The Constitution of Angola provides for equal rights for men and women. In addition, the government created a Secretariat of State for the Promotion and Development of Women in 1991. This secretariat was reinstituted as the Ministry of Family and Promotion of Women in 1997 and remains the primary government agency responsible for implementing policies to support equal rights for women.
The actual situation of Angolan women is difficult due to general poverty, displacement and patriarchal norms. The civil war, which lasted 27 years before ending in 2002, left many women widowed and the sole providers of income for themselves and their families. As a result, women have been forced to take on greater responsibilities in all areas of society, including those traditionally dominated by men. Some customary laws still hinder women in their efforts to gain economic independence.
Women in Angola have a relatively low level of legal protection in relation to family matters. The legal age of marriage in Angola is 18 years for both sexes, however early marriage is relatively common. With parental consent – and only if considered to be in the best interest of the minor – girls can be married at the age of 15 and boys at the age of 16. A 2004 United Nations report estimated 36 per cent of girls between 15 and 19 years were married, divorced or widowed.
Although Angolan law condemns polygamy, the practice is widely accepted in society. In addition to being common for cultural reasons, many women accept to live in polygamous relationships because of the shortage of men following the civil war.
The Family Code establishes equality between men and women within the family: both spouses have the same rights and are subject to the same duties. These principles extend to matters of parental authority. In reality, it appears that in his traditional role as head of the household, a father has more rights whereas a mother has more duties. Laws on child support are poorly enforced in Angola.
The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) reports that, according to inheritance law, Angolan women are entitled to 50 per cent of a deceased husband’s estate. However, the division of property usually benefits male relatives of the deceased, leaving widows in a particularly vulnerable position.
Protection of Angolan women’s physical integrity is weak. The prevalence of violence against women is high, and can be attributed to several factors. Customary law gives men certain rights to exercise authority over their wives and daughters. To date, the Angolan government has not enacted specific legislation to protect women from domestic and sexual violence. Many women remain unaware of their rights and victims of violence are socially stigmatised. For example, victims of sexual abuse may have difficulties regaining respect and finding someone willing to marry them. As a result, women rarely report assaults or rapes to the authorities.
In 2006, local human rights and women’s organisations reported an increase in domestic and sexual violence against women and girls, including violence against girls in the school system. Many women still suffer the effects of physical and sexual violence perpetrated during the war.
Female genital mutilation is not a general practice in Angola, but rare occurrences in remote areas have been reported in recent years. Despite the reduction of male population due to the war, the population sex ratio suggests that Angola may be a country of concern in relation to missing women.
Angolan women have very little formal support in regards to obtaining a degree of financial independence. The law gives women and men equal access to land. However, land distribution follows traditional rules that treat men more favourably. In addition, women’s rights to use land are often overlooked when previously displaced people are re-settled in rural areas.
Access to property other than land depends, to a large extent, on whether a woman is married, and under which regime the marriage is recognised. The “acquired (estates) community regime” deems goods and financial resources acquired during the marriage as common property, and gives each spouse a limited right to independently administer his or her assets. Under the “estates separation regime”, each spouse can freely administer his or her own assets.
According to the Commercial Code, married women must have the authorization of their husband in order to run businesses. The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) reports that it appears the more recent Constitution effectively revokes this provision and gives women the legal right to engage in various kinds of contracts, to own and manage property, and to open bank accounts. At the time of publication, no data were available on women’s access to bank loans.
From a legal or institutional perspective, women in Angola have a high degree of civil liberty. There are no restrictions on freedom of movement, but their ability to move freely is hampered considerably by security concerns. Angolan women have freedom of dress.
AFROL, Gender Profiles – Angola, www.afrol.com.
CEDAW (2004a), Consideration of reports submitted by States parties under article 18 of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, combined fourth and fifth periodic reports of States Parties, Angola, CEDAW/C/AGO/4-5.
CEDAW (2004b), Summary record of the 655th meeting, CEDAW/C/SR.655.
Ducados, H. (2004), Angolan women in the aftermath of conflict, Conciliation Resources, www.c-r.org/index.php, accessed 10 May 2008.
Human Rights Watch, Overview of Human Rights Issues in Angola, www.hrw.org, accessed 9 May 2007.
IFAD (2002), Angola – A Review of Gender Issues in Support of IFAD’s COSOP Formulation Process and Field Diagnostic Study, Report No. 1328-AO.
UN (2004), World Fertility Report, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division. New York : UN.
