Annotation:
This document examines the innovations of the Protocol on the Rights of Women in Africa, a protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights. The document addresses how the Protocol advances the rights of African women, specifically focusing on the issues of reproductive health and autonomy. The Protocol is described as a successful attempt at remedying the African Charters shortfall in addressing womens rights, by enunciating various rights already included in other international documents, while also including previously unrecognized rights. The previously unrecognized rights include, for example, a right to HIV/AIDS protection, to sexual education, and to freedom from genital mutilation. The document also describes how the Protocol seeks to protect the equal rights of women in marriage and protection of women from violence and discrimination in both the public and private spheres. [Descriptors: Reproductive Rights, International - Africa]