Africans support women's autonomy and equal opportunity, but many say institutions must do more to protect women and girls

Africans support women’s autonomy in marriage and reproductive decisions and endorse equal rights for women in the workplace, but many say police and courts should do more to protect women and girls from discrimination and harassment, the latest Afrobarometer (www.Afrobarometer.org) Pan-Africa Profile (https://apo-opa.co/4g0pE5z) reveals.

Based on 50,961 interviews conducted across 38 African countries in 2024/2025, survey findings show that strong majorities support women’s right to decide whether and when to marry and to make choices about the timing and number of children to have. Support is somewhat less robust when it comes to women’s economic empowerment: Many citizens continue to report barriers that limit women’s participation and advancement in the workforce, as well as unequal financial decision-making power within households.

The findings also point to persistent concerns about women’s safety and dignity. More than one-quarter of respondents say girls and women frequently face harassment, discrimination, or requests for sexual favours in schools and public spaces. While most citizens believe that women and girls who report such experiences are likely to be believed, more than three-fourths say the police and courts must do more to protect women and girls from discrimination and harassment.

Access to health care remains a challenge for many women. Two-thirds say that they or a family member went without needed medicines or medical treatment at least once during the previous year, with rural women affected more often than their urban counterparts.

Key findings

Women’s autonomy:

• On average across 38 African countries, large majorities support women’s autonomy in marriage decisions (75%) and reproductive choices (62%)[1] (Figure 1).
  • But women are less likely than men to say they make household financial decisions themselves (36% vs. 44%).

Economic barriers:

• A majority (57%) of Africans endorse women’s equal rights to jobs, though more than one-third (38%) say that men should have priority for scarce jobs (Figure 2).
  • Nearly one-quarter (23%) of respondents say that women are “often” or “always” prevented from taking employment by their husbands or families.

Discrimination and sexual harassment:

• More than one in four citizens (27%) say schoolgirls “often” or “always” face discrimination, harassment, and requests for sexual favours from teachers (Figure 3).
• About the same proportion (28%) say that women “often” or “always” experience sexual harassment in public spaces, such as in markets, on the street, and in public transport.

Justice-system responsiveness:

• About two-thirds (65%) of citizens say women and girls are likely to be believed if they complain about discrimination or harassment.
• However, more than three-fourths (78%) say the police and courts should do more to protect women and girls from such treatment (Figure 4).

Health-care access:

• Two-thirds (66%) of women say that they or a family member went without medicines or medical treatment at least once during the preceding year (Figure 5).

Afrobarometer surveys

Afrobarometer is a pan-African, nonpartisan survey research network that provides reliable data on African experiences and evaluations of democracy, governance, and quality of life. Ten survey rounds in up to 45 countries have been completed since 1999. Round 10 surveys (2024/2025) cover 38 countries.

Afrobarometer’s National Partners conduct face-to-face interviews with nationally representative samples of adults in the language of the respondent’s choice that yield country-level results with margins of error of +/-2 to +/-3 percentage points at a 95% confidence level.