[afro-nets] Reproductive Health and Rights: African Perspectives/Nigeria

["Marcy Bloom" <marcybloom@comcast.net>]

Olaide Gbadamosi,
REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH AND RIGHTS:  AFRICAN PERSPECTIVES AND LEGAL ISSUES IN NIGERIA (Benin City, Nigeria: All Nations Press, 2007) 601 pp.
http://www.justiceanddemocracy.org/publications.htm

Reviewed by Kibrom Isaak-Teklehaimanot

This substantial book describes and analyzes issues related to reproductive health and rights (RHR) in Africa, with special emphasis on Nigeria. Given the existence of common factors, such as the legal systems adopted from European countries, in most of African countries, especially in Commonwealth Africa, the book is also relevant in the continent in general. It successfully addressed the issues of RHR in the light of regional and international human rights instruments, national laws and policies, and religions and cultures. 

The book is of intellectual importance and can be used by researchers and academics as a source of valuable information and conceptual analysis. Advocates and practitioners can also benefit from it, as it sets out relevant case laws, national laws, and regional and international instruments. The Book's comparative analysis of some issues would be a great resource for persons interested in RHR in Africa.

Gbadamosi's book breaks the silence by discussing RHR in Africa in a comprehensive way. RHR issues are directly linked to women's rights and autonomy, or gender equality in general. The issues are controversial as they trigger matters rooted in religions, traditions and cultures. Patriarchal societies and governments use laws and policies to maintain the existing gender inequalities in their attempt to preserve religious and cultural values. The book describes the underlying religious and cultural values affecting the full enjoyment of RHR, and the available legal and human rights means of challenging the existing laws and policies.

The book is the first of its kind in providing the legal and human rights framework and guidance specifically focusing on RHR within the context of Africa. The concept of reproductive health as a human right is relatively new and is a work in progress. This is particularly true in Africa where other life-threatening problems overshadow the issue of RHR. Even the prominent human rights intellectuals and advocates are yet to give adequate attention to problems associated with RHR. The book, therefore, filled a vacuum in RHR literature.

The book employs a holistic approach, which in turn would attract a wide-range of audience with various backgrounds, such as human rights advocates, academics, researchers, and law students.  It discusses the concept and theoretical background of RHR under regional and international human rights instruments. Then it addresses the importance of applying these instruments in promoting RHR at national level. It provides advocates and practitioners with guidance and resources to challenge existing laws and policies that violate the full enjoyment of RHR. By setting out a comparative analysis on the experience of various African countries on issues such as harmful traditional practices (Chapter 10), and reproductive rights in various African countries (Chapter 2) the book encourages advocates to learn from others and challenge laws and policies in their respective countries.

The book addresses RHR specifically related to ignored issues and vulnerable groups. It analyses the RHR of refugee women, women living with HIV/AIDS, women and mothers in prison, and children. Human Rights advocates often overlook the specific needs and issues related to these groups. The book also briefly discusses sensitive and ignored issues in Africa, such as domestic violence, female genital mutilation, child marriage, polygamy, wife inheritance, and breast ironing.

The broad scope of the book unfortunately does not allow it to deal with these RHR issues in detail.  For example, in Chapter 7, under the title "Women Rights are Human Rights", 44 pages are allocated to discussing women's rights in general.  It is true that RHR are directly or indirectly related to women's rights, but, given the title of the book, the author could have used the space and resources of that chapter for more detailed discussion of issues directly related to RHR, such as harmful traditional practices.  However, by raising the issues and discussing them briefly, the author brings problems often ignored to the attention of concerned researchers, advocates, law practitioners and judges.  Perhaps this book should be considered a firm foundation for more detailed studies of the specific RHR issues it raises.

On the whole, the book is an excellent reference resource. It compiles relevant texts of regional and international human rights instruments, full citations of case law, and excerpts of national laws. Such a compilation is of particular importance in Africa where access to internet or online resources is very limited.

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Marcy Bloom
mailto:marcybloom@comcast.net