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Tsotang Tsietsi

Abstract

This article seeks to determine the extent to which the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) and its protocols accord attention to the barriers and opportunities that African women face in intra-African trade. It discusses the considerable role of African women traders, for example, in agriculture, micro, small and medium enterprises, and in informal cross border trade. It questions whether, in support of their contributions in these sectors, gender has been adequately mainstreamed in the AfCFTA legal framework. Through its analysis of the contents of the instruments, it argues that there was little prioritization of women in the agreement and its earlier protocols. This, thus, limited their ability to support African women to meaningfully expand their participation in African trade. This is seen through the silence of the instruments on issues concerning women or the gender neutrality that is adopted in their covered areas. The finding is that the protocol on Women and Youth in Trade has closed the earlier gap by specifically addressing the challenges that are faced by African women in the trading sector and providing opportunities for their enhanced inclusion in continental trade. The conclusion is that, whereas there may be arguable weaknesses in the approach of installing a standalone protocol on women, nevertheless the Women and Youth in Trade protocol remains a positive development. State Parties to the AfCFTA are encouraged to sign and ratify the protocol as a significant step towards the attainment of a more equitable and mutually beneficial continental trading regime.

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

10.55496/RAYF5586

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