Africa: How the Global Anti-Rights Movement Is Targeting Women's Rights in Africa Through Family Laws

Nairobi, Kenya — Millions of African women live under laws that deny them equal rights at home. A well-funded global movement is working to make sure it stays that way.

The theme of Africa Day 2026, "63 years of unity, integration and development," offers a stark reminder of the gap that often exists between rhetoric and reality. While commendable regional legal frameworks have advanced legal protections for millions of women and girls, injustice remains written into the fabric of national family laws in many African countries, entrenching gender inequality in the home.

Such is the reality for the young woman in Kampala whose marriage was never legally registered and who, in the eyes of the State, does not exist as a wife.