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EMPOWERING WOMEN
Patterns across countries for religious law. Low-income countries are more likely than higher-income countries to recognize religious law. Of those that do, more than half do not explicitly limit its ability to discriminate based on gender (figure 2.10). The likelihood that a country recognizes customary law, religious law, or both can be analyzed along three dimensions: income, legal tradition, and rule of law (as determined by the World Governance Indicators, a measure of the strength of courts and the application and enforcement of laws based on many sources). Low-income countries are more likely than middle- income countries to recognize customary and religious law. They are also more likely to do so in their statutes than in their constitutions. This pattern is less a reflection of their income, however, than of differences in legal tradition: common law countries are more likely to recognize customary and religious law in their constitutions, figure 2.11 indicates. All but one common law country recognizes customary or religious law, with half providing constitutional exemption from nondiscrimination. Among civil law countries, less than 15 percent include this exemption. Half the civil law countries recognize customary and religious law in statutes rather than the constitution; only five countries remain silent on both potential sources of law. Countries reveal no clear relationship in treatment of customary and religious laws based on the rule of law.16 Countries in the top third (with the strongest legal institutions) are the most likely to exempt customary law from Figure 2.10 Countries with Statutes Recognizing Religious Law as a Source of Law
Percentage of countries in Sub-Saharan Africa
100
75
50
25
0
Low income
Middle income
Not found Do not recognize religious law Recognize religious law and do not limit its ability to discriminate based on gender Recognize religious law and limit its ability to discriminate based on gender Source: Women–LEED–Africa.