Log in
Edit
Discuss
| Niger | |
 Flag of Niger | |
| Population (in Mil.) | 12,5 |
 Sex Ratio (m/f)
| 1,05 |
 Life Expectancy Ratio (f/m)
| 1,00 |
 Fertility Rate
| 7.8 |
 Income Ratio (f/m)
| 0,57 |
 Literacy Ratio (f/m)
| 0,35 |
 Tertiary Enrolment Ratio (f/m)
| 0,36 |
 Women in Parliament (in %)
| 12,4 |
| SIGI Rank | 67 |
| Source: GID Data Base (2008) More information on variables | |
| Did you know that Niger ranks number 67 of 102 countries on the OECD Social Institutions and Gender Index? To learn more, see the official country note "Gender Equality and Social Institutions in Niger" at genderindex.org: | |
Niger’s living standards are among the lowest in the world and women live under particularly harsh conditions. Traditions exert a heavy influence and Nigeran women have little legal protection. Even though laws are poorly respected in neighbouring countries, they typically provide some protection for women in urban areas. In Niger, the lack of social institutions leaves all women highly vulnerable.
Contents |
Family Code
The Nigeran family code is very unfavourable to women. The Civil Code sets the minimum legal age for marriage at 15 years for women. It also stipulates that both parties must give their free consent, and that both civil marriages and customary marriages must be legally registered. The incidence of early marriage is extremely high in Niger: a 2004 United Nations report estimated that 62% of girls between 15 and 19 years of age were married, divorced or widowed. Furthermore, the law is poorly respected: most marriages are conducted according to custom, proceed without the spouses’ consent and are never registered. In rural areas, families sometimes enter into an agreement whereby a young girl (aged between 10 and 12 years) joins her husband’s family under the guardianship of her mother-in-law.
Polygamy is authorised by Islam, the religion practised by 80% of the Nigeran population, and is also tolerated by other traditional religions. More than one-third of married women in Niger are in polygamous unions.
Article 16 of the Nigeran Constitution grants equal rights for spouses in all areas of family life, including parental authority. Men are considered the heads of families, however, and their wives are expected to obey them. Even after divorce or the death of their spouse, women can never obtain the legal status of head of the household. Husbands can repudiate their wives and thus exonerate themselves from their marital and parental responsibilities.
In the event of divorce or repudiation, it is customary for wives to have custody of boys until they reach puberty and girls until they marry. In many cases, fathers keep all their children from the age of seven (and sometimes younger).
In Niger, women have the same legal inheritance rights as men, but many inequalities persist. Islamic Sharia law stipulates that a woman’s inheritance is half that of a man’s. In several regions, custom prohibits daughters from inheriting land. Among certain ethnic groups, when a husband dies childless, his wife is entitled to one-quarter of his property while his family receives the bulk of the estate. The shares are inverted when a wife dies.
Physical Integrity
The physical integrity of Nigeran women is not sufficiently protected. Violence against women is common, particularly within couples. Women can report violence to customary or official courts, but seldom do. Many women are unaware of the laws in place; others fear being stigmatised by society or repudiated by their husbands. Families intervene in the most severe cases.
Even though the Constitution prohibits slavery, women in Niger are often subjected to violence through its modern forms. In fact, slavery persists within most ethnic groups in various guises such as the trafficking of women into Nigeria or pseudo-marriages to conceal the purchase of a slave and acquire unpaid labour. Men can also be taken as slaves in Niger, but female slavery is much more common.
Female genital mutilation (FGM) is practised by only a few ethnic groups in Niger, and a relatively low percentage of Nigeran women have been subjected to it. FGM is extremely rare among the Muslim population. The government is taking steps to eradicate the practice: in 2003, it passed a law establishing prison sentences and fines for those who perform the procedure. This legislation may have helped to curb FGM in recent years – or may have had the effect that fewer women report it. Statistics suggest that FGM is declining. More than half of Nigeran mothers say they have no intention of subjecting their daughters to the practice and the percentage of women subjected to FGM appears to decreases as levels of education for women increase.
Statistics suggest that Niger is a country of significant concern in relation to missing women.
Civil Liberties
In general, Nigeran women’s civil liberties appear to be respected, but there are exceptions. Women’s freedom of movement is restricted in the east of the country, which is home to the Hausa and Peul ethnic groups. Women in these communities are never allowed to leave their homes without being escorted by a man, particularly in the evening. Elsewhere in the country, it is customary for women to have freedom of movement.
There are no reported restrictions on women’s freedom of dress in any region of Niger.
Ownership Rights
The Nigeran government has introduced new legislation to provide women with greater financial independence, but some discriminatory practices prevail. According to the new Rural Code, women are free to buy, own and sell land, but in practice they rarely have access to land. Even if women farm land, the right of ownership is reserved for the head of the family, i.e. a man.
In towns, women can obtain access to property other than land. The Commercial Code permits women to have an independent activity (such as a commercial or craft business) without their husbands’ consent. They can also enter into contracts and acquire goods. However, many women are unable to exercise their rights because of traditional customs, poverty and the difficulties they encounter in obtaining loans. Most women in Niger do not have access to bank loans, primarily because they are unfamiliar with borrowing procedures or are unable to provide guarantees. It is more common for women to participate in tontines to cover certain expenses; thousands of such associations in Niger have obtained loans from development agencies. These numerous women’s groups have enabled many Nigerans to access micro-credit schemes, even in rural areas.
Sources
- AFROL, Gender profile: Niger, www.afrol.com.
- AFROL, Niger: early marriage under scrutiny, www.afrol.com.
- Attama, Sabine, Michka Seroussi, Alichina Idrissa Kourguéni, Harouna Koché et Bernard Barrèm. 1998. Enquête
- Démographique et de Santé, Niger 1998. Calverton, Maryland, U.S.A. : Care InternationalfNiger et Macro International Inc.
- CEDAW (2005), Consideration of reports submitted by States parties under article 18 of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, initial and second reports of States parties, Niger, CEDAW/C/NER/1-2.
- Institut National de la Statistique (INS) et Macro International Inc. 2007. Enquête Démographique et de Santé et à Indicateurs Multiples du Niger 2006. Calverton, Maryland, USA : INS et Macro International Inc.
- Tertilt M. (2005), Polygyny, Fertility and Savings, Journal of Political Economy, vol. 113, no. 6.
