UPR Sexual Rights Database

National Report:
Para 61) Existing Congolese law provides that, “irrespective of any property derived from the dissolution of the marriage, the surviving spouse has property and usufruct rights over the main residence, the right to remain in occupation at that residence and, where applicable, the right to a survivor’s pension, annuity or portion of the death benefit”. Surviving spouses may not be declared unworthy to inherit for refusing to participate in customary mourning rituals. Cruelty to or maltreatment of a widow or widower at mourning ceremonies is punishable under the Criminal Code.
Para 62) The principle of spousal equality has been carried over into the draft personal and family code, which is in the process of being adopted. The draft also contains a number of new provisions. For instance, it stipulates that, “if none of the relatives of a deceased person is entitled to inherit, the surviving spouse receives the inheritance in full”. The new code will significantly mitigate the widely condemned effects of widowhood practices and even prohibit them in certain cases. The draft also stipulates, inter alia, that “a woman may not be considered as part of her deceased husband’s estate. Customary practices that require a widow to marry one of her deceased husband’s relatives are thus prohibited.” These practices are punishable under the draft Criminal Code.
Para 63) Customs and traditions that remove or restrict women’s right to occupy or acquire customary land or land in urban or peri-urban areas have been declared null and void.
Para 77) The data included in the Government’s 2015 study on the Sectoral Education Strategy for the period 2015–2025 show that girls and boys enjoy nearly equal access to preschool and primary education. The data show that their rates of retention until the end of primary school are the same: 85.3 per cent of boys and 84.5 per cent of girls complete primary school. However, boys have higher rates of access and participation than girls at the lower secondary level. These gaps become wider as children progress through the education system. A report on the 2014–2015 Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey conducted by the National Statistical Institute with the support of UNICEF backs up these findings.
Para 78) In the age group 12–24, more than 8 in 10 young women (84 per cent) and nearly 9 in 10 young men (89 per cent) are literate. Literacy rates are higher in urban areas (91 per cent of young women and 93 per cent of young men) than in rural areas (62 per cent of young women and 74 per cent of young men). For both young women and young men, higher literacy rates lead to significant increases in household socioeconomic status: the literacy rate is 49 per cent for young women from the poorest households versus 98 per cent for those from the wealthiest and 64 per cent for young men from the poorest households versus 98 per cent for those from the wealthiest.
Para 79) In all, 23 per cent of children in the first year of primary school attended a preschool the previous year, with almost no difference between boys (23 per cent) and girls (24 per cent). The proportion of children who start their schooling at the preschool level is 38 per cent for those from urban areas versus 7 per cent for those from rural areas. Household wealth is a major driver of inequalities in school readiness: the proportion of children currently in the first year of primary school who were in a preschool education programme the previous year stands at 5 per cent for those from the poorest households versus 59 per cent for those from the wealthiest.
Para 80) Primary and secondary school attendance rates offer valuable information on inequalities between children of different genders and social backgrounds. In all, 97 per cent of primary school-age children (6–11 years) attend a primary or secondary school. The primary school attendance rates for boys and girls are almost equal (96 per cent versus 97 per cent). …
Para 81) Two thirds of secondary school-age children (12–18 years) attend a secondary or higher education institution. There is no difference in secondary school attendance between boys and girls. …
Para 82) The primary school survival and completion rates remain high. More than 9 in 10 children who enter the first year of secondary school (96 per cent) reach the final year. A child ‘s sex and place of residence have little bearing on the survival rate.
Para 83) The primary school completion rate in the Congo is 91 per cent. It is slightly higher for girls (92 per cent) than for boys (90 per cent) and is almost the same in urban and rural areas.
Para 85) The gender parity index across both the primary and secondary school levels is 1.00, which shows that, nationally, there is little difference in primary and secondary school attendance between girls and boys.
Para 86) At the primary school level, the gender parity index is greater than or equal to 1.00 in 10 of the country’s 12 departments. The two departments in which it is lower are Lékoumou (0.97) and Bouenza (0.99).
Para 87) The secondary school attendance rate is lower for girls than for boys in several departments, as reflected in a gender parity index of less than 1.00. These departments are Kouilou (0.74), Lékoumou (0.84), Bouenza (0.78), Pool (0.83), Plateaux (0.90), Sangha (0.85) and Likouala (0.91).

UN Compilation:
Para 16) CRC was concerned about the … the multiple gender-based discrimination against girls.
Para 36) [CRC] was concerned about the unequal parental responsibilities of the mother and the father, ingrained in law and in practice.
Para 49) CRC remained concerned that female genital mutilation was still practised among some West African communities living in the Congo.