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Women's rights by country

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This article provides index of women's rights by country in various domains.








Women's emancipation

[edit]
Emancipation of women by country
Women's right in: Forced marriage prohibited?
(see: Forced marriage) 		Unmarried women emancipated? Married women emancipated? Men and women equalized in marriage? Notes and sources
Afghanistan No No No No [1]
Albania Since 1928 Yes Yes Yes [2]
Algeria Since 1984 Yes (since 2005) Yes (since 2005) No [3]
Angola Yes Yes Since 1996 Since 1996 [2]
Argentina Yes Since 1870 Since 1926/1968 Since 1987 [2][4][5]
Armenia Yes Yes Yes Yes [2]
Australia Yes Yes Yes Yes [2]
Austria Yes Yes Since 1975/6 Since 1978 [2][6]
Azerbaijan Yes Yes Yes Yes [2]
Bahrain Yes No: getting married No: leaving their home
Yes: Getting passport, leaving the country 		No [7][3]
Bangladesh Yes Yes Yes No [2][8]
Belarus Yes Yes Yes Yes [2]
Benin Since 2004 Yes Since 2002 Since 2005 [9][2]
Bhutan Yes Yes Yes Yes [2]
Bolivia Yes Yes Since 1972 Yes [2][4]
Bosnia and Herzegovina Yes Yes Yes Yes [2]
Botswana Yes Yes Since 2005 SInce 2005 [2]
Brazil Yes Yes Since 1962 Since 1988 [2][10]
Brunei Yes No No No [11]
Bulgaria Yes Yes Yes Since 1945 [2]
Burkina Faso Since 1990 Yes Since 1990 Since 1990 [12][2]
Burundi Yes Yes Since 1993 No [2][13]
Cambodia Yes Yes Yes Yes [2]
Cameroon Since 2007 Yes No: getting a job No [2][14]
Canada Yes Yes Yes Yes [2]
Central African Republic Yes Yes Yes No [2][13]
Chad Yes Yes No: getting a job No [2][13][14]
Chile Yes Yes Since 1979 No Article 1749 of the Chile Civil Code stripulates man is the head of the household[2][13][4][15]
China Since 1950 Yes Yes Since 1950 New Marriage Law[16]
Colombia Yes Yes Since 1932 Yes [2][4]
Costa Rica Yes Yes Yes Yes [17]
Democratic Republic of the Congo Since 2006 Yes Since 2017 No [2][13]
Republic of the Congo Yes Yes Yes No [2]
Croatia Yes Yes Yes Yes [2]
Cuba Yes Yes Since 1917 Yes [2][4]
Cyprus Yes Yes Yes Yes [2]
Czech Republic Yes Yes Yes Yes [2]
Denmark Yes Since 1857 Since 1899 Since 1925 [2]
Cyprus Yes Yes Yes Yes [2]
Djibouti Yes Yes No No [2][13]
Dominican Republic Yes Yes Since 1978 Yes [2][13]
Ecuador Yes Yes Since 1949 Yes [17][4]
Egypt No No No: Leaving their home, getting a job
Yes: Getting passport and travelling abroad (since 2000) 		No [2][13][18][3][14]
El Salvador Yes Yes Since 1902 Since 1994 [17][2][4]
Eritrea Yes Yes Since 1992 Since 1992 [17][2]
Estonia Yes Yes Yes Yes [2]
Eswatini Yes Yes No: working a job No [2][14]
Ethiopia Since 2004 Yes Since 2000 Since 2000 [2]
Finland Yes Since 1864 Yes Since 1929 [2]
France Since 1804 Since 1893 Yes: Legal majority: Since 1938, right to work without husband permission: 1965 Since 1970 [19][20][21]
Gabon Yes Since 2021 Since 2021 [22]
Gambia Since 2016 [23]
Georgia Yes Yes Yes Yes [2]
Germany Yes Yes 1977: Right to work without husband's permission Since 1979 [17][24]
Ghana Since 1999 Yes Yes Since 1999 [2]
Greece Yes Yes Since 1983 Since 1983 [2]
Guatemala Yes Yes Since 1963 Yes [17]
Guinea Yes Yes Since 2019 Since 2019 [2]
Guinea-Bissau Yes Yes No: getting a job No [2][13][14]
Guyana Yes Yes Yes Yes [2]
Haiti Yes Yes Yes Since 1983 [2]
Honduras Yes Yes Since 1906 Yes [17][4]
Hungary Yes Yes Yes Yes [2]
Iceland Yes Since 1861 Since 1899 Since 1923 [2]
India Yes Yes Yes Yes [17]
Indonesia Yes Yes Since 1963 No [2][8]
Iran Yes Yes No: Leaving home, getting passport requires husband permission No [2][3]
Iraq Since 1959 Since 1959 No: leaving their home
Yes: Getting passport (since 2014) 		No [25][2][13][3]
Ireland Yes Yes Yes Yes [17]
Israel Yes Yes Yes Yes [2]
Italy Yes Since 1865 Since 1975 Since 1975 [2]
Ivory Coast Since 1965 Yes Since 2013 Yes [26][2]
Japan Since 1889 Yes Yes Since 1947 [27]
Jordan Yes No: getting married No: leaving their home, getting a job
Yes: getting a passport (since 2013) 		No [2][13][3][14][28]
Kazakhstan Yes Yes Yes Yes [2]
Kenya Since 2001 Yes Yes Yes [17][29]
Kuwait Yes No: getting married No: leaving their home
Yes: getting passport (since 2009) 		No [30][3]
Kyrgyzstan Yes Yes Yes Yes [2]
Laos Yes Yes Yes Yes [2]
Latvia Yes Yes Yes Yes [2]
Lebanon Yes No: leaving their home
Yes: getting a passport, leaving the country (since 1974) 		No [3]
Lesotho Yes Yes Since 2006 Since 2006 [2][31]
Liberia Yes Yes Since 1973 Since 1973 [2]
Libya Yes No No No [2][8][32]
Lithuania Yes Yes Yes Yes [2]
Luxembourg Yes Yes Since 1972 Yes [2]
Madagascar Yes Yes Since 2008 No [2][8]
Malawi Since 2010 Yes Yes Yes [2]
Malaysia Yes No: getting married No No [13][33]
Mali Since 1962 No No No [34][2]
Malta Yes Yes Yes Since 1994 [2]
Mauritania No No: getting married No: getting a job No Consent required for marriage of adult women, but "silence equates consent" for underage girls[35][14]
Mexico Yes Yes Since 1917 Since 1928 [17][4]
Moldova Yes Yes Yes Yes [2]
Mongolia Yes Yes Yes Yes [2]
Montenegro Yes Since 1888 Yes Yes [2]
Morocco Since 2004 Since 2004 Since 2004 No [36][37][3]
Mozambique Yes Yes Since 2004 Since 2004 [2]
Myanmar Yes Yes Yes Yes [2]
Namibia Yes Yes Since 1996 Yes [2]
  Nepal Since 1963 Since 2002 Since 2007 Since 2007 [2]
Netherlands Yes Since 1795 Since 1956 Since 1984 [2][38]
New Zealand Yes Yes Since 1903 Since 1926 [2]
Nicaragua Yes Yes Since 1904 Yes [2][4]
Niger Yes Yes No: getting a job No [2][14]
Nigeria (Southern states) Yes Yes Yes Yes [2]
Nigeria (Sharia states) No No No No [39]
North Korea Since 1947 Yes Yes Yes [40]
North Macedonia Yes Yes Yes Yes [2]
Norway Yes Since 1863 Since 1890 Since 1927 [2]
Oman Yes No No (leaving their home)
Yes: Getting a passport (since 2010) 		No [41][3]
Pakistan Since 2007 Yes Yes No [2][8]
Panama Yes Yes Yes Yes [17]
Papua New Guinea Yes Yes Since 1987/92 Yes [2]
Paraguay Yes Yes Since 1987 Yes [2]
Peru Yes Yes Since 1984 Since 1984 [2]
Philippines Yes Yes Yes Yes [2]
Poland Yes Yes Yes Yes [2]
Portugal Yes Since 1867 Since 1969 Since 1978 [2][42]
Qatar Yes No: leaving the country, getting married No: leaving their home
Yes: getting a passport (since 2007) 		No [43][3]
Romania Yes Yes Since 1932 Yes [2][44]
Russia Since 1724 Yes Yes Since 1918 [2]
Rwanda Yes Yes Since 1988 Since 1988 [2]
Saudi Arabia Since 2005 No: marriage
Yes: getting a passport (since 2019) 		No: Must obey husband
Yes: getting a passport (since 2019) 		No [45][3]
Senegal Yes Yes Yes No [8][2][14]
Serbia Yes Yes Yes Yes [2]
Sierra Leone Since 2007 [9]
Singapore Yes Yes Yes Yes [2]
Slovakia Yes Yes Yes Yes [2]
Slovenia Yes Yes Yes Yes [2]
Somalia No No No No [46]
Somaliland No No No No [46]
South Africa Yes Yes Yes Since 2000 [2]
South Korea Yes Yes Yes Since 2005 [2]
South Sudan No No No No [46]
Spain Yes Since 1978 Since 1981 Since 1981 [2]
Sudan No No No No [47][14][46]
Suriname Yes Yes Since 1981 Since 1981 [2]
Sweden Since 1734 Since 1863 – 1882 Since 1920 Since 1920 [48][49]
 Switzerland Yes Since 1884 Since 1984 Since 1988 [2]
Syria Yes Partially: Marriage No No [14][8][50]
Taiwan Yes Yes Since 1998 Since 2000 [2]
Tajikistan Yes Yes Yes Yes [2]
Thailand Since 1868 [51]
Timor-Leste Yes Yes Since 2012 Since 2012 [2]
Tonga Since 1956 No: Land ownership No: Land ownership [52]
Togo Since 2007 Yes Since 2014 Yes [2]
Tunisia Since 1956 Yes Yes, can work (since 2000), leave home (since 1993) and get passport without husband permission No [53][2][3]
Turkey Since 1917 Yes Yes Since 2001 [54]
Uganda Yes (civil marriage); No (Muslims) Yes (civil marriage); No (Muslims) Yes (civil marriage); No (Muslims) No [2][46]
Ukraine Yes Yes Yes Yes [2]
United Arab Emirates Yes No: getting married
Yes: getting passport 		No: leaving their home
Yes: getting passport (since 2017) 		No [55][3]
United Kingdom Yes Yes Yes Since 1949 [2]
United States Yes Yes Yes Yes [2]
Uruguay Yes Yes Since 1946 Yes [2][4]
Uzbekistan Since 1926 [56]
Venezuela Yes Yes Since 1942 Yes [2][4]
Vietnam Since 1960 Yes Yes Yes [57][2]
Yemen No No No No Consent required for marriage of previously married women, but "silence equates consent" for never-married women[58][3]
Zambia Since 2011 Yes Yes Yes [2]
Zimbabwe Yes Yes Since 1982 Since 2022 [2]

Canada

[edit]
Women's right in: Married women emancipated? Men and women equalized in marriage? Notes and sources
Alberta 1922 1920: equal guardianship rights [59][60]
British Columbia 1873 1917 [60]
Manitoba 1900 1922 [60][59]
New Brunswick 1895 ? [60]
Newfoundland and Labrador 1876 ? [60]
Nova Scotia 1884 1941 [60]
Ontario 1884 1927 [59][60]
Prince Edward Island 1903 ? [59]
Quebec 1964 1981 [59][61]
Saskatchewan 1907 1926 [60][59]

Australia

[edit]
Women's right in: Married women emancipated? Men and women equalized in marriage? Notes and sources
New South Wales 1879 ? [62]
Queensland 1890 ? [62]
South Australia 1884 ? [62]
Tasmania 1883 ? [62]
Victoria 1884 ? [62]
Western Australia 1892 ? [62]

United States

[edit]
Women's right in:[63][64][65] Married women emancipated? Men and women equalized in marriage? Notes and sources
Separate earnings Separate property Work without husband permission
Alabama 1877 1867 ? 1981 [66]
Alaska ? ? ? ?
Arizona 1873 1871 1871 ?
Arkansas 1873 1871 1868 ?
California 1872 1872 1872 ?
Colorado 1861/1874 1861/1874 1874 ?
Connecticut 1877 1877 1877 ?
Delaware 1873 1873/5 ? ?
Florida 1892 1943 ? ?
Georgia 1861 1873 ? 1983 [67]
Hawaii ? ? ? ?
Idaho 1915/1887 1903 1887 ?
Illinois 1861/9 1861 1874 ?
Indiana 1879 1879 ? ?
Iowa 1870/3 1873 1873 ?
Kansas 1858/68 1858/68 1868 ?
Kentucky 1873 1894 1873 ?
Louisiana 1928 1916 1894 1980
Maine 1857 1844/55 1844 ?
Maryland 1842/60 1860 1860 ?
Massachusetts 1846/74 1855/72 1874 ?
Michigan 1911 1855 ? ?
Minnesota 1869 1869 1874 ?
Mississippi 1871/3 1871/80 1871 ?
Missouri 1875/9 1875/9 ? ?
Montana 1874/87 1872/87 1874 ?
Nebraska 1871/81 1871/81 1881 ?
Nevada 1873 1873 1873 ?
New Hampshire 1867 1860/7 1876 ?
New Jersey 1874 1852 1874 ?
New Mexico ? 1884 ? ?
New York 1860 1848 1860 ?
North Carolina 1873/1913 1868 1874 ?
North Dakota 1877 1877 1877 ?
Ohio 1861 1861 ? ?
Oklahoma ? 1883 ? 1984 [68]
Oregon 1872/80 1878 1880 ?
Pennsylvania 1872 1848 ? ?
Rhode Island 1872/4 1872/48 ? ?
South Carolina 1887 1868/70 1970 ?
South Dakota 1877 1877 1877
Tennessee 1919 1870/1919 ? ?
Texas 1913/68 1913/68 ? 1968 [69]
Utah 1895/7 1872/95 1895 ?
Vermont 1888 1881 1881 ?
Virginia 1888 1877/8 ? ?
Washington 1881/9 1881/9 1889 ?
West Virginia 1893 1868 1893 ?
Wisconsin 1872 1850 ? 1921 [70]
Wyoming 1869/76 1869/76 1876 ?

Women's voting rights

[edit]
Main article: Timeline of women's suffrage

Women's reproductive rights

[edit]
Main article: Emergency contraceptive availability by country
Main article: Legal status of human sterilization by country

Women's body integrity rights

[edit]
Main article: Female genital mutilation laws by country

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ AFGHANISTAN OVERVIEW OF MUSLIM FAMILY LAWS & PRACTICES
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al am an ao ap aq ar as at au av aw ax ay az ba bb bc bd be bf bg bh bi bj bk bl bm bn bo bp bq br bs bt bu bv bw bx by bz ca cb cc cd ce cf cg ch ci cj ck cl cm cn co cp cq cr cs ct cu cv cw cx cy cz da db dc dd de df dg dh di dj dk dl dm dn do A woman can be head of household in the same way as a man
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Trapped How Male Guardianship Policies Restrict Women’s Travel and Mobility in the Middle East and North Africa
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Deere, Carmen Diana; León, Magdalena (2001). Empowering Women: Land and Property Rights in Latin America. Pittsburgh, PA: University of Pittsburgh Press. ISBN 9780822972327.
  5. ^ Sex and the State: Abortion, Divorce, and the Family Under Latin. American Dictatorships and Democracies, by Mala Htun, pp 102
  6. ^ Contemporary Western European Feminism, by Gisela Kaplan, p. 133
  7. ^ BAHRAIN OVERVIEW OF MUSLIM FAMILY LAWS & PRACTICES
  8. ^ a b c d e f g https://genderdata.worldbank.org/en/indicator/sg-iht-asst-eq Male and female surviving spouses have equal rights to inherit assets (1=yes; 0=no)]
  9. ^ a b Freedom House (19 December 2012). Puddington, Arch; et al. (eds.). Freedom in the World 2012 - The Annual Survey of Political Rights and Civil Liberties (PDF). Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc. ISBN 978-1-4422-1794-2. Retrieved 18 July 2025.
  10. ^ Ferreira-Pinto, Cristina (2004). Gender, Discourse, and Desire in Twentieth-Century Brazilian Women's Literature. Purdue University. p. x. ISBN 9781557533524.
  11. ^ Bruni Overview of Family Law
  12. ^ "UNHCR Web Archive". webarchive.archive.unhcr.org.
  13. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Married women are required by law to obey their husbands, 2023
  14. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Women can take the same jobs as men
  15. ^ Chile – The Civil Code, 3 November 2021
  16. ^ Refugees, United Nations High Commissioner for. "Refworld | Human Rights Briefs: Women in China". Refworld.
  17. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Legal frameworks addressing gender equality within marriage and family
  18. ^ EGYPT OVERVIEW OF MUSLIM FAMILY LAWS & PRACTICES
  19. ^ Richard J Evans (1979). Kvinnorörelsens historia i Europa, USA, Australien och Nya Zeeland 1840–1920 (The Feminists: Women's Emancipation Movements in Europe, America and Australasia, 1840–1920) Helsingborg: LiberFörlag Stockholm. ISBN 91-38-04920-1 (Swedish)
  20. ^ McMillan, James F. (2000). France and Women, 1789–1914: Gender, Society and Politics.
  21. ^ "Virtual Special Issue: Women in France" (PDF). Modern & Contemporary France. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-03-04.
  22. ^ Gabon revises legislation to protect women and increase their economic role, 2 March 2022
  23. ^ Gambia: UN Hails Gambia's Ban On Child, Forced Marriages, 13 July 2016
  24. ^ Stefanello, Viola (17 January 2019). "Germany celebrates 100 years of women's suffrage". euronews. Retrieved 16 March 2019.
  25. ^ "THEORIZING FEMINIST STRUGGLE IN POST-WAR IRAQ" (PDF).
  26. ^ "The Unreached Peoples Prayer Profiles". kcm.co.kr.
  27. ^ Hendry, Marriage in Changing Japan, pp. 21-2
  28. ^ JORDAN OVERVIEW OF MUSLIM FAMILY LAWS & PRACTICES
  29. ^ Kenya: Update to KEN23118.E of 21 February 1996 on incidence of forced marriage among Muslims and availability of state protection
  30. ^ KUWAIT OVERVIEW OF MUSLIM FAMILY LAWS & PRACTICES
  31. ^ Legal Capacity of Married Person Act, 2006
  32. ^ LIBYA OVERVIEW OF MUSLIM FAMILY LAWS & PRACTICES
  33. ^ MALAYSIA: OVERVIEW OF MUSLIM FAMILY LAWS & PRACTICES
  34. ^ Soares, Benjamin F. (2009). "The Attempt to Reform Family Law in Mali". Die Welt des Islams. 49 (3/4): 398–428. doi:10.1163/004325309X12499944891284. JSTOR 27798322.
  35. ^ MAURITANIA OVERVIEW OF MUSLIM FAMILY LAWS & PRACTICES
  36. ^ "Interview with Moroccan Islamist Nadia Yassine: 'Our Religion Is Friendly to Women'". Der Spiegel. 3 July 2007 – via www.spiegel.de.
  37. ^ The Moudawana: Morocco’s Nearly 20-Year Old Family Code
  38. ^ "2015 Review Report of the Netherlands Government in the context of the twentieth anniversary of the Fourth World Conference on Women and the adoption of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action" (PDF). Ministry of Education, Culture and Science. 2014.
  39. ^ NIGERIA OVERVIEW OF MUSLIM FAMILY LAWS & PRACTICES
  40. ^ "outlawed+forced+marriages"&pg=PA87&printsec=frontcover North Korea Markets and Military Rule
  41. ^ OMAN OVERVIEW OF MUSLIM FAMILY LAWS & PRACTICES
  42. ^ "Portugal – Women". Countrystudies.us. Retrieved 2013-10-07.
  43. ^ QATAR OVERVIEW OF MUSLIM FAMILY LAWS & PRACTICES
  44. ^ Sdrobiș, Dragoș (2014). "From the absences of history toward the unequal of the equal. Women in the higher education of Romania 1919-1939" (PDF). Historia Universitatis Iassiensis (5). Funded in the frame of SCOPES (Scientific Cooperation with Eastern Europe) program of the Swiss National Science Foundation: 88. Retrieved 22 July 2025.
  45. ^ SAUDI ARABIA OVERVIEW OF MUSLIM FAMILY LAWS & PRACTICES
  46. ^ a b c d e Comparative Review of Muslim Family Laws in the Greater Horn of Africa Region
  47. ^ SUDAN OVERVIEW OF MUSLIM FAMILY LAWS & PRACTICES
  48. ^ "Family Influences on Fertility in Europe, 1850-1920".
  49. ^ Lilla Focus Uppslagsbok (Little Focus Encyclopedia) Focus Uppslagsböcker AB (1979) (in Swedish)
  50. ^ SYRIA OVERVIEW OF MUSLIM FAMILY LAWS & PRACTICES
  51. ^ Apinop Atipiboonsin: The History of Thai Family Laws, page 7
  52. ^ ‘We can’t even buy our own land’: the Tongan women pushing for change
  53. ^ Grassroots efforts in Tunisia to advance women's rights, 2017
  54. ^ "The Impact of CEDAW on Women's Marital Rights: An Overview of Recent International Legislative Developments".
  55. ^ UNITED ARAB EMIRATES OVERVIEW OF MUSLIM FAMILY LAWS & PRACTICES
  56. ^ Ubiria, Grigol (16 September 2015). Soviet Nation-Building in Central Asia: The Making of the Kazakh and Uzbek Nations. Routledge. ISBN 9781317504351 – via Google Books.
  57. ^ Mai, T., and T. Le. Women in Vietnam. N.p.: Hanoi: Foreign Languages House, n.d. Print.
  58. ^ YEMEN OVERVIEW OF MUSLIM FAMILY LAWS & PRACTICES
  59. ^ a b c d e f Time Line of Women’s Rights
  60. ^ a b c d e f g h Chronology of Some Legal Landmarks in the History of Canadian Women
  61. ^ Secrétariat à la condition féminine of the Ministère de la Culture (2009). Equal in Every Way! Gender Equality in Québec (PDF) (Report). Gouvernement du Québec.
  62. ^ a b c d e f A History of Married Women’s Real Property Rights
  63. ^ Passage of the Married Women's Property Acts and Earnings Acts in the United States: 1850 to 1920
  64. ^ Married Women's Property Laws and Female Commercial Activity: Evidence from United States Patent Records, 1790-1895
  65. ^ Interjurisdictional Competition and the Married Women’s Property Acts
  66. ^ The Legal Status of Women in Alabama, II: A Crazy Quilt Restitched
  67. ^ Harris v. Harris
  68. ^ Senate OKs Bill to Erase Man as Head of Household in Oklahoma
  69. ^ Texas Community Property Law: Conservative Attitudes, Reluctant Change
  70. ^ The Wait case and equal rights for women