Women’s equality in Africa: closing the gap between legal progress and effective implementation outcomes

The United Nations (UN) International Women’s Day 2026 theme is Rights. Justice. Action. For ALL Women and Girls.

The UN reports that as of 2026, women have only 64% of the legal rights that men hold worldwide. Hence the theme is an urgent call for faster global progress towards equal rights and legal protection for women and girls which at the current pace could take over 200 years to achieve. 

This year’s United Nations observance of International Women’s Day will also align with the 70th session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW70) where global stakeholders will gather to negotiate conclusions on the theme, “Ensuring and strengthening access to justice for all women and girls, including by promoting inclusive and equitable legal systems, eliminating discriminatory laws, policies, and practices, and addressing structural barriers. 

Women’s equality was the second most improved sub category in the 2024 Ibrahim Index of African Governance (IIAG). For 94.8% of Africa’s population, living in 47 countries, Women’s Equality improved between 2014 to 2023 – with 60% living in 23 countries where it has even increasingly improved since 2019. 

Notable progress in legal rights and representation for women in Africa, though implementation lagging behind 

The region has made significant strides in representation of women in leadership. The IIAG indicator Political Power & Representation of Women improved alongside the Public Perception of Female Leadership between 2014-2023. 

According to the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) data, as of 2025, Africa had the largest share of women representation in parliament at 42.1%. Rwanda led the world, with women comprising 63.8% of MPs in the lower chamber. 

The most improved indicator in the women’s equality subcategory and second most improved in the entire IIAG was Laws on Violence against Women by +16.7. In contrast, the Rights & Civil Liberties for Women improved only marginally by +1.9 across the continent.

The difference in progress between both indicators illustrates the gap between legislative adoption and the enforcement of equal civil rights and liberties for men and women in Africa. 

The 2025 femicide report by United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and UN Women revealed that Africa had the highest femicide rate in 2024 almost triple that of Asia and Europe at 3 per 100,000 female population. The rise of armed conflicts in parts of the continent have also escalated the rates of violence against women. Despite progress in legal frameworks and representation of women, for equal rights and justice to be achieved, African countries need more implementation efforts across the continent. 

Africa’s untapped gains from achieving gender equality 

Achieving gender equality isn’t just a moral issue, it is essential for sustainable development and Africa stands to gain a lot economically by closing existing gender gaps. According to the UNDP, gender inequality cost sub-Saharan Africa about USD 95 billion annually between 2010 and 2014, almost similar to how much the continent loses to illicit financial flows annually - making it a double loss. In addition, the World Bank estimates that closing the gender gap in Africa could add $2.5 trillion to the continents GDP. 

The 2024 IIAG results revealed mixed progress for access to socio-economic opportunities for women with the indicator improved for 56.1% of Africa’s population but also declined for almost half, 40.4% of the continent. 

Botswana had the highest 2023 score in the IIAG for Access to socio-economic opportunities for women and the highest global score for economic participation and opportunities in the 2025 WEF Global Gender gap index. This achievement is attributed to government support for women’s entrepreneurship through programs like the Youth Development Fund (YDF). Started in 2009, it aims to help start-ups expand their businesses in Botswana through cash support comprising 50% loan and 50% grant. 

Women in Africa contribute significantly to the economy with Sub-Saharan Africa having amongst the highest rates of entrepreneurship globally at 26%. However there is need for more efforts towards financial inclusion in economic sectors. Financial inclusion was the lowest performing dimension in the 2022 Africa Women’s Inclusion Index at 42.7. 

Equal access to public services is a fundamental driver of productivity

In addition to financial and economic inclusion, women also require equal access to essential public services. Access to public services for women was the least performed indicator in the women’s equality subcategory in IIAG with scores declining during the COVID-19 pandemic period of 2020-2022. 

The pandemic greatly affected access to education disproportionately for girls with many unable to rejoin school after reopening. A study in Kenya found that 16% of girls compared to 8% of boys did not return to school in 2021. Teenage pregnancies were cited as the major cause and in response to this, governments adopted policies aimed to ensure continued education for teenage mothers. In 2020, Zimbabwe amended its Education Act to permit pregnant girls to attend school. Similar policy changes were made in South Africa, Tanzania, Sierra Leone and Uganda during the covid-19 lockdown period adding to a wider continental trend whereby at least thirty AU member states have laws, policies or strategies in place for the protection of adolescent mothers and pregnant students’ right to education. 

It is also critical to have better access to healthcare for women in Africa. The Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) target 3.1 is to reduce maternal mortality to less than 70 maternal deaths per 100 000 live births by 2030. According to the W.H.O., Africa has the highest maternal mortality in the world, despite a 40% decline from 727 to 442 deaths per 100,000 live births between 2000 and 2023, the continent accounts for 70% of global maternal deaths, many of which are preventable. 

The recent global aid cuts greatly affected the global health sector, particularly on services for women. African leaders and policymakers have been exploring permanent solutions to strengthen sustainable health systems. 

In February 2019, the African Union convened Heads of States and Government and regional and global leaders signed the AU Assembly “Addis Ababa Commitment towards Shared Responsibility and Global Solidarity for Increased Health Financing Declaration”(ALM). A continent wide ALM tracker to monitor progress was launched to monitor progress and as of 2026, twelve AU member States have convened national health financing dialogues under the ALM framework in alignment with African Health Strategy (2016–2030).