The 1992 Constitution of Paraguay upholds the principle of equality for all individuals and prohibits discrimination, and the government claims to have removed most of the discriminatory clauses in the country’s existing legislation. Feminist organisations conducted significant awareness-raising campaigns during the 1990s, which helped develop a legal and institutional framework to guarantee the protection of women’s rights.
Overall, Paraguay’s Family Code provides a reasonable degree of protection for women. However, the incidence of early marriage remains quite high. The legal age for marriage is 16 years for both men and women, and a 2004 United Nations report estimated that 17 per cent of girls between 15 and 19 years of age were married, divorced or widowed.
Polygamy is prohibited by law in Paraguay.
According to Paraguay’s new Civil Code, men and women have the same rights and responsibilities within the home, particularly in relation to parental authority.
Men and women in Paraguay have equal legal rights to inheritance.
Laws to protect the physical integrity of women in Paraguay are weak. Violence against women is the main infringement of women’s rights in the country. A law passed in 2000 classifies domestic violence as a crime, but only when it is physical violence; the law does not specifically recognise psychological and economic abuse. Moreover, violence must be habitual before legal proceedings can be initiated against the offender.
There is no evidence to indicate that female genital mutilation is practised in Paraguay, nor does it appear to be a country of concern in relation to missing women.
Men and women have equal ownership rights in Paraguay, but it must be noted that this also means they are subject to the same legal restrictions. The new Civil Code appears to guarantee transparency and equality between spouses, but socio-cultural traditions that discriminate against women persist.
Agrarian reform in Paraguay aims to support women farmers, especially those who head their families. The Agrarian Act of 2002 is designed to promote women’s access to land. While there is no legal discrimination in this area, women’s access is traditionally more limited than men’s.
Women and men have exactly the same rights in relation to access to property other than land.
The 2002 Agrarian Act aims to promote women’s access to bank loans. There are no legal restrictions on women’s access to loans, and they are generally perceived as “good payers”. Still, they are half as likely as men to be given loans.
Paraguay guarantees the civil liberties of all citizens. There are no reported restrictions on women’s freedom of movement or freedom of dress.
CEDAW (Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women) (2004a), Consideration of Reports Submitted by States Parties Under Article 18 of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women: Paraguay, Combined Third and Fourth Periodic Reports of States Parties, CEDAW/C/PAR/3-4, CEDAWNew York, NY.
CEDAW (2004b), Consideration of Reports Submitted by States Parties Under Article 18 of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women: Paraguay, Fifth Periodic Report of States Parties, CEDAW/C/PAR/5, CEDAWNew York, NY.
CEDAW (2005), Concluding Comments, CEDAW/C/PAR/CC/3-5, CEDAWNew York, NY.
JICA (Japan International Cooperation Agency) (2002), Country WID Profile (Paraguay), JICA, Tokyo.
UN (United Nations) (2004), World Fertility Report 2003, UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division, New York, NY.
USAID (US Agency for International Development) (2005), Gender Assessment USAID/Paraguay, USAID, Washington, DC.
US Department of State (2007), Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Paraguay, US Department of State, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, Washington, DC.
