The African Women's Protocol

On 25 November 2005, the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and People's Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa, also known as the African Women's Protocol, entered into force after receiving its 15th ratification. This Protocol explicitly sets forth the reproductive right of women to medical abortion when pregnancy results from rape or incest, calls for the legal prohibition of female genital mutilation, and prohibits the abuse of women in advertising and pornography. The Protocol sets forth a broad range of economic and social welfare rights of women.