The Constitution of Benin prohibits discrimination based on race, sex and religion, and grants men and women equal economic and social rights as citizens. In 1992, Benin ratified the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women. A Code of Persons and Family, drafted by the government in 1990, was voted upon and promulgated by the president in 2004.
Despite these measures, discrimination against women continues. Traditional laws prevail in various spheres and justify the existence of discriminatory customs. Public awareness is low regarding the Code of Persons and Families, and its provisions are not effectively enforced. Similarly, the terms of the ratified international convention are rarely applied.
Women in Benin have relatively few rights within the family structure. The Code of Persons and Family sets the legal age for marriage at 18 years for both men and women. However, early marriage and forced marriage remain widespread. A 2004 United Nations report estimated that 29 per cent of girls between 15 and 19 years of age were married, divorced or widowed.
Benin officially outlawed polygamy in 2004. At the time, the frequency of polygamy ranged from 15 per cent to 41 per cent, depending on the region. According to the CIA World Factbook, Beninese traditional religions and Islam permit polygamy, and extramarital relations outside of monogamous and polygamous arrangements are common. The status of marriages concluded prior to adoption of the Code of Persons and Family is unclear.
The Code of Persons and the Family established equal parental authority. However, the level of protection of women in the family remains low in that a woman cannot declare her children as dependents because she is considered to be a dependent of her husband. Generally, women in Benin have the obligation to feed the family and care for the children, but have little say in other matters.
The Code of Persons and Family grants children, regardless of gender, equal rights to inheritance, according to the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW). By contrast, women remain subject to traditional law (Coutumier du Dahomey) that denies their right to equal inheritance. In the absence of a male child old enough to inherit the property, the relatives of a deceased man will typically claim inheritance rights.
Legislation to protect the physical integrity of women in Benin is weak. Although few statistics are available, violence against women is known to occur. The Penal Code prohibits domestic violence and imposes jail terms of 6 to 36 months. NGO observers believe that women remain reluctant to report cases and although the press sometimes reports incidents of abuse, police and judges rarely intervene in domestic disputes. The law prohibits rape (imposing sentences of one to five years in jail) but enforcement is weak.
There is no evidence to suggest that Benin is a country of concern in relation to missing women.
Young girls in Benin face a particular threat to physical integrity due to the practice of vidomegon. To avoid the financial burden children represent, poor families often voluntarily place young children (90 per cent to 95 per cent of whom are girls) in the homes of wealthier families, where they work in exchange for food and lodging. There is considerable abuse in this practice, including instances of sexual exploitation.
Benin outlawed female genital mutilation (FGM) in 2003. Previously, the practice was quite widespread: a study conducted by the World Health Organization in 1999 estimated that 50 per cent of women had undergone FGM, primarily in the form of excision. By 2005, UNICEF considered that only 17 per cent of women had been subjected to FGM – strong indication that if trends continue, the practice could be eradicated by 2015.
Traditional laws keep Beninese women on the low end of the scale in relation to ownership rights and hinder their ability to attain financial independence.
Access to land is extremely restricted for women in Benin. In fact, they may be prohibited from owning any land at all and customary practices make it practically impossible for them to inherit property. This situation is most evident in the agricultural sector. Women make up 80 per cent of the agricultural workforce but very few are landholders. In addition, income they earn by working in the fields may be taken away by their husbands or the husbands’ families.
In principle, the Constitution makes it possible for women to gain access to property other than land. However, traditional law prevails and denies women’s legal rights.
The situation is similar in relation to women’s access to bank loans: it is theoretically possible for women to obtain a loan, but very difficult because of traditional law. Various initiatives have set up micro-credit programmes that focus specifically on women; at present, information is limited on the extent of such programmes. Most Beninese women remain dependent on their husbands for financial matters.
Legal frameworks in Benin provide women with a high level of civil liberty. There are no reported incidents relating to restrictions on freedom of movement or freedom of dress.
Afrol News (n.d.), Gender Profile: Benin, www.afrol.com/Categories/Women/profiles/benin_women.htm.
CEDAW (Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women) (2005), Concluding Comments of the Committee: Benin, 22/07/2005.A/60/38, CEDAW, New York, NY.
Center for Reproductive Law and Policy (1999), Women’s Reproductive Rights in Benin: a Shadow Report, The Center for Reproductive Law and Policy, New York, www.reproductiverights.org.
CIA (Central Intelligence Agency) (2008) “Benin”, The World Factbook, CIA, Washington, DC.
ECOSOC (United Nations Economic and Social Council) (2003), Integration of the Human Rights of Women and the Gender Perspective: Violence Against Women, E/CN.4/2003/75/Add.1, UN, , New York, NY.
Gbadamassi, F. (2004), « Les béninois ne sont plus polygames : Le pays se dote d’un code de la famille », www.afrik.com/article7383.html.
Humphrey, H.H. (2002), Women’s Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in Benin, Independent Information for the Twenty-eighth Session of the CESCR (Committee on Economic Social and Cultural Rights).
Martin, P.A. and E. Adotevi-Dia (2001). Benin Gender Assessment and Strategy, USAID (US Agency for International Development) Office of Women in Development, Bureau for Global Programs, Field Support and Research, Washington, DC.
OMCT (Organisation Mondiale Contre la Torture) (2004), Human Rights Violations in Benin: Alternative Report to the United Nations Committee Against Torture, OMCT, Geneva.
UNICEF (United Nations Children’s Fund) (2005a), Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting: A Statistical Exploration, UNICEF, New York, NY.
UNICEF (2005b), “Changing a Harmful Social Convention: Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting”, Innocenti Digest, www.unicef-icdc.org/publications/pdf/fgmgb-2005.pdf.
USAID (US Agency for International Development), Promoting Women’s Legal Rights in Benin, www.usaid.gov/bj/gender.html
UN (United Nations) (2004), World Fertility Report 2003, UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division, New York, NY
US Department of State (2008), Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Benin, US Department of State, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, Washington, DC.
