By Tendai Guvamombe (Pretoria)
Pretoria, South Africa – The Pan-African Parliament (PAP) is hosting a pivotal workshop on July 26 and 27, 2025, in Pretoria, South Africa, to finalize its draft Model Law on Gender Equality and Equity.
This crucial meeting brings together the PAP’s Permanent Committee on Gender, Family, Youth and People with Disability, alongside key stakeholders, to review and appropriate the landmark legal framework.
The draft Model Law, a culmination of extensive efforts to harmonize gender-related legal frameworks across Africa, has undergone a rigorous technical review.
An initial draft was critically examined by various stakeholders, including African Union Organs, national parliaments, civil society organizations, and UN institutions, during a Technical Review Meeting in Yaoundé, Cameroon, from May 8-12, 2025.
The revised draft, now reflecting inputs from legal and policy frameworks such as the Maputo Protocol, CEDAW, and the newly adopted AU Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Violence Against Women and Girls (2025), will be presented to the Gender Committee.
This workshop serves as a vital step for the committee members to understand the law’s contents and take ownership before its submission to the PAP Plenary for adoption.
Despite existing instruments like the Maputo Protocol, gender inequality, patriarchal norms, and insufficient legal protections for women persist across Africa. The Model Law aims to bridge these gaps, offering AU Member States a harmonized, adaptable, and rights-based framework for enshrining gender equality and equity into national legislations.
The workshop, beyond being a procedural requirement, is a capacity-building exercise for Gender Committee members, empowering them to advocate for the Model Law’s principles within their respective jurisdictions. It also provides an additional opportunity for stakeholders to offer critiques and contributions.
The goal is to produce a validated and adopted version of the draft Model Law, formally endorsed by the Committee, for submission to the PAP’s 5th Ordinary Session.
This initiative reaffirms PAP’s commitment to supporting Member States in fulfilling their obligations under AU and international legal frameworks, ultimately promoting equal rights, dignity, and opportunity for women and girls across the continent.
