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Guinea
Flag of Guinea
Population (in Mil.)	10.3
Sex Ratio (m/f)	1,00
Life Expectancy Ratio (f/m)	1.07
Fertility Rate	5.45
Income Ratio (f/m)	0.68
Literacy Ratio (f/m)	0,42
Tertiary Enrolment Ratio (f/m)	0,19
Women in Parliament (in %)	19,3
SIGI Rank	88
More information on variables
Did you know that Guinea ranks number 88 of 102 countries on the OECD Social Institutions and Gender Index? To learn more, see the official country note "Gender Equality and Social Institutions in Guinea" at genderindex.org:

Social Institutions

The Constitution of Guinea upholds equality between men and women as a fundamental right, but many forms of discrimination remain evident. Guinean women are forced into polygamous marriages and do not have equal rights under divorce laws. Female genital mutilation (FGM) remains widely practised. Discrimination is most prevalent in rural areas, where women do not have access to land and have difficulty accessing farming equipment and other resources. In "social relations between the sexes", there appears to be a significant discrepancy in favour of men.

Guinea’s Civil Code is being amended to remove a significant number of discriminatory measures regarding parental authority, divorce, child custody and the choice of a place of residence. Revisions of the Civil Code are discussed below, but certain discriminatory measures are liable to be removed in the future.

Family Code

The Family Code remains largely unfavourable to women in Guinea. The minimum legal age for marriage is 17 years for women and 18 years for men, but the president of Guinea can grant special dispensation for earlier marriage. The incidence of early marriage is extremely high in Guinea, in part due to the continued custom of sororate marriage: after the death of his wife, a man marries her younger sister to safeguard the alliance between the families. A 2004 United Nations report estimated that 46% of girls between 15 and 19 years of age were married, divorced or widowed.

Polygamy is prohibited by law in Guinea, but the authorities recognise that the practice affects more than half the women in the country.

Husbands head Guinean households, have full parental authority and benefit from all the related legal rights. In the event of divorce, women are awarded custody of children under seven years of age.

Under the country’s Civil Code, widows only receive one-eighth of the total inheritance, the bulk of the estate being distributed to the couple’s children and first-degree descendants. Women (thus both widows and daughters) are not entitled to inherit property.

Physical Integrity

The physical integrity of Guinean women is not sufficiently protected. Violence against women is common, but the extent to which it occurs is difficult to assess. Domestic violence is an offence under the Penal Code and constitutes grounds for divorce according to civil law, but the police rarely intervene. Rape is also punishable under the law, but a strong social stigma discourages women from pressing charges. The law does not recognise the concept of spousal rape, and thus makes no special provisions for its punishment.

Female genital mutilation (FGM) is illegal according to the Penal Code. Yet Guinea’s Committee for the Prevention of Harmful Traditional Practices against Women and Children states that the practice remains extremely common: various reports suggest that between half and “nearly all” Guinean women are subjected to FGM. Despite the law, there is no evidence that a perpetrator of FGM has ever been convicted of the crime. The high incidence of FGM is likely an underlying factor in the high rate of infant and maternal mortality observed in Guinea. Some evidence suggests that the practice of FGM is on the decline.

Guinea does not appear to be a country of concern in relation to missing women.

Civil Liberties

The civil liberties of Guinean women are not fully guaranteed. Freedom of movement within the national territory is a constitutional right, but married women are not entitled to choose their place of residence: this is the husband’s right as head of the household. There are no reported restrictions on women’s freedom of dress.

Ownership Rights

Guinean legislation on ownership rights is quite favourable to women. However, tradition prohibits women from having access to land even though the land law grants equal rights women and men. Women are entitled to hold land only on a usufruct basis, which authorises them to work family-owned land and draw a wage.

The Guinean Constitution guarantees men and women equal access to property other than land and, at the time of marriage, spouses can establish a contract specifying the division of ownership. The law also guarantees equal rights and responsibilities for men and women in the area of economic activity, but some marriage contracts restrict women’s ability to exercise their rights.

Access to bank loans is difficult for Guinean women, particularly in rural areas; this is mainly because they are unable to meet the conditions set by commercial banks. As a result, traditional tontines remain the main source of ready cash for women.

Sources

AFROL Gender Profile, Guinea , http://www.afrol.com/Categories/Women/profiles/guinea_women.htm
CEDAW (2000), Examen des rapports présentés par les Etats parties en vertu de l’article 18 de la Convention sur l’élimination de toutes les formes de discrimination à l’égard des femmes, rapports initiaux des Etats parties, Guinée, CEDAW/C/GIN/1, comoté pour l’élimination de toutes les formes de discrimination à l’égard des femmes
CEDAW (2005), Consideration of reports submitted by states parties under article 18 of the convention on the elimination of all forms of discrimination against women –Combined fourth, fifth and sixth periodic reports of States parties :Guinea. CEDAW/C/GIN/4-6, Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women
Diallo, I. (2006), Enquête Démographique et de Santé - Guinée 2005, Direction Nationale de la Statistique, Ministère du Plan, Conakrry, Guinée and ORC Macro, Calverton (MD), USA.
FAO, IFAT, ILC (2004), Rural Women’s access to Land and Property in Selected countries, pregress towards achieving the aims of the convention on the elimination of all forms of discrimination against women, Report Gender and Population Division (FAO) ,Technical Advisory Division (IFAD, and International Land Coalition (ILC)
UN (2003), Integration of the Human Rights of Women and the Gender Perspective, Violence against Women ». Report of the Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences, Ms. Radhila Coomaraswamy, submitted in accordance with commision on Human Rights resolution
UN (2004), World Fertility Report, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division. New York : UN
UN (2006), In-depth study on all forms of violence against women, report of the Secretary-General, UN General Assembly, 61st session A/61/122/Add.1
US. DEPARTMENT OF STATE (2006), Country Reports on Human Rights Practices, Guinea, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor
US. DEPARTMENT OF STATE (2007), International Religious Freedom Report,Cameroon, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor

The Women, Business and the Law

Where are laws equal for men and women?

The Women, Business and the Law report presents indicators based on laws and regulations affecting women's prospects as entrepreneurs and employees. Several of these indicators draw on the Gender Law Library, a collection of over 2,000 legal provisions impacting women's economic status. This report does not seek to judge or rank countries, but to provide information to inform discussions about women’s economic rights. Covering 128 economies, Women, Business and the Law provides data covering 6 areas: accessing institutions,using property, getting a job, dealing with taxes, building credit, and going to court.Read more about the methodology.

For detailed information on Guinea, please visit the Women, Business and
the Law Guinea page.