The African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance

This chapter discusses the emergent gender regime in Africa. A strong &s;women&s;s rights as human rights&s; discourse supports this international regime. The chapter contends that the gender intervention offered by African institutions and governments remains restricted to specific issues such as maternal health, including lowering mortality rates and the levels of mother-to-child HIV/AIDs transmissions, as well as peace and security due to a specific conception of gender equality in Africa. It deals with the argument that while the global influence is influential within Africa, local forces influence the emergent African gender regime, and this has implications for the adoption and absorption process of gender equality norms. The progress made in Africa towards gender equality has often emerged within a human rights and development discourse, which sees gender equality as a consequence of ensuring women&s;s human rights in view of their economic contributions to development.