Discrimination in the Family

This report by the Institute for Security Studies examines gender discrimination within the family sphere in Africa, focusing on child marriage, the unequal distribution of unpaid care and domestic work, and disparities in divorce and inheritance rights.

• Child marriage remains widespread in Africa, with an estimated 130 million child brides and 23% of African girls marrying before age 18. While the prevalence declined by seven percentage points between 2009 and 2018, Africa's 2021 Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI) score for child marriage was 41, which is worse than the global average of 36.
• The highest levels of child marriage are found in West Africa (SIGI score of 46) and Central Africa (45). Nine of the ten countries globally with the highest child marriage rates are in Africa: Niger, the Central African Republic, Chad, Mali, Mozambique, Burkina Faso, South Sudan, Guinea, and Nigeria. Niger has the highest global rate at 62%.
• Child marriage is driven by patriarchal beliefs, the low value placed on girls, and poverty. In Côte d'Ivoire, 50% of women in the poorest households were married as children, compared to 14% in the wealthiest households. The practice leads to negative health outcomes, including higher risks of HIV, maternal mortality, and obstetric fistula, and is linked to higher fertility rates.
• African women spend significantly more time on unpaid care and domestic work than men, averaging 4.1 times more. This ratio varies by country, from approximately two times more in Uganda to nine times more in Somalia. This burden limits women's economic empowerment and girls' educational outcomes, particularly in rural areas where fetching water and firewood can take over an hour per trip in Somalia and Mauritania.
• Unpaid care work is not included in GDP calculations, though ILO estimates value it at 9% of global GDP, with women contributing 6.6% and men 2.4%. Projections for 2043 suggest the share of African men in unpaid domestic work will slightly increase to about 7% of a 24-hour day, up from 5% in 2019.
• Women face systemic disadvantages in divorce and inheritance due to customary laws and patrilineal systems. In countries such as Botswana, Burundi, Comoros, Eswatini, Gambia, Madagascar, Senegal, Somalia, Sudan, Tanzania, Mauritania, and Niger, sons and daughters do not have equal rights to inherit assets.
• Legal frameworks in 21 African countries prevent women from being the head of a family and deny them equal parental authority over children. While some countries like Côte d'Ivoire passed laws in 2019 setting the minimum marriage age at 18, 12 of the 37 sub-Saharan African countries that legislated 18 as the minimum age still allow marriage before 18 if parents agree.

APA

Yeboua, K., & Cilliers, J. (2026). Discrimination in the Family. Institute for Security Studies. https://futures.issafrica.org/thematic/guide.pdf?thematic=16-gender&topic=04-discrimination

Chicago

Yeboua, Kouassi, and Jakkie Cilliers. Discrimination in the Family. Institute for Security Studies, 2026. https://futures.issafrica.org/thematic/guide.pdf?thematic=16-gender&topic=04-discrimination.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Yeboua |first1=Kouassi |last2=Cilliers |first2=Jakkie |title=Discrimination in the Family |publisher=Institute for Security Studies |date=21 April 2026 |url=https://futures.issafrica.org/thematic/guide.pdf?thematic=16-gender&topic=04-discrimination |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{yeboua2026discrimination, author = {Yeboua, Kouassi and Cilliers, Jakkie}, title = {{Discrimination in the Family}}, institution = {Institute for Security Studies}, year = {2026}, month = apr, url = {https://futures.issafrica.org/thematic/guide.pdf?thematic=16-gender&topic=04-discrimination}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }