Civil Registration and Advancing Women’s
Rights in Africa: Using the Lens of the
African Gender and Development Index
(AGDI)
Presented by
Thokozile Ruzvidzo
Director
African Centre for Gender and Social Development
Outline of Presentation
Brief Overview of the AGDI
Civil Registration and Women’s
Rights
Gaps in Civil Registration and
Other Forms of Data Collection
Recommended Actions
Background
Part of ECA’s mandate to coordinate,
support, monitor, evaluate and report on
the implementation of international
human rights agreements on the rights of
women;
Lack of common set of gender responsive
indicators to measure progress made in
the advancement of women;
Worsened by the absence of up-to-date
relevant disaggregated data.
What is the AGDI?
The AGDI is a composite index made up of
two complementary components:
(1)The Gender Status Index (GSI) and
(2)The African Women’s Progress Scoreboard
(AWPS)
Together, they provide a scan or “X-ray” of
government commitment to women
Objectives of the AGDI
The design of the AGDI is informed by two main
development objectives:
To provide African Governments with an
African-owned and specific tool to monitor
progress being made in their implementation
of regional and international resolutions and
conventions on gender equality and the
advancement of women in Africa;
To provide African Governments with both
quantitative and qualitative insights into the
effects of the design and implementation of
their social, economic, cultural and political
policies.
AGDI Phases I & II
• AGDI was initially piloted in 12 countries based on sub
regional and linguistic representation.
• The countries were: Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon,
Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana, Madagascar, Mozambique, South
Africa, Tunisia, Uganda and United Republic of Tanzania;
• The project is in its second expansion phase which has
been informed by a review of the AGDI undertaken by
international experts from 23-25 of March 2010;
• The second phase AGDI countries number 17 and are:
Algeria, Botswana, Burundi, Cape Verde, Cote d’ Ivoire,
Democratic Republic of Congo, Republic of Congo,
Djibouti, Kenya, Libya, Malawi, Mali, Morocco, Namibia,
Rwanda, Senegal and Zambia.
The Experience of the AGDI
Missing Social Block
Indicators
Education:
Tertiary enrolment
Primary Drop Out
Secondary Drop Out
Health:
•Maternal Deaths
Time Spent out of Work
AGDI Contd…
Missing Economic Block
Indicators
Time Use
Time spent in market economic
activities (as paid employee,
own-account or employer)
Time spent in non-market
economic activities or as unpaid
family worker in market
economic activities
Time spent in domestic, care, and
volunteer activities
AGDI Contd…
Missing Political Block
Indicators
Civil Society Participation
Heads or managers of
NGOs
Heads of community-based
associations or unions
Civil Registration and Women’s
Rights
• Birth registration is key to accessing basic services
for both male and female children (e.g. education
and health which are MDG indicators);
• Age identification is key in criminal matters
affecting girls. Example in definition of sexual
offences, criminal and contractual liability;
• The African Women’s Protocol mandates countries
to improve upon the civil registration systems as
means of protecting girls from early marriage and
documentation of valid marriages
Civil Registration and Women
Contd…
• Documentation of marriage serves to protect the
property rights of women through proof of
marriage;
• This also extends to land registration systems,
particularly where customary land tenure is
concerned;
• Registration of deaths is needed to adequately
capture maternal deaths as well as deaths from
other causes such as HIV/AIDS
Gaps in Civil Registration
• Many African countries are still struggling with
ensuring that children are registered at birth due
to social, cultural and economic barriers;
• Registration of customary marriages remains a
challenge especially for women in polygamous
relationships;
• Many maternal deaths are not captured
especially where delivery takes place in rural
communities and/or without professional medical
support
Recommended Actions
• Overhaul of civil registration systems to take
account of developmental goals such as MDG
commitments and women’s rights;
• Special emphasis on birth registration, maternal
deaths, registration of customary marriages and
customary land tenure;
• Increase investments in data disaggregated data
collection as a whole e.g. time use data;
• Civil registration officials to be trained in human
rights and development, including those aspects
affecting women and gender equality issues.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR
ATTENTION!