Call for Posts—Public Law Corner

Call for Posts—Public Law Corner: Anniversary of the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa

2023 marks the twentieth anniversary of the adoption of the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa, also known as the Maputo Protocol. This landmark document is the first comprehensive human rights instrument dedicated to promoting and protecting the rights of women in Africa. To celebrate this anniversary and promote continued dialogue about the strides and gains made toward achieving gender equality in Africa, Public Law Corner is pleased to announce a call for posts on the following topics:

• Progress and challenges in implementing the Maputo Protocol: This topic invites posts that critically examine the progress made in the implementation of the Maputo Protocol over the past twenty years. Papers could focus on successes, challenges and obstacles encountered in implementing the protocol, including political, economic and social barriers to the full realisation of women's rights.
• The intersection of culture, tradition and women's rights in Africa: This topic invites posts that explore the intersection between culture, tradition and women's rights in Africa. Posts could focus on how cultural and traditional practices impact women's rights and suggest strategies for promoting cultural change that is supportive of gender equality.
• Women's rights in conflict and post-conflict contexts: This topic invites posts that examine the impact of conflict on women's rights and the role of the Maputo Protocol in promoting and protecting women's rights in conflict and post-conflict contexts. Posts could focus on the challenges and opportunities of implementing the protocol in such contexts.
• Emerging issues and challenges in advancing women's rights in Africa: This topic invites posts that explore emerging issues and challenges in advancing women's rights in Africa. Posts could focus on emerging areas of concern, such as technology and the digital divide, as well as on persistent challenges, such as violence against women and discriminatory laws and practices.
• Decolonial and Afro-Feminist reading(s) of the Maputo Protocol: This topic invites posts that probe the Maputo Protocol at a conceptual level. Posts would appreciate the #MustFall movement as one that occasioned a Decolonial Turn in the Global South and accept this as an epistemic invitation to urgently revisit various concepts that have been recognised as the gospel truth in the period after the official cessation of colonial and imperial conquests.

We welcome submissions from scholars, researchers, practitioners, and activists across disciplines, including law, social sciences, humanities, and other relevant fields. We welcome written blog posts and artistic expressions such as short stories and poetry.  

Submission Guidelines:

Posts should be between 800–1300 words.

Submissions should be in English

Papers should be in MS Word format and use 12-point Times New Roman font, with double spacing.

Please upload submissions here.

Important Dates:

Deadline for submissions: 5 July 2023

We look forward to receiving your submissions and to advancing the discourse on women's rights in Africa.