The Constitution of Equatorial Guinea provides for equal rights for men and women. The country has a dual legal system based on both civil law and customary law, which creates obstacles to the advancement of women’s place in society. National legislation contains non-discrimination provisions but these laws are rarely applied or enforced.
As a result, women continue to be deprived of their rights, are often relegated to an inferior position and face discrimination in many areas. They are often confined by customs and traditional roles, particularly in agriculture, in which they make up the majority of workers (81.5 per cent). Polygamy and a lack of educational opportunity also contribute to women’s secondary position.
The government of Equatorial Guinea is taking steps to improve the rights of women within the family context. A law regarding family code is at the drafting stage and discussion is underway concerning a law to regulate customary marriages. In practice, customary law and written law are generally considered to have the same status.
The legal minimum age for civil marriage in Equatorial Guinea is 18 years. However, there are no age restrictions in respect to customary marriages and early marriage is quite common. A 2004 United Nations report estimated that 26 per cent of girls between 15 and 19 years of age were married, divorced or widowed. Pregnancy among young girls is also widespread. Early marriages and early pregnancies are reported to be a main explanation of the very low school attendance rate for girls.
Polygamy is not considered illegal by the state and is widespread, particularly among the Fang ethnic group for whom it is an integral part of the customary system.
In civil or religious marriages, the spouses theoretically have the same rights and responsibilities regarding guardianship. But customary marriages dominate and parental authority derives largely from customary law, which grants husbands virtually all rights. Traditional perception is that the dowry given by the bridegroom to the bride’s family at the time of marriage constitutes a transaction by which a woman is sold to her husband and becomes his property. Some ethnic groups consider the children of married women to belong to the husband’s tribe.
For an estimated 90 per cent of women in Equatorial Guinea, tradition dictates that if a marriage is dissolved, the wife (or her father or brother) must return the dowry given to her family by the bridegroom at the time of marriage. In many instances, the woman has no money or property with which to repay the dowry and, as a result, is incarcerated. The government passed a decree that forbids this practice but has yet to implement it. According to customary law, all ethnic groups oblige divorced women to care for children until they reach the age of seven years.
There is no gender-based discrimination in legislation related to inheritance; however, traditional and discriminatory practices dominate. Women become members of the husband’s family upon marriage and thus are usually not perceived as rightful heirs.
Women’s physical integrity is only moderately protected in Equatorial Guinea. Violence against women, including spousal abuse, is illegal but the government does not enforce the law effectively. Societal violence against women is common, particularly wife beating. The traditional perception that women are property leads to a widespread belief that men have the right to control their wives by whatever means necessary – short of death. A government decree forbids the public beating of wives but violence at home is generally tolerated, and the government does not prosecute perpetrators of domestic violence. Rape is illegal, but the law is poorly enforced and the reporting of rape is considered shameful to the families involved. Spousal rape is not specified in the law.
Female genital mutilation is reportedly not practised in Equatorial Guinea, and there is no evidence to suggest it is a country of concern in regards to missing women.
Officially, women in Equatorial Guinea have legal right to financial autonomy. The law does not discriminate against women in terms of access to land but the situation clearly reveals structural discrimination in that social institutions are sometimes discriminatory.
Concerning access to property other than land, women theoretically have the legal right to buy and sell property and goods. In reality, the male-dominated society makes it very difficult for women to access sufficient funds to engage in more than very small-scale trading or to purchase real property beyond a garden plot or modest home.
Similarly, women have the legal right to access to bank loans but prevailing customary laws discriminate against them in this area as well.
Women in Equatorial Guinea have limited civil liberty. In regard to freedom of movement, women are no longer required to obtain permission from their husbands if they wish to travel (even for trips abroad). It is generally “understood” however, that both spouses must consent before wives travel or change their place of residence “to ensure the marital harmony”. Women reportedly have freedom of dress.
Afrol News (n.d.), Gender Profile: Equatorial Guinea, www.afrol.com/Categories/Women/profiles/equatorialguinea_women.htm, accessed 20 August 2007.
CEDAW (Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women) (1995), Consideration of Reports Submitted by States Parties Under Article 18 of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women: Equatorial Guinea, Second and Third Periodic Reports of States Parties, CEDAW/C/GNQ/2-3, CEDAW, New York.
CEDAW (2004a), Consideration of Reports Submitted by States Parties Under Article 18 of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women: Equatorial Guinea, Combined Fourth and Fifth Periodic Reports of States Parties, CEDAW/C/GNQ/2-3, CEDAW, New York.
CEDAW (2004b), Equatorial Guinea: Responses to the List of Issues and Questions for Considerations of the Combined Second, Third, Fourth and Fifth Periodic Reports, CEDAW/PSWG/2004/II/CRP.2/Add.2, CEDAW, New York.
CEDAW (2004c), Summary Record of the 651st Meeting, CEDAW/C/SR.651, CEDAW, New York.
CEDAW (2004d), Summary Record of the 652nd Meeting, CEDAW/C/SR.652, CEDAW, New York.
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.
IPU (Inter-Parliamentary Union) (n.d.), Legislation and Other National Provisions: Equatorial Guinea, Parliamentary Campaign “Stop Violence Against Women”: Female Genital Mutilation, IPU, Geneva,www.ipu.org/wmn-e/fgm-prov.htm, accessed 20 August 2007.
UN (United Nations) (2004), World Fertility Report 2003, UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division, New York.
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US Department of State (2001), Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Equatorial Guinea, US Department of State, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, Washington, DC.
US Department of State (2006), International Religious Freedom Report: Equatorial Guinea, US Department of State, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, Washington, DC.
US Department of State (2007), Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Equatorial Guinea, US Department of State, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, Washington, DC.
