Congo

The Republic of Congo is a former French colony in sub-Saharan Africa with high poverty and birth rates. Women in the formal sector receive maternity leave benefits. Many women live in polygamous marriages; divorce is common. Christianity and indigenous African beliefs influence marriage forms and reproductive rites and rituals. Use of modern contraceptives is low. Many women lack skilled birth attendants and maternal mortality is very high. Government efforts support safe motherhood and women's advancement. An average of 5.9 children per mother reflects cultural and religious norms that encourage large families and discourage family planning. For rural traditionalists, having a large family and several wives is a sign of status and a way to support widows and orphans in a nation with 70 percent poverty. Employers provide women with 14 weeks of maternity leave at two-thirds pay.

Women are responsible for childcare, housework, planting, harvesting, and meal preparation. Extended families provide a social system of support and care. Divorce and polygamy are common. Polygamy is less desirable among urbanized, Western-educated Congolese and Christians, who comprise half the population. Islam and traditional religions are also observed. Traditional religious leaders call on spirits for fertility, pregnancy, and birth rites and rituals; Congolese fathers may perform purification rituals during and after a birth, although these practices are less common in urban areas.

Public education in public schools is free and compulsory until age 16, although many girls abandon their studies after primary school. Many leave to help take care of their siblings or perform domestic chores. French Christian missionaries encouraged educating girls, job training for women, and the importance of fathers in childrearing. Many Catholics partially observe the church's position against polygamy, divorce, abortion, and birth control.

The government disseminates family planning and birth control information through the media and provides family planning services through health centers. While contraceptive use is 44 percent, only 13 percent use modern methods. Almost three-quarters of women attend at least one prenatal visit, but fewer than 45 percent of births are attended by skilled personnel, contributing to a very high maternal mortality rate.

The government promotes training traditional midwives to use scans in maternity care. In 1999 the Congolese Government adopted a National Policy for the Advancement of Women, with a corresponding Plan of Action for 2000–02 to promote gender equality and women's empowerment. More than 500 women's groups, associations, and nongovernmental organizations partnered with the Ministry for the Advancement of Women to promote activities to address women's needs. Rosalie Kama, mother of three, is the Congo's Minister of Education. Jeanne Dabenzet, mother of six, serves as Minister for Public Administration and Women's Promotion.