The Republic of Congo’s Constitution of 8 December 1963 proclaims equality before the law for all citizens and upholds the full legal capacity of women, irrespective of their marital status. Nevertheless, discriminatory provisions persist in the laws governing inheritance, marriage and parental authority. The fact that the Republic of Congo is based on a dual legal system, with a French-inspired form of modern law super-imposed upon customary laws, also creates challenges for Congolese women.
Women in the Republic of the Congo have a low level of protection within the family context. Congolese law sets the minimum legal age of marriage at 18 years for women and 21 years for men. The State Procurator may grant a dispensation from this rule. The incidence of early marriage is very high: a report published by UNICEF in 2005 indicated that 56 per cent of girls between 15 and 19 years of age were married, divorced or widowed.
Many Congolese practise a tradition of “pre-marriage”, whereby a man and woman, with the consent of their families and usually in the presence of the chairman of the village committee, make a mutual, solemn agreement to enter into marriage. The Family Code recognises this practice – as well as the possibility of cohabitation prior to official marriage – but does not set a minimum age for pre-marriage. As a result, the Congo also faces a problem with “early pre-marriage”. Moreover, the majority of Congolese couples cohabit under this statute without ever becoming formally married.
Polygamy is legal in Congo, but the law also gives women the right to choose before marrying whether or not they are willing to agree to the practice. Husbands who later wish to contract a second wife must inform their first wives of this intended change of plans. If the first wife consents, the couple must revise their original marriage contract.
Constitutionally, parental authority is shared equally by both spouses: they have the same rights and power to exercise authority in respect to raising their children. The law, however, recognises men as the heads of household and stipulates that they “exercise this function in the common interest of the marriage and of the children”. In this regard, the law seems to contradict the notion of joint parental authority.
Many Congolese women have difficulties accessing inheritance, largely because their inheritance rights depend on the property arrangements associated with the type of marriage. If the couple chose to marry under “community of property”, the husband’s estate is divided such that the wife receives half and the other half is shared by his family and his children. If the marriage is based on a “separation of property” contract, the widow has no right to claim ownership of her deceased husband’s estate, but does retain the right of usufruct. In reality, wives often lose all rights of inheritance upon the death of a spouse, especially in the context of traditional or common-law marriages.
Congolese law aims to provide a moderate degree of protection for the physical integrity of women. The Criminal Code prohibits several types of violence against women. However, traditional practices and modern laws both place men at the head of the family, and are perceived as conferring upon husbands the right to chastise their wives. Domestic violence is rarely reported but believed to be widespread. To date, Congolese law does not recognise spousal rape. It should be noted that a significant increase in the number of cases of sexual violence was recorded in the past few years, primarily in connection with armed conflicts.
Female genital mutilation is not widely practiced in the Congo, but there is no specific legislation forbidding it. There is no evidence to suggest that the Republic of Congo is a country of concern in relation to missing women.
Women in the Congo face some discrimination in their attempts to gain financial independence. They have access to land through three main channels: i) matrilineal or patrilineal filiations (most often, the head of the lineage is a man and the filiation patrilineal, but the head of lineage can choose to allocate the land to a woman.); ii) marriage (at the husband’s request, the head of the lineage may allocate land to the wife); or iii) rent and purchase. Overall, their land holdings are limited. Women currently account for 60 per cent of the agricultural workforce, but own only 25 per cent of agricultural land – usually in small holdings. There is no legal discrimination against women in regard to access to property other than land.
Congolese women often face practical difficulties in regard to access to bank loans. The banking sector has a rather rigid approach to giving loans to women, in part due to their lack of training in management and bookkeeping. A larger policy issue is the lack of any legal framework or regulations to support women’s access to micro-financing.
Women in the Congo have a high degree of civil liberty. The Constitution upholds women’s right to freedom of movement, although pre-married women are required to live in the home chosen by the pre-married man. There is no reported limitation to women’s freedom of dress.
CEDAW (Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women) (2002), Consideration of Re¬ports Submitted by States Parties Under Article 18 of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women: Congo, Combined Initial, Second, Third, Fourth and Fifth Periodic Reports of States Parties, CEDAW/C/COG/1-5, CEDAW, New York, NY.
CEDAW (2002), Summary Record of the 607th Meeting, CEDAW/C/SR.607, CEDAW, New York, NY.
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CRC (Committee on the Rights of the Child) (2006), Considerations of Reports Submitted by States Par¬ties Under Article 44 of the Convention: Concluding Observations of the Committee on the Rights of the Child, CRC/C/COG/CO/1, CRC, 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.
Focus Group With Victims of Sexual Violence (1998), Report on Maternal and Infant Health and Family Planning.
UNICEF (United Nations Children’s Fund) (2001), Early Marriage: Child Spouses, UNICEF, New York, NY.
UNICEF (2005), Early Marriage: A Harmth Traditional Practice.
US Department of State (2006), International Religious Freedom Report: Congo, Republic of the, US Department of State, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, Washington, DC.
US Department of State (2007), Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Congo, Republic of the, US Department of State, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, Washington, DC.
Welch, C.E. and P.C. Glick (1981), “The Incidence of Polygamy in Contemporary Africa: A Research Note,” Journal of Marriage and the Family, Vol. 43, No. 1, National Council on Family Relations, pp. 191-193.
