The Constitution of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo) upholds the principle of equality between men and women. However, certain provisions of Congolese law still discriminate against women, particularly in the areas of ownership rights and women’s lack of any lawful capacity to independently sign legal contracts.
Women in DR Congo have a low degree of protection in regard to family matters. The Family Code decrees that men are the head of the household and women must obey them. The legal minimum age for marriage is very low: only 15 years for women and 18 for men. As a result, the incidence of early marriage is very high. A 2001 report by UNICEF estimated that 74 per cent of girls in DR Congo between 15 and 19 years of age were married, divorced or widowed.
The official matrimonial system in DR Congo is monogamy. Polygamy is not practised but a phenomenon known as the deuxième bureau (literally, the “second office”) has developed, whereby married men enjoy extramarital relationships with several women. Women who engage in this practice act and consider themselves to be genuine spouses, and may even carry the identification cards of married women. They do not, however, have the legal status of a wife.
In theory, spouses have equal parental authority. However, married women must receive authorisation from their husbands for any legal act, which clearly limits their capacity to independently fulfil activities associated with parental authority.
Concerning inheritance rights, the DR Congo’s Family Code gives preferential treatment to the children of the deceased but does not discriminate between women and men within the second category of heirs. However, following the death of a husband, wives must share the running of the household with a male relative of the deceased – in part to compensate for women’s lack of ability to sign legal acts.
Laws protecting the physical integrity of women in DR Congo are relatively weak. Violence against women is a general problem and has been exacerbated by armed conflicts. The magnitude of more common forms of abuse, such as rape, is very high. In a report published in 2002, Human Rights Watch notes that sexual violence has been used as a weapon of war. The WHO provides staggering figures of recorded cases of sexual violence since the beginning of the war in 1998: 25 000 in the South Kivu Province; 11 350 in the Maniema Province; 1 625 cases in Goma; and 3 250 cases in the southeastern town of Kalemie. More recently, other severe types of violence are emerging, such as the amputation of limbs and live burials of women.
DR Congo law criminalises rape, but the government has not effectively enforced this law: victims and experts cite widespread impunity as the main reason for ongoing sexual violence. Although there are no official statistics, domestic violence against women, including rape, also appears to be common.
Legislation does not prohibit female genital mutilation (FGM). In general, FGM is not widespread but it is practised among isolated groups in northern parts of the country. The WHO reports that about 5 per cent of women in DR Congo undergo FGM.
The population sex ratio in DR Congo has been stable for the past 50 years, suggesting it is not a country of concern in regard to missing women.
DR Congo law is weak in terms of supporting financial independence for women. As mentioned above, married women do not have the legal capacity to sign certain acts and contracts without the consent of their husbands.
Women have very limited access to land. By law, the right to land concessions can be given to men and women without distinction but traditional attitudes and customs that discriminate against women remain strong in this area. Women in DR Congo do not have access to property other than land, since everything must be administered by their husbands. Moreover, they must seek a court order to prevent mismanagement of property, should such a situation arise.
Similarly, as Congolese wives cannot sign any legal acts without the authorisation of their husbands, they have virtually no access to bank loans and bank accounts.
By law, Congolese women have full civil liberty. There are no restrictions on women’s freedom of movement, except that wives are obliged to live in the residence of their husband’s choosing. There is no reported limitation to women’s freedom of dress.
CEDAW (Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women) (1994), Consideration of Reports Submitted by States Parties Under Article 18 of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women: Zaire, Initial Report of States Parties, CEDAW/C/ZAR1, CEDAW, New York, NY.
CEDAW (1997), Consideration of Reports Submitted by States Parties Under Article 18 of the Conven¬tion on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women: Zaire, Second Periodic Report of Staets Parties, CEDAW/C/ZAR/2, CEDAW, New York, NY.
CEDAW (2004), Consideration of Reports Submitted by States Parties Under Article 18 of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women: Democratic Republic of the Congo, Combined Fourth and Fifth Periodic Reports of States Parties, CEDAW/C/COD/4-5, CEDAW, New York, NY.
CEDAW (2006), Concluding Comments of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women: Democratic Republic of the Congo, CEDAW/C/COD/5, CEDAW, New York, NY.
ECOSOC (United Nations Economic and Social Council) (2003), Integration of the Human Rights of Wo¬men and the Gender Perspective: Violence Against Women, E/CN.4/2003/75/Add.1, UN, New York, NY.
FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization), IFAD (International Fund for Agricultural Development), ILC (International Land Coalition) (2004), Rural Women’s Access to Land and Property in Selected Countries: Progress Towards Achieving the Aims of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, FAO Gender and Population Division, IFAD Technical Advisory Division, and ILC, Rome.
Human Rights Watch (2002), The War Within the War: Sexual Violence Against Women and Girls in Eas¬tern Congo, HRW, New York, NY.
IRIN (Integrated Regional Information Network) (2004), DRC: Focus on Rampant Rape, Despite End of War, United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, New York, www.irinnews.org/re¬port.aspx?reportid=48956.
UNICEF (United Nations Children’s Fund) (2001), “Early Marriage, Child Spouse”, Innocenti Digest, No.7, UNICEF, New York, NY.
US Department of State (2007), Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Congo, Democratic Repu¬blic of the, US Department of State, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, Washington, DC.
