Mozambique's Gender Revolution
After four years of campaigning, Oxfam's partners have won a landmark legal victory for the women of Mozambique.
On December 9, 2003, the National Assembly of Mozambique passed a new Family Law, securing a broad range of rights previously denied to Mozambican women. The new law raises the minimum age of marriage from 14 to 18, allows women to inherit property in the case of divorce, and legally recognizes traditional marriages, which constitute the great majority of marriages in Mozambique.
This progressive legislation, drafted by an Oxfam-supported women's coalition, marks a huge step forward for the women of Mozambique, who have long suffered profound discrimination. What's more, lawyers speculate that the Family Law will serve as a precedent on which future gains in gender legal reform can be built.
To drive this victory, Oxfam brought together a coalition of five women's rights groups to pool their resources and push for legal reform. Since 1998, Oxfam has invested over $500,000 dollars in the Women's Coalition, funding research, legal services, and other activities. Oxfam also provided training in advocacy, community building, and organizing and helped the Coalition further its advocacy strategy by targeting key legislators and Parliamentarians to ensure the law would be passed.
But credit goes largely to the women's groups, who coordinated hundreds of workshops, interviews, and focus groups to gather information from thousands of women around the need for legal reform. They then disseminated this information through print, radio, and TV ads. They also used the information to shape the draft of the Family Law that they submitted to Parliament and that was ultimately passed.
Reform Is Long Overdue
Mozambique gained its independence from Portugal in 1975. Almost 30 years later, the Portuguese-established common laws, which were drafted with little regard for local customs, are still in place. Meanwhile, the majority of Mozambicans regulate their lives independently of the common laws, observing customary practices instead.
Both legal systems—common and customary—contain legislation and practices that disadvantage women. The Family Law makes great strides in reconciling the two sets of laws and introducing legislation that will protect women from discrimination.
The Fight for Women's Rights Continues
The Women's Coalition is now pushing for additional legislation to be added to the Family Law, with domestic violence and polygamy at the forefront of its agenda.
Currently there is no law that makes domestic violence a crime in Mozambique. Many women believe their spouses have the right to beat them, and cultural pressures discourage women from taking action. The Women's Coalition has already succeeded in establishing domestic violence as grounds for divorce; now it is advocating for new legislation to criminalize spousal abuse.
The Coalition is also seeking to enforce inheritance laws for polygamous unions. The Constitution states that all wives in a polygamous union should be treated equally when their husband dies and have inherit property. Yet too often these women are left with nothing. The Coalition seeks to ensure that they are protected.
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| By: Kevin Pepper/Oxfam |
Growing Up Equal
The new Family Law will help five-year-old Melodi Timosi from school age on up, securing her rights to an education, a later marriage, an equitable divorce, and agency in her own career.
Age 5 to 18: Go to School
Throughout Mozambique, boys greatly outnumber girls in secondary schools. In rural areas, there are few opportunities for girls' education. The increase in minimum marriage age will make it more acceptable for girls to stay in school longer and to marry later. Female literacy rates will increase, and women will become more qualified for paid employment. Marriage will not be a girl's only option.
Age 18 & Older: Marry Later
Until now, many girls as young as 14 have been forced to marry against their will. Those that have children soon afterward run an elevated risk of premature birth, miscarriage, and other health problems. The increase in minimum marriage age to 18 will help improve women's health by delaying childbirth. And by reducing the chance that a young woman's education will be cut short by marriage and childbearing, the law will afford women greater economic opportunities.
Age 21 & Older: Make Business Decisions
In the past, before taking a paid job, starting a business, or obtaining a loan, building lease, or contract for goods and services, a woman needed the written approval of her husband, father, or closest male relative. The Family Law provides that neither spouse can restrict the right of his or her partner to work or make a business transaction.
Age 25 & Older: Receive Property in a Divorce
Previously, when couples divorced men automatically received the family's home and possessions. The new Family Law establishes joint property rights for both civil and traditional marriages as well as for couples who have lived together for more than a year. If a couple divorces, an agreeable distribution of possessions must be arranged.
