SEED Madagascar

In April, SEED Madagascar (SEED) launched the fifth phase of Project Safidy. Sharing its name with the Malagasy word for ‘choice,’ Project Safidy seeks to improve the sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) outcomes of young people across Madagascar.

Over the past 12 years, SEED has worked in collaboration with the National Ministry of Education to integrate SRHR topics into the national high school curriculum. SEED has successfully launched this SRHR curriculum in 239 high schools across Madagascar, and Safidy V will expand upon this work by equipping an additional 450 teachers with the tools to deliver sexual education across 20 additional high schools.

In 2019, SEED co-founded an SRHR Network. Comprising of 38 national and international organisations with a shared vision of improving SRHR outcomes across Madagascar, network members bring expertise from a variety of backgrounds such as gender-based violence, youth rights, and disability equality.

In November 2022, the SRHR Network held its third national conference, convening influential national and international stakeholders including the UNFPA and the Ministry of Public Health. In discussing the current state of SRHR outcomes in Madagascar, the Network noted that a true understanding of Madagascar’s engagement with SRHR requires turning to a document which just celebrated its 20th anniversary in July 2023: The Maputo Protocol.

Adopted by the African Union (AU) in 2003, the Maputo Protocol “remains one of the most progressive legal instruments providing a comprehensive set of human rights for African women.”¹ The Protocol not only addresses an extensive range of issues including women’s socio-political, environmental, and cultural rights, but importantly conducts a deep dive, touching on essential, yet often overlooked aspects of women’s rights such as food security, protection in armed conflict, and widows’ rights.²

Twenty years after its adoption, the Maputo Protocol has been ratified by 44 of the 55 AU member nations, formalising their legal obligation to comply with the Protocol.³  Madagascar, however, remains one of the 11 countries yet to ratify.⁴ The most commonly cited barriers to ratification are pre-existing restrictive abortion laws that these 11 nations are unwilling to change, and Madagascar happens to have one of the most restrictive abortion laws in Africa, including no exceptions in cases of rape, incest, or to save a woman’s life.⁵

Studies have shown that abortions continue regardless of legality, and Madagascar is no exception.⁶ Malagasy individuals seeking abortion not only endure legal restrictions but also unofficial, unsafe medical practices.⁷ In their 2015 four-year Plan de Développement du Secteur Sante, the National Ministry of Health estimated that 11.8% of maternal deaths were caused by complications related to abortion procedures.⁸ However, in their most recent four-year Plan de Développement, published in 2020, the Ministry did not mention the term avortement (abortion) once.⁹

Whilst Madagascar has faced pressure to liberalise its abortion policies and ratify the Maputo Protocol for more than two decades, the pressure has mounted in the last five years. In 2019, the AU sent a delegation to Antananarivo to advocate to the National Assembly to ratify; however, their effort was to no avail.¹⁰ With the 20th anniversary of the Maputo Protocol on Africa’s doorstep, Madagascar has faced renewed pressure on both domestic and international fronts. The AU officially called on Madagascar to ratify, and domestic civil society organisations led press conferences, petitions, and debates, likewise making the case for ratification.¹¹

With Madagascar’s ratification of the Protocol looking increasingly unlikely, it is critical to rethink the country’s engagement with SRHR, looking beyond Project Safidy and NGO-led national advocacy.

Africa's future is heavily dependent on women's rights. The promotion of women’s rights will help foster a successful Africa…We also recognize members of civil society, who despite all odds, continue to remind us of our obligations to make the Maputo Protocol a living document for the women and girls of Africa.

–H.E. Dr Monique Nsanzabaganwa - Deputy Chairperson of the African Union Commission¹²

Without laws and structures like the Maputo Protocol that expand and protect individuals’ SRHR, women are not fully emancipated and are unable to effectively participate in the development of society. As such, Madagascar stands in the way of its own development. The 20th anniversary of the Maputo Protocol therefore presents a key moment of reflection for Madagascar: development cannot be realised if it fails to include women.

 

References

1. Women, Gender and Development Directorate of the African Union Commission. “African Year of Human Rights with a Focus on the Rights of Women.” Maputo Protocol on Women’s Rights: A Living Document for Women’s Human Rights in Africa. Accessed August 28, 2023. https://au.int/sites/default/files/documents/31520-docmaputo_protocol_on_womens_rights_a_living_document_for_womens_human_rights_in_africa_submitted_by_the_women_gender_and_development_directorate_wgdd_of_the_african_union_commission.pdf.

2. African Union. “Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa,” July 2003.https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/Documents/Issues/Women/WG/ProtocolontheRightsofWomen.pdf 

3. African Union. “The State of African Women.” African Union, June 2018.https://africa.ippf.org/sites/africa/files/2018-09/SOAW-Report-Chapter-3-SRHR-in-the-AU-Framework.pdf.

4. Ibid.

5. African Union. “The State of African Women.” African Union, June 2018.
https://africa.ippf.org/sites/africa/files/2018-09/SOAW-Report-Chapter-3-SRHR-in-the-AU-Framework.pdf.;
World Health Organization. “Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights Infographic Snapshot: Madagascar 2021.” World Health Organization, 2021.https://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/349436/WHO-SRH-21.122-eng.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y.

6. Ravaoarisoa, Lantonirina, Mamy Jean Jacques Razafimahatratra, Mamy Andrianina Rakotondratsara, Naomi Gaspard, Marie Rolland Ratsimbazafy, Jean Florent Rafamantanantsoa, Voahanginirina Ramanantsoa, Marta Schaaf, Anne-Caroline Midy, and Sara E Casey. “Slowing Progress: The US Global Gag Rule Undermines Access to Contraception in Madagascar.” Sexual and Reproductive Health Matters 28, no. 3 (November 13, 2020): 39–53.https://doi.org/10.1080/26410397.2020.1838053.

7. Ibid.

8. Ministère de la Santé Publique . “Plan de Développement Du Secteur Sante 2015 - 2019.” Ministère de la Santé Publique , September 2015.https://extranet.who.int/countryplanningcycles/sites/default/files/planning_cycle_repository/madagascar/pdss_2015.pdf 

9. Ministère de la Santé Publique. “Plan de Développement Du Secteur Sante 2020 - 2024.” Ministère de la Santé Publique , 2020.
https://scorecard.prb.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Plan-de-de%CC%81veloppement-du-secteur-sante%CC%81-
2020-2024.pdf  

10. Ibid.

11. African Union. “African Union Kicks of a Series of Commemorative Activities on the Maputo Protocol on the Rights of Women in Africa. | African Union.” African Union, July 14, 2023.
https://au.int/en/pressreleases/20230714/african-union-kicks-series-commemorative-activities-maputo-protocol-rights.; African Union. “Maputo Protocol on the Rights of Women in Africa: Commemorating 20 Years.” African Union, July 5, 2023.https://au.int/en/newsevents/20230705/maputo-protocol-20-years.

12. African Union. “African Union Kicks of a Series of Commemorative Activities on the Maputo Protocol on the Rights of Women in Africa. | African Union.” African Union, July 14, 2023.https://au.int/en/pressreleases/20230714/african-union-kicks-series-commemorative-activities-maputo-protocol-rights.