African women have raised concerns over the persistent challenges hampering the full implementation of gender equality within the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), despite notable policy progress across the region.

At a regional meeting convened by the Rosa Luxemburg Foundation West Africa, participants from Cape Verde, Ghana, Benin Republic, The Gambia, Sierra Leone, Togo, and Côte d’Ivoire called for stronger accountability, adequate funding, and the domestication of ECOWAS gender policies to achieve meaningful change.

In her keynote address, ‘ECOWAS Legal and Policy Instruments on Women and Gender Equality: Progress and Challenges’, Deputy Team Lead, SPRiNG, Priscilla Ankut, identified major obstacles including weak implementation, inadequate data, resource constraints, limited operationalisation of the 2005 Gender Policy, cultural barriers, and restricted access to justice.

She explained that although the 2015 ECOWAS Supplementary Act on Equality of Rights between Women and Men is legally binding, many member states have failed to incorporate it into national legislation. Nigeria, for instance, has yet to domesticate the Act, and several gender equality bills have faced legislative resistance.

Ankut emphasised that entrenched patriarchal norms, economic inequalities, and a lack of gender-disaggregated data continue to hinder progress, while weak institutional capacity and limited funding restrict effective implementation.

“Despite ECOWAS’s normative progress, many women still face structural barriers to justice, including high costs, lack of awareness of their rights, and weak enforcement of laws protecting women,” she said.

To accelerate progress, Ankut called for updating ECOWAS gender policies to reflect current realities, integrating gender-responsive justice reforms, and establishing a regional accountability framework.

She urged member states to domesticate ECOWAS gender instruments, strengthen gender desks in justice institutions, provide legal aid for women, and ensure adequate funding for gender equality initiatives.

“Economic autonomy enhances women’s ability to seek justice and challenge discrimination. Civil society, traditional leaders, and youth networks must also play active roles in monitoring and advocacy,” she added.

Programme Officer of Rosa Luxemburg Foundation West Africa, Angela Odah, said the conference aimed to examine the realities of women, children, and domestic workers in the sub-region.

“Domestic workers are often denied their rights. We must go beyond laws and ensure that perpetrators of crimes against women are brought to justice swiftly,” she stated.

From Ghana, Bashiratu Kamal of the Ghana Centre for Social Justice, emphasised regional cooperation, saying women in West Africa must work together to develop common standards that protect citizens across borders and regions.”

Representing Cape Verde, Angela Coutinho of the Amílcar Cabral Foundation lamented low wages and poor working conditions for women, especially in the informal sector.

“Many families led by women struggle to survive on low wages in an import-dependent economy. When women live better, society as a whole thrives,” she said.

The participants reiterated a shared commitment to transform ECOWAS’s progressive legal frameworks into tangible change that ensures justice, equality, and empowerment for every woman and girl in West Africa.