Equatorial Guinea - Combined fourth and fifth periodic reports of States parties [2004] UNCEDAWSPR 8; CEDAW/C/GNQ/4-5 (11 February 2004)

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Consideration of reports submitted by States parties under article 18 of the

* The present report is being issued without formal editing. It was received by the Secretariat on 21 January 2004. For the initial report submitted by the Government of Equatorial Guinea, see CEDAW/C/5/Add.50, considered by the Committee at its eighth session. For the combined second and third periodic reports submitted by the Government of Equatorial Guinea, see CEDAW/C/GNQ/2-3.

			Page
General			5
Introduction			7
Part I			8
Articles 1 and 2. Discrimination and political measures			8
Article 3. Guarantees of human rights and fundamental freedoms			9
Article 4. Special measures			9
Article 5. Stereotyped roles and prejudices			10
Article 6. Prostitution			11
Part II			12
Article 7. Political and public life			12
Article 8. Representation			12
Article 9. Nationality			13
Part III
Article 10. Education			13
Article 11. Employment			14
Article 12. Health care			14
Article 13. Economic and social benefits			14
Article 14. Rural women			15
Part IV
Article 15. Equality before the law			16
Article 16. Marriage and the family			16
Conclusion			17
Achievements			18
Recommendations			19

Equatorial Guinea is an African country with an area of 28,051.78 km². It is located in western Central Africa, along the Gulf of Guinea, from which it takes its name. Geographically, the country is divided into a mainland area of 26,000 km², which is known as the Continental Region and is located between Cameroon on its northern border, Gabon on its southern and eastern sides, and, to the west, an Atlantic coastline 212 km long. The Island Region is made up of a number of islands and islets in the Atlantic.

According to the 2001 national population and housing census, the country has a population of 1,014,000, made up of five ethnic groups: Fang (82.9 per cent), Bubi (9.6 per cent), Ndowe (5.2 per cent) and Bissio and Annobonesa (1.5 per cent). The Bissio group includes the Beyele, or pygmies.

All of the country’s ethnic groups practice patrilocality and are patriarchal. Furthermore, the Fang, Ndowe, Bissio and Annobonesa are patrilineal; that is, the children belong to the father (the husband of the marriage of which they are born), and only sons can inherit, although this custom is changing. However, the Bubi are matrilineal: the children belong to the wife of the marriage of which they are born, and inheritance passes from mothers to children.

The average annual population growth rate is 2.9 per cent. Life expectancy at birth is 59.5 years for women and 58.3 for men. The birth rate is 5.6 children per woman. The marriage rate for women is almost 100 per cent at age 50. There is no set minimum age for marriage or for first sexual intercourse. There are plans to establish a marriageable age, which would also be the age of civil majority.

The rural population makes up 61.2 per cent of the total and the urban population 38 per cent. The island of Bioko has an urbanization rate of more than 81.1 per cent, as against 26.7 per cent for the island of Río Muni.

The economy is based on agriculture, with women making up 81.47 per cent of the workforce. The current economic situation shows a rapid growth in the gross domestic product (GDP), owing to the exploitation of petroleum in recent years.

Despite women’s role as mothers, producers and community managers, their work is not really rewarded, and although they make up more than half the population, they own only one tenth of the money in circulation, since most of it belongs to men.

Women perform 52 per cent of all manual work, but only a third of that is paid labour; men perform 48 per cent of the labour and receive three quarters of the compensation.

The three principal economic sectors are agriculture, freshwater artisanal fisheries and the informal sector. Of the economically active population, 50.9 per cent work in agriculture, the only sector in which women greatly outnumber men (81 per cent of the workforce). Women play a smaller role in commerce, public services, the informal sector and the public sector, and the proportion of women among senior executives and other employees in the private sector is particularly low, at only 0.3 per cent.

The primary-school enrolment rates for boys and girls are almost identical (84.8 per cent and 84.3 per cent respectively) but the percentage of girls diminishes at the secondary, technical, higher education and university levels. Obviously, the level of illiteracy is higher among women (23.3 per cent as compared with 9.2 per cent for men).

The Republic of Equatorial Guinea is a democratic, unitary and social State which recognizes judicial pluralism. It has a presidential system of government, with separation of powers in the executive, legislative and judicial branches.

As for women in decision-making positions, women account for 24 per cent of heads of household and 8.1 per cent of government officials, including traditional chiefs, local council leaders, mayors, or members of Parliament. The disparity with men remains enormous, and equal representation has not been achieved in any sector or aspect of life. Fortunately, considerable progress is being made.

After 200 years of Spanish colonial rule, Equatorial Guinea gained independence on 12 October 1968. The country then suffered a bloody dictatorship from 1969 until 3 August 1979.

With the liberating coup d’état of 3 August, the new Government of President Obiang Nguema Mbasogo was the first to recognize women’s rights, ending the traditional neglect of women.

The first step taken for the benefit of women was to establish the State Secretariat for the Advancement of Women in 1980. As a government department, it enabled women to become involved in matters relating to the development of our country. It subsequently became a ministerial office attached to the Ministry of Labour and, in 1992, was upgraded to an independent ministry, the Ministry for the Advancement of Women and Social Affairs. It is currently called the Ministry of Social Affairs and the Status of Women (MINASCOM), headed by a Minister and a Secretary of State, both of whom are women. The Ministry is structured as follows:

The Department has a pyramid-type structure from the apex to the base, so that even the smallest settlements have MINASCOM Advisers, through whom national policies relating to gender, equality and the advancement of women reach the remotest areas of the country.

Equatorial Guinea ratified the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women on 28 July 1984. Since then, the country’s commitment to ensuring the advancement of women has culminated in Presidential Decree No. 79/2002, in which the Government adopted the text of the National Policy for the Advancement of Women (PNPM).

It is undeniable that increasing efforts are being made and considerable progress achieved towards ensuring equal opportunities for women. This is clearly reflected in article 13 (c) of the Basic Law, the amended text of which reads as follows:

“Women, regardless of their marital status, have equal rights and opportunities with men, before the law, in all spheres of public, private and family life, in the civil, political, economic, social and cultural fields.”

When it signed and ratified the Convention in 1984, Equatorial Guinea accepted fully and unreservedly the obligation to grant women the same treatment as men in all areas covered by the Convention.

It also agreed to pursue by all appropriate means a policy of eliminating discrimination against women, as required by article 2 of the Convention.

With the signature and ratification of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, Equatorial Guinea undertook to comply with its article 2, which provides that “every individual shall be entitled to the enjoyment of the rights and freedoms recognized and guaranteed in the present Charter without distinction of any kind such as race, ethnic group, colour, sex, language, religion, political or any other opinion, national and social origin, fortune, birth or other status”, which is also explicitly stated in the Basic Law of Equatorial Guinea (the Constitution), article 13(c) of which reads as follows: “Women, regardless of their marital status, have equal rights and opportunities with men, before the law, in all spheres of public, private and family life, in the civil, political, economic, social and cultural fields”.

By Presidential Decree No. 79/2002 of 27 May 2002, the Government adopted the text of the National Policy for the Advancement of Women (PNPM), drafted by the Ministry of Social Affairs and the Status of Women (MINASCOM). This Policy clearly sets out all the strategies to be followed for the advancement of women, within a gender and development framework, to achieve equal opportunities for both sexes.

Work is currently under way on a draft framework plan and programme of action which will set out concrete measures for the implementation of the Policy.

Another measure for the protection of women is a presidential decree prohibiting the imprisonment of women for dowry-related reasons.

The Council of Ministers is considering draft legislation on customary marriages. Its main objective is to regulate traditional marriage which, as currently practised, is often prejudicial to women.

Decree No. 127/1993, which established the National Committee for the Integration of Women in Development and the Pedagogical Manual on information, education and communication (IEC) and gender, population and development, are a clear statement of the Government’s commitment to sustainable development with full involvement of the entire population.

– Rules of Procedure of the National Network of Women Ministers and Parliamentarians.

It must be recognized that, although officially there are no legal instruments which discriminate against women, differences are observed in practice. Despite the progress made and the formal commitments entered into, for many people the gender perspective — in the sense of improving the status of women, giving them better educational opportunities and access to resources, and broadening their traditional environment of home, kitchen and children — remains an abstraction, making it difficult to implement the existing laws and regulations.

As mentioned above, the Government and the applicable laws guarantee equality between men and women in the political, social, cultural, economic and other spheres. There are no provisions in force which are contrary to the equality provided for by the Constitution and the international instruments on gender equality that have been ratified.

The implementation of these provisions, however, often diverges from what is formally stipulated in the country’s laws. For this reason, many awareness-raising activities are being carried out throughout the country, to bring home to both women and men the need to adopt behaviour consistent with legal norms, which will in turn contribute to compliance with those norms.

In order to ensure that women receive the necessary legal protection, work is in hand to draft a Family Code which, if it becomes law, should help to improve the legal and traditional status of women.

Women are actively involved, at increasingly higher levels, in the preparation and adoption of measures in the legislative, social, political and other areas for the improvement of their status in society.

In the education sector, the Government is currently supporting female students by awarding scholarships to promote equal opportunities with males. In 1997, an analysis of schooling for girls showed clearly that, despite equal opportunities in the education system, with co-education from nursery school onwards, the percentage of female students fell significantly at the secondary level, a trend which worsened drastically at the higher education and university levels.

This situation is to some extent based on the local culture and traditions, where it is the family itself which gives priority to educating boys, to the detriment of girls. This tendency worsens in adolescence, where early pregnancies and family and domestic duties are the main reasons why girls drop out of school.

The authorities are currently implementing the National Programme on Education for All, which involves schooling for both adults and young people and provides for greater parity between males and females at all levels of education. It includes a subprogramme to provide education for young people who have dropped out of school, so that they can be brought back into the system, educated, and then integrated into the workforce. Along the same lines, there is also an informal pre-school programme which has shown very positive results. The role of women outreach workers is essential to this programme, since they make up more than 80 per cent of the teaching staff. Teaching is among the professions which employ the highest number of women.

As for the health sector, pregnant women, women who have recently given birth and nursing mothers, receive medical and pharmaceutical care free of charge. With regard to the protection of maternity rights, there is family planning legislation.

Draft legislation on reproductive health is being prepared, as is a national reproductive health programme whose goal is “to achieve a state of perfect health for each person, defined not only as the absence of disease but also as the normal state in which a person’s optimal physical, psychological and intellectual capabilities combine with conditions enabling that person to reproduce, thus making possible his or her integral human development” (National Reproductive Health Symposium, Mongomo, June 2002).

Measures in force include the Social Welfare Act, which provides for medical care for pregnant women, maternity leave and child welfare. Pregnant women are entitled to 45 days’ leave (before and after delivery) and one hour per day for breastfeeding during the first 12 months.

As to the responsibility of both parents for the upbringing of their children and their full participation in the children’s development, there are constant efforts to raise awareness among men and women and change the stereotype whereby women bear sole responsibility for childcare.

In a Bantu society such as ours, it is really difficult to overcome stereotypes regarding the roles of men and women. One of the strongest traditions in Equatorial Guinea is that of customary marriages, which up to now have not been formally regulated. This leads to many abuses, such as the practice of consent by the families in the absence of the future spouses, and the commercial use of the dowry.

A draft law designed to regulate customary marriages attempts to provide a legal framework for the dowry, consent, inheritance, widowhood and other highly important matters, which up to now have left women at the mercy of the husband or his family. This text has been in the drafting stage for almost three years and, unfortunately, seems to represent a threat to some men, who are doing everything possible to prevent its adoption.

Another issue in the area of stereotypes is that of domestic violence. Men traditionally have the right to “discipline” family members. In concrete terms, it is considered a man’s right to strike his wife, and this is not seen as abnormal or as any kind of wrong or offence. This viewpoint is shared by both the man and the woman; the latter accepts her role as victim, seeing it as a normal part of her status as a woman and a wife. She even associates this ill-treatment with love, and this prevents her from making any complaint against her attacker, because she sees his actions as legitimate.

The Ministry of Social Affairs and the Status of Women, more particularly the Department of the Status of Women, has become actively involved in this issue, holding awareness-raising seminars and round tables on domestic violence, both for our directors and for the general public, hoping to achieve a multiplier effect in terms of awareness and social pressure. The aim is the adoption of legal measures condemning this practice, which is bringing many women to an early grave owing to the brutality of their husbands.

The Department itself has a disputes section which listens to and supports women victims of ill-treatment and other humiliations. This section plays a role in conciliation and mediation, but in cases where the husband withholds consent or is a recidivist, the case is passed on to the judicial authorities for prosecution and judgement.

In recent years there has been a significant proliferation of prostitution in Equatorial Guinea, particularly in the biggest cities, Malabo and Bata. Initially, the security forces and the municipal authorities took drastic measures, detaining the young women who were engaging in prostitution; this has, however, been discontinued because of numerous excesses on the part of the security forces, of which the prostitutes themselves had complained.

The Department of the Status of Women, in collaboration with other national and local authorities and institutions, continuously conducts awareness-raising activities among prostitutes, who are mostly young women, encouraging them to abandon the activity and to take preventive measures against diseases such as HIV/AIDS. An awareness-raising seminar was held in May 2003, on prostitution, sexually transmitted diseases and HIV/AIDS, women’s rights and social counselling.

This seminar, together with other activities designed to make contact with prostitutes, has made it possible to set up a small training project to promote their integration into the workforce. Unfortunately, the necessary funds have not yet been provided, but we hope to implement it in the near future.

The Ministry of the Interior recently promulgated a ministerial order prohibiting the prostitution of minors. Another ministerial order prohibits the use of tourist facilities as centres of prostitution and other immoral practices in Equatorial Guinea.

Trafficking in women is tacitly condemned by the Penal Code and, although there have been a few isolated cases, it is not a phenomenon deeply rooted in our society. In recent years, however, our country has been a destination for young undocumented migrants who become itinerant traders, and measures are being taken in that regard.

There is no official discrimination. Women in Equatorial Guinea have the right to vote and exercise that right. They have the right to hold public and political office, as provided for in the Constitution. Women hold positions of responsibility in the legislative, executive and judicial branches of government, although the proportion of women remains very low as compared with that of men.

Out of a total of 49 posts in the executive branch, only one minister, one vice-minister and two State secretaries are women, and there is one woman presidential adviser. In the judicial branch, there is one woman judge on the Supreme Court, and four women district judges.

As indicated above, there is a wide gender gap in decision-making posts. It must be stated, however, that not only do men create obstacles to the advancement of women, but women themselves bear considerable responsibility for this situation for various reasons, including the following:

All of the country’s diplomatic missions abroad have female staff in posts ranging from attaché to ambassador. There is currently a woman ambassador-chief of mission at the Embassy of Equatorial Guinea in Cameroon, and in the past there has been another woman ambassador and a woman chargé d’affaires. The current situation is as follows: one female first secretary; two female second secretaries; three female third secretaries; and four female administrative attachés.

Equatorial Guinea has few nationals working in international organizations, and so there are few women in such posts. One woman from Equatorial Guinea works in a United Nations agency for the West African subregion, based in Abidjan.

As to representation in international events, women members of the executive branch, women senior officials and women members of Parliament represent the country without any discrimination.

Persons of either gender who marry foreign nationals remain citizens of Equatorial Guinea, and their spouses are automatically entitled to become nationals of the country.

Any child of a mother or father who is a national of Equatorial Guinea is entitled to be a national of Equatorial Guinea, regardless of the parents’ marital status.

3. Since there are no industries, there is for the time being no need for any scientific or technological review.

There is no discrimination. On the contrary, women are provided with more care services than men, particularly pregnant women and women who have recently given birth. There is also family planning legislation.

During pregnancy, childbirth, the post-partum phase and breastfeeding, mothers and babies are given medical care at minimal cost. In order to improve the current system, a draft reproductive health act is being prepared. It will ensure improved reproductive health care, which will mostly benefit women and children.

The National Social Security Institute (INSESO) is responsible for family benefits. Single women directly receive these benefits, which increase in proportion to the number of children, but married women’s benefits are payable to their husbands.

If women can provide the loan guarantees required under commercial banking regulations, they can have unrestricted access to credit.

Low-interest loans are also granted through women’s groups and associations. The Central African Economic and Monetary Community (CAEMC) has enacted legislation on microfinance.

In this respect, there are no discriminatory provisions, nor are women at a disadvantage in practice. On the contrary, they are entirely free to participate in sporting events, music festivals, cultural seminars and so on.

The three economic sectors in which women are mainly involved are agriculture, freshwater artisanal fisheries and the informal sector. Of the economically active population, 50.9 per cent work in agriculture, the only sector in which women greatly outnumber men (81 per cent of the workforce). Women play a smaller role in commerce, public services, the informal sector and the public sector, and the proportion of women among senior executives and other employees in the private sector is particularly low, at only 0.3 per cent.

With a view to alleviating these difficulties, following the National Conference on Rural Development and Food Safety (CONADERSA), agricultural associations were formed across the country in order to increase women’s participation in food production and food processing. Likewise, through the PRAMUR project, co-financed by the Canadian Cooperation Agency, the Ministry of Social Affairs and the Status of Women (MINASCOM) is providing support for women, through microcredits and training, in the cultivation and sale of horticultural products. The local development project, set up by the Ministry of the Interior and local corporations in partnership with the United Nations Development Programme, assists local women working in agriculture, with the same aim of enhancing their production and processing activities and increasing their profits. The Institute for the Promotion of Agriculture in Equatorial Guinea (INPAGE) carries out similar work.

The pyramid structure of MINASCOM, which, through its advisers, has a presence in each of the country’s village councils, allows it to maintain permanent contact with rural inhabitants and keep them informed about approaches to gender issues. It also conducts awareness-raising activities on topics of interest to women. MINASCOM is also the channel through which the concerns of rural women are transmitted to the responsible Department, which attempts to alleviate any difficulties.

Female participation in development plans is increasing noticeably, particularly in relation to gender issues. More specifically, in 2002, the Government approved the document on the National Policy for the Advancement of Women, prepared by MINASCOM, along with the draft Framework Plan. Large numbers of women have been and continue to be involved in both these initiatives and in other projects, such as the National Programme on Education for All and the draft acts on reproductive health and prevention and control of HIV/AIDS and sexually transmitted diseases.

Women took an active part in the 1995 National Economic Conference and its medium-term review in 1999 and are expected to be involved in the final review, which is scheduled to take place in January 2004.

As indicated under article 12, a national network of health posts and centres and regional and provincial hospitals is being set up on the basis of population density, with a view to ensuring that as much of the population as possible has access to health care.

There is no discrimination against women. On the contrary, increasing efforts are made to ensure that women receive training, since their traditional relegation to “women’s work” has hindered their academic and professional development.

Article 13 (c) of the Constitution recognizes that women and men are equal before the law. In the civil sphere, women are not discriminated against from a legal point of view; in practice, however, some married women do not enjoy equal rights.

Both men and women conclude contracts and manage property. With regard to freedom of movement, women are no longer required to obtain permission from their husbands if they wish to travel, especially for trips abroad. However, to ensure marital harmony, it is understood in practice that the consent of both spouses must be obtained before wives travel or change their place of residence.

Men and women currently have the same right to enter into marriage and choose their spouses. This was not the case previously. A draft act currently under consideration to regulate customary marriage will make it compulsory to obtain the spouse’s consent as a precondition for marriage.

Most ethnic groups, such as the Fang, Ndowe, Bissio and Annobonesa, are patrilineal; that is, the children belong to the father (the husband of the marriage of which they are born). However, the Bubi are matrilineal: the children belong to the wife of the marriage of which they are born. If the mother is unmarried, the children belong to her tribe. Among the first group, a divorced mother must obtain permission from her ex-husband, although in all tribes, children under the age of seven are legally in the mother’s custody. There are plans to raise that age to 10.

Family planning very much depends on the education and social class of the spouses.

Both civil and religious marriages assign both parents the same rights and responsibilities regarding guardianship, legal protection, custody and adoption of children in customary marriages, however, owing to the lack of legal regulation, the husband has all the rights, especially in rural areas where women’s rights in general are practically non-existent.

Hispanic culture prevails in the use of surnames and the wife keeps her surnames.

In practice, civil and religious marriages are registered at the registry office. Traditional or customary marriages are also registered in the respective registry books.

This report shows the inadequate integration of women in all sectors of society in Equatorial Guinea. However, it must be noted objectively that a great deal of effort has been made in recent years and very positive results are being achieved, not only for women but for society as a whole.

We believe that improving the status of women by increasing their spending power and improving their education and health care not only has a positive impact on such important factors as employment, salaries, and access to decision-making and to traditionally masculine sectors, but is also a step towards gender equality and an essential element of the development process in Equatorial Guinea.

– Strengthening institutional mechanisms for the advancement of women through bodies such as sectoral ministries, non-governmental organizations and women’s associations;

– Preparing a draft operational plan of action for the National Policy for the Advancement of Women (PNPM);

– Organizing training and capacitation courses for Ministry staff, both within the country and abroad.

o Seminar on gender and development for women ministers and parliamentarians on the role they should play in achieving gender equity in our society;

o Retraining seminar on gender and development, focusing on the importance of gender equity in social life, designed for non-governmental organizations and MINASCOM offices in other ministries;

o Seminar on gender and development, focusing on the importance of the National Policy for the Advancement of Women (PNPM), designed for technical staff from various sectors in order to increase the involvement of all in the implementation of that Policy;

o Information, dissemination and awareness-raising seminars on the Conventions ratified by the Government for the protection of women and children, namely, the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, and the Convention concerning the Prohibition and Immediate Action for the Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labour;

o Awareness-raising seminar on prostitution, HIV/AIDS, women’s rights and social counselling, designed particularly for young prostitutes but also for students and the general public, with a view to raising their awareness of the problems of prostitution and sexual promiscuity in our society;

o Seminar on the importance of producers’ associations, intended for members of such groups and for other interested people, in order to promote agricultural production and prevent the concentration of human resources in the petroleum sector;

o Seminar to promote awareness of domestic violence for representatives and staff of ministerial offices, designed to have a multiplier effect on women and men in their respective communities and sectors;

o Training seminar for representatives on the collection of social data on women and children with a view to creating a national database.

– Adoption of the General Act on Associations No. 11/1992 dated 1 October 1992;

– Presidential Decree No. 127/1993 dated 15 September 1993, establishing the National “Women and Development” Committee (CNMMP);

– Creation of a National Network of Women Ministers and Parliamentarians (REMUMIPARGE);

– Act No. 1/1999 dated 24 February 1999 on the Regime for Non-Governmental Organizations;

– Creation of the National Network of Non-Governmental Organizations of Equatorial Guinea, to deal with social problems;

– Decree-Law No. 61/2002, on the integration of persons with disabilities into the General Social Security Regime;

– Elaboration of the National Policy for the Advancement of Women by the Ministry of Social Affairs and the Status of Women;

– Presidential Decree No. 79/2002 dated May 2002, adopting the National Policy for the Advancement of Women;

– Ministry of the Interior ministerial order dated 1 July 2003, prohibiting the use of tourist establishments as centres for prostitution and other immoral activities in Equatorial Guinea;

– Support for the strengthening of existing women’s groups and associations in order to promote good governance of their activities through training seminars for their members;

– Elaboration of the pedagogical manual on information, education and communication (IEC)/gender, population and development;

– Greater support from the Government and other partners (bilateral and multilateral cooperation agencies, United Nations agencies) to ensure gender equity through the provision of financial, material and human resources;

– Increased cooperation and coordination among organizations of the public and private sectors which support women, in order to follow up the guidelines established by the National Policy for the Advancement of Women.

United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women - State Party Reports

Equatorial Guinea - Combined fourth and fifth periodic reports of States parties [2004] UNCEDAWSPR 8; CEDAW/C/GNQ/4-5 (11 February 2004)