Central African Republic

The Central African Republic (CAR), which achieved its independency from France on August 13, 1960, has had a very unstable history, evidenced by several coups and internal disputes. Progress has been observed only in the last few years, with significant improvements in its governance and human rights record. The government's commitment to human rights was also reflected in the adoption of a national policy on the promotion of equality in 2005. A family code designed to strengthen women's rights had been in place since May 1998, but several conflicting customary laws prevail.

The CAR is one of the world's least developed countries, with approximately 4.3 million inhabitants. A landlocked country, the nation is overwhelmingly agrarian, with more than half of the population, and the vast majority of women, living from subsistence farming. Female land laborers face added difficulties accessing loans due to a lack of financial guarantees and access to land titles, which also affect their capacity to initiate agricultural activities and generate income.

The 2004 Constitution recognized that all Central Africans, without regard to sex and other considerations, are equal in economic, political, and social spheres; however, in practice, women are treated as inferior to men both economically and socially and significant discrimination persists. As is the case in other countries in Africa, there is a significant difference in the conditions of women's lives in cities-namely Bangui-and women who live in rural areas.

Some discriminatory habits and traditions have proved to be more resilient in rural and remote communities, despite improvements in the urban areas. Such is the case with female genital mutilation, which despite being banned in the country in 1996, is still performed in certain rural areas. Polygamy is legal, although this practice faces growing resistance among educated women. There is a 20 to 25 percent difference between the registration of boys and girls in primary school, and in literacy rates between men and women in the 15-to-24 age bracket. At the university level, men outnumber women at a ratio of 1:3 or 1:4. This gap is much wider in rural areas.

In regards to health, women face higher rates of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection and are more prone to the risk of other infectious diseases. [Page 239]According to some sources, the CAR has one of the highest rates of maternal deaths in the world, and a significant number of them are linked to unsafe abortion, which is prohibited by law. The CAR leaves much room for improvement in terms of the unmet need for prenatal care and access to contraception. Significant underreporting and inadequate data collection methods mean it is impossible to estimate the rate of violence against women. Finally, the gender gap is overwhelming in state institutions: only 11 out of 105 members of Parliament and four out of 22 ministers are women. At the local government level, there are only six female mayors as compared to 66 male ones. Similarly low ratios are found in judiciary and other high-level civil servants, such as registrars and notaries.