The Big Issues of African Development Governance and Stability Peace and War Capacity Building Environment Women's Issues Population Agriculture Economics Women's Issues Millions of women in developing countries live in poverty. With women making up 70 percent of the world's 1.3 billion poor, the feminization of poverty is at its peak. Maternal mortality rates averaged 606 per 100,000 live births over the period 1980-1992, as compared with 7 for the U.S. and 351 for all developing countries.
Women are particularly vulnerable victims of the continent's internal conflicts.
Levels of domestic violence against women are very high, and even less well reported than in many other parts of the world. South Africa is the only African country that has enacted legislation outlawing domestic violence and marital rape. Yet there are significant advances which should be recognized. Women's groups focused on legal reform, violence against women, conflict-resolution, economic empowerment and other issues are growing around the continent. Over the decades since 1960, the gap in primary school enrollment rates narrowed as enrollment grew much more rapidly for girls than for boys.