The African Charter and its Protocol on Women's Rights

The African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights has been facing a number of challenges, which, in most cases, emanate from its implementation process. The African Charter, to a large extent, makes enforcement dependent on the discretion of national authorities; as a result its impact on various sectors is very minimal. The problem becomes worse with respect to the implementation of the Women¿s Protocol. This instrument was established to strengthen the normative and structural frameworks for women¿s rights protection in Africa. But practically, one may not get a positive answer with regard to the question how far African states revealed practical and genuine commitment in implementing the protocol and address the question of women¿s rights in concrete terms. Focusing on South Africa, this book explains the extent of the impact of these instruments on the South African judiciary.In addressing this issue, the book analyzes how these instruments are used in the various decisions of the South African courts. It also identifies the factors that enhance or impede the impact of these instruments on the South African judiciary.