Beyond reproductive rights: implementing the Africentric reproductive justice framework in sexual and reproductive health and rights litigations in Africa.
Mulumba M, Oga J, Muhumuza N • Sexual and reproductive health matters • 2025
Achieving genuine reproductive justice in Africa necessitates moving beyond the 'right to choice' and requires an Africentric Reproductive Justice framework rooted in decolonial principles that addresses structural barriers, historical injustices, intersectionality, race, class, gender, and socioeconomic status.
Key Findings
Results
African courts are increasingly balancing competing rights and interests in culturally sensitive ways, reflecting an evolving understanding of reproductive justice in African contexts.
The finding is based on in-depth analysis of eight purposively selected SRHR court cases from African countries and the United States
Cases were selected to examine how recent judicial decisions reflect a growing integration of reproductive rights with broader social justice issues
The study used a qualitative research design combining literature review with case analysis
Courts were found to be moving beyond purely individualistic 'choice'-based reasoning toward culturally contextual adjudication
Background
The conventional rights-based framework emphasizing individual 'choice' is inadequate for addressing reproductive justice in African contexts.
The conventional framework fails to account for intersectionality, race, class, gender, and socioeconomic status in SRHR issues in Africa
The 'right to choice' paradigm does not address enduring structural barriers and historical injustices perpetuated by colonial legacies
The authors argue this framework is insufficiently context-specific for African judicial and social environments
The paper calls for a paradigm shift away from this conventional approach
Methods
The proposed Africentric Reproductive Justice (ARJ) framework integrates reproductive justice theory with principles of decoloniality and Africentrism.
The ARJ framework emphasizes amplifying positive African narratives
It advocates for leveraging African-based judicial institutions rather than relying on externally imposed frameworks
The framework involves civil society organisations and empowers African individuals to engage with judicial systems for reproductive justice
It is described as a 'holistic, context-specific approach towards achieving equitable SRHR for all individuals on the continent'
Conclusions
Achieving genuine reproductive justice in Africa requires deconstructing structural barriers and addressing historical injustices perpetuated by colonial legacies.
The paper identifies colonial legacies as a root cause of persistent inequities in SRHR on the continent
Structural barriers are characterized as 'enduring' and distinct from the individual-level barriers addressed by choice-based frameworks
The ARJ framework is explicitly 'rooted in decolonial principles' as a response to these historical injustices
The analysis draws on both African case law and U.S. cases to illustrate how reproductive justice intersects with structural and racial inequities
Results
The ARJ framework addresses intersectionality by incorporating race, class, gender, and socioeconomic status as central analytical dimensions of SRHR issues in Africa.
Intersectionality is identified as a core conceptual component missing from conventional rights-based approaches
The framework treats these dimensions not as secondary considerations but as fundamental to understanding reproductive justice
This approach is designed to be applicable across diverse African contexts
The inclusion of U.S. cases in the analysis was intended to draw comparisons regarding how intersectionality has been addressed judicially in reproductive rights litigation
What This Means
This research examines how courts in Africa handle cases related to sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR), and argues that the standard legal approach — which focuses on protecting an individual's 'right to choose' — is not sufficient for achieving true reproductive justice on the continent. The researchers analyzed eight court cases from African countries and the United States, finding that African courts are increasingly making decisions that take cultural context and competing social interests into account, rather than focusing solely on individual rights. This suggests a gradual shift in how reproductive justice is understood and applied in African legal systems.
The paper proposes a new framework called the Africentric Reproductive Justice (ARJ) framework, which is grounded in theories of reproductive justice, decolonization, and Africentrism. This framework emphasizes the importance of centering African perspectives and institutions, involving community organizations, and empowering individuals to navigate legal systems. Critically, it recognizes that factors like race, class, gender, and economic status all intersect and shape people's access to reproductive health and rights — and that colonial history has created deep structural inequalities that still affect people today.
This research suggests that legal and policy approaches to reproductive health in Africa need to go beyond simply protecting individual choices. Real reproductive justice, according to the authors, requires dismantling long-standing structural barriers and confronting the ongoing effects of colonialism. The ARJ framework is presented as a more comprehensive, Africa-specific tool for advocates, lawyers, and policymakers working to ensure that all people on the continent can access equitable sexual and reproductive health care and rights.
Mulumba M, Oga J, Muhumuza N. (2025). Beyond reproductive rights: implementing the Africentric reproductive justice framework in sexual and reproductive health and rights litigations in Africa.. Sexual and reproductive health matters. https://doi.org/10.1080/26410397.2025.2570579