Discriminatory Customary Practices Against Women’s Rights: An Account Of Intervention Strategies By Southern African Developing States
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.31436/iiumlj.v27i1.412Keywords:
customary law, gender rights violations, Southern African Development Community (SADC) States, KenyaAbstract
Discriminatory customary practices against the protection of gender rights still thrive in many Southern African developing states despite domestic and international legal regimes to prevent them. These practices were borne out of customary inclinations of the patriarchal social system in most African communities, which hold women and the girl-child in perpetual subordination to the male. In other words, the African customary systems wrongly perceive the male gender as being naturally superior to the female. More so, the loopholes in the executive and legislative efforts to combat human rights abuses as well as judicial pronouncements and governmental apathy in eradicating abuses against gender discrimination towards women in the Southern African developing states are apparent. Consequently, discriminatory customary practices continue to thrive despite legislative framework protecting gender rights in the states. The methodology adopted in this paper is a doctrinal approach, which places reliance on legal materials that are enacted and enforced by African Developing states. The article examines international and states laws, norms, institutions, international and national publications and other international legal instruments relating to gender discrimination. Most importantly, the central attention of this study focuses on the discriminatory customary practices against women in the Southern African Developing States. The current study finds that, despite identifiable discriminatory customary practices which are still practised and condoned as being the lifestyle and tradition of groups are criminalized and declared abhorrent by specific domestic legislation of nations, the human rights of the girl-child and women continue to be in chains and fetters. In conclusion, this article advocates increased advocacy, judicial activism and more proactive legislative action that protect women and the girl-child in the Southern African developing states.
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