3rd October 2025
Equality Now
By: Mumbi Mugo, Program Officer and Elizabeth Alukudo, Associate Program Officer
On the 2025 International Safe Abortion Day, commemorated on 28 September, we join women, girls, and human rights defenders across Africa and the globe in reaffirming a simple truth: safe abortion is life-saving healthcare.
As we reflect on progress made, and the road still ahead, we are reminded of the transformative potential of the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa, more widely known as the Maputo Protocol. Adopted by the African Union in 2003, the Protocol remains one of the most progressive and comprehensive legal instruments for the promotion and protection of women’s rights globally, particularly in the realm of sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR).