African Rights Advocates Coordinate Response to Family Law Backlash

Lady Justice Mumbi Ngugi, a judge of Kenya's Court of Appeal, at the inaugural Africa Family Law Network Conference held in Nairobi. Credit: EqualityNowby Chemtai Kirui (nairobi)Thursday, August 13, 2026Inter Press Service NAIROBI, August 13 (IPS) - Women’s rights advocates, judges and lawyers have launched a coordinated campaign to reform family laws that discriminate against women and girls in Africa. While the past decade has brought important legal advances in some countries, progress has also been marked by stagnation and backsliding. Increasingly, influential and often well-resourced and highly coordinated anti-rights actors are promoting regressive conservative ideologies that seek to repeal existing legal protections and obstruct reforms that would strengthen rights for women and girls.Family law governs some of the most consequential aspects of daily life, including marriage, divorce, child custody, inheritance and property rights. Although national constitutions and regional human rights treaties guarantee many protections for women and girls, those guarantees are often undermined by discriminatory legislation, conflicting customary and statutory laws, and weak implementa...