognition and protection of women's rights and interests. Men and women now jointly share responsibility for raising or bringing up their children. Polygamy, levirate marriage, and forced marriage are now prohibited. Dowry is now symbolic and cannot be claimed in case of divorce. Children born outside of wedlock have the same rights as legitimate children. Women now have the same right to inheritance as men.
AFJB's founder and former president, Judge Clotilde Médégan Nougbodé with USAID Benin staff during her presentation on the new code of Persons and Family. |
Unfortunately, the Code of Persons and Family is still largely unknown by the public and not fully enforced. Magistrates and judges who may not be aware of or disagree with the new law continue to apply customary law. There is widespread lack of knowledge about and resistance to applying principles that uphold women's rights. The government has not yet enacted the necessary application decrees to ensure the law is enforced in order to put an end to the legal duality.
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AFJB's founder and former president, Judge Clotilde Médégan Nougbodé is now chairing the High Court of Justice and a member of the Constitutional Court. She was invited to USAID/Benin Mission to deliver a presentation on the new code as part of the International Women's Day celebration. She said that the Code Persons and Family is actually a tool for the development and promotion of family. It concerns the human person (man or woman) from birth to death. Therefore, there is a need to raise the awareness of all citizens of the new code.
Under a contract with the USAID Office of Women in Development, Chemonics works with USAID missions to advance the legal, civil, property, and human rights of women through the Women's Legal Rights Initiative (WLRI). This initiative works to strengthen and promote women's rights worldwide, and Benin is one of the focus countries. WLR is working closely with USAID/Benin to integrate women's legal rights into all of the mission's activities. WLR activities are aimed at overcoming resistance due to the influence of traditions and customary practices. The focus is on education and training on women's legal rights. Through public awareness campaigns; training; distribution of manuals and brochures on the new Family Code, men and women in all aspects of Beninese life are learning about their rights and responsibilities under the new Code of Persons and Family. |
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WLR-Benin officially launched the training and awareness raising tools in March 2005. Printed didactical materials are available free of charge in French and four local languages: Fon, Adja, Batonou and Dendi. The launch included reading sessions in several regions of the country where the code was presented to the populations in their native language. According to the participants, these educational sessions are very effective. Hopefully, such awareness raising and training activities will help make populations change their mentality and will spare more girls from Alima's fate.
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