The moral and the political in African democratization: The code de la famille in Niger's troubled transition

Democratization

Volumn 3, Issue 2, 1996, Pages 41-68

  Villalón, Leonardo A ^a  

^a UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS   (United States)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

DEMOCRATISATION; MORALITY;

NIGER;

EID: 0029856794     PISSN: 13510347     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1080/13510349608403466     Document Type: Article

References (56)

1. Dankwart A. Rustow, 'Transitions to Democracy: Toward a Dynamic Model', Comparative Politics, Vol.2, No.3 (1970), p.345.
2. Pearl T. Robinson, 'Democratization: Understanding the Relationship between Regime Change and the Culture of Politics', African Studies Review, Vol.37, No.1 (1994), p.47.
3. For a collection of essays exploring in part the African contribution to this critique, see George W. Shepherd, Jr., and Mark O. C. Anikpo (eds.), Emerging Human Rights: The African Political Economy Context, (New York: Greenwood Press, 1990).
4. For an African discussion of various conceptions of human rights, including the Algiers Declaration, see Issa G. Shivji, The Concept of Human Rights in Africa (Dakar and London: CODESRIA, 1989). The text of the Algiers declaration is included as an appendix in this volume. The cited passages are from articles 2 and 15.
5. For a review, and critique, of the arguments concerning the existence of a distinctly African conception of human rights which should be applied to African societies, see Rhoda E. Howard, 'Group versus Individual Identity in the African Debate on Human Rights', in Abdullahi Ahmed An-Na'im and Francis M. Deng (eds.), Human Rights in Africa: Cross-Cultural Perspectives (Washington, DC: Brookings, 1990), pp.159-83.
6. Joel D. Barkan, 'Can Established Democracies Nurture Democracy Abroad? Lessons from Africa', Paper delivered at the 90th annual meeting of the American Political Science Association, 1-4 Sept. 1994, New York City, p.3.
7. Both the academic literature and activist promoters of democratic change - such as the African democratization bureaux of the US Agency for International Development (USAID) - have devoted an extraordinary degree of attention to such groups, and embrace a still largely unquestioned assumption that these groups have an integral role to play in the construction of a democratic order. The literature on civil society in Africa is already substantial, and rapidly expanding. For some recent discussion of the topic see the special issue of The Journal of Democracy, Vol.5, No.3 (1994), entitled 'Rethinking Civil Society', as well as the collection of essays in John W. Harbeson, Donald Rothchild, and Naomi Chazan (eds.), Civil Society and the State in Africa (Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner, 1994).
8. Both the academic literature and activist promoters of democratic change - such as the African democratization bureaux of the US Agency for International Development (USAID) - have devoted an extraordinary degree of attention to such groups, and embrace a still largely unquestioned assumption that these groups have an integral role to play in the construction of a democratic order. The literature on civil society in Africa is already substantial, and rapidly expanding. For some recent discussion of the topic see the special issue of The Journal of Democracy, Vol.5, No.3 (1994), entitled 'Rethinking Civil Society', as well as the collection of essays in John W. Harbeson, Donald Rothchild, and Naomi Chazan (eds.), Civil Society and the State in Africa (Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner, 1994).
9. Jeune Afrique Economie, No.162, Dec. 1992.
10. Africa Demos, for example, a publication of the African Governance Program of The Carter Center at Emory University, listed Niger under 'democratic' political systems in Africa in its September 1994 survey, but noted that in terms of the phases of transition to democracy the country had yet to complete either the 'legitimization' or the 'consolidation' phases. Africa Demos, Vol.3, No.3 (1994).
11. Niger's political history is among the least studied in Africa. For one of the few books to survey this history see Robert B. Charlick, Niger: Personal Rule and Survival in the Sahel (Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 1991). See also the articles in Niger: Chroniques d'un étal, issue number 38 of Politique Africaine.
12. Niger's political history is among the least studied in Africa. For one of the few books to survey this history see Robert B. Charlick, Niger: Personal Rule and Survival in the Sahel (Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 1991). See also the articles in Niger: Chroniques d'un étal, issue number 38 of Politique Africaine.
13. A 1993 USAID-sponsored survey of 10,000 households produced a child mortality rate of 318 per 1000 (31.8 per cent). Interview with USAID official, Niamey, April 1993. The World Bank's World Development Report 1993 gives a figure of 303/1000 for females and 337/1000 for males.
14. The World Factbook 1989 gives a figure of 8 per cent.
15. The World Development Report 1993 lists a figure of $300.
16. See Richard L. Sklar, 'Democracy in Africa', in Patrick Chabal (ed.), Political Domination in Africa: Reflections on the Limits of Power (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1986), pp. 17-29.
17. While the government officially recognized the death of three students, it was widely believed in Niamey that the true figure was over 20.
18. For some discussions of this form of democratization, see Pearl T. Robinson, 'The National Conference Phenomenon in Francophone Africa', Comparative Studies in Society and History, Vol.36, No.3 (1994), pp.575-610; John R. Heilbrunn, 'Social Origins of National Conferences in Benin and Togo', in Journal of Modern African Studies, Vol.31, No.2 (1993), pp.277-99; Jacques Muriel Nzouankeu, 'The Role of the National Conference in the Transition to Democracy in Africa: The Cases of Benin and Mali', in Issue: A Journal of Opinion, Vol.21, No.1-2 (1993), pp.44-50; and Fabien Eboussi-Boulaga, Les conférences nationales en Afrique noire: Une affaire à suivre (Paris: Karthala, 1993). See also 'Benin: A Victory for Democracy', in Africa Report (May-June 1991). Robinson's paper is particularly interesting for its attention to the parallels to the French historical example.
19. For some discussions of this form of democratization, see Pearl T. Robinson, 'The National Conference Phenomenon in Francophone Africa', Comparative Studies in Society and History, Vol.36, No.3 (1994), pp.575-610; John R. Heilbrunn, 'Social Origins of National Conferences in Benin and Togo', in Journal of Modern African Studies, Vol.31, No.2 (1993), pp.277-99; Jacques Muriel Nzouankeu, 'The Role of the National Conference in the Transition to Democracy in Africa: The Cases of Benin and Mali', in Issue: A Journal of Opinion, Vol.21, No.1-2 (1993), pp.44-50; and Fabien Eboussi-Boulaga, Les conférences nationales en Afrique noire: Une affaire à suivre (Paris: Karthala, 1993). See also 'Benin: A Victory for Democracy', in Africa Report (May-June 1991). Robinson's paper is particularly interesting for its attention to the parallels to the French historical example.
20. For some discussions of this form of democratization, see Pearl T. Robinson, 'The National Conference Phenomenon in Francophone Africa', Comparative Studies in Society and History, Vol.36, No.3 (1994), pp.575-610; John R. Heilbrunn, 'Social Origins of National Conferences in Benin and Togo', in Journal of Modern African Studies, Vol.31, No.2 (1993), pp.277-99; Jacques Muriel Nzouankeu, 'The Role of the National Conference in the Transition to Democracy in Africa: The Cases of Benin and Mali', in Issue: A Journal of Opinion, Vol.21, No.1-2 (1993), pp.44-50; and Fabien Eboussi-Boulaga, Les conférences nationales en Afrique noire: Une affaire à suivre (Paris: Karthala, 1993). See also 'Benin: A Victory for Democracy', in Africa Report (May-June 1991). Robinson's paper is particularly interesting for its attention to the parallels to the French historical example.
21. For some discussions of this form of democratization, see Pearl T. Robinson, 'The National Conference Phenomenon in Francophone Africa', Comparative Studies in Society and History, Vol.36, No.3 (1994), pp.575-610; John R. Heilbrunn, 'Social Origins of National Conferences in Benin and Togo', in Journal of Modern African Studies, Vol.31, No.2 (1993), pp.277-99; Jacques Muriel Nzouankeu, 'The Role of the National Conference in the Transition to Democracy in Africa: The Cases of Benin and Mali', in Issue: A Journal of Opinion, Vol.21, No.1-2 (1993), pp.44-50; and Fabien Eboussi-Boulaga, Les conférences nationales en Afrique noire: Une affaire à suivre (Paris: Karthala, 1993). See also 'Benin: A Victory for Democracy', in Africa Report (May-June 1991). Robinson's paper is particularly interesting for its attention to the parallels to the French historical example.
22. For some discussions of this form of democratization, see Pearl T. Robinson, 'The National Conference Phenomenon in Francophone Africa', Comparative Studies in Society and History, Vol.36, No.3 (1994), pp.575-610; John R. Heilbrunn, 'Social Origins of National Conferences in Benin and Togo', in Journal of Modern African Studies, Vol.31, No.2 (1993), pp.277-99; Jacques Muriel Nzouankeu, 'The Role of the National Conference in the Transition to Democracy in Africa: The Cases of Benin and Mali', in Issue: A Journal of Opinion, Vol.21, No.1-2 (1993), pp.44-50; and Fabien Eboussi-Boulaga, Les conférences nationales en Afrique noire: Une affaire à suivre (Paris: Karthala, 1993). See also 'Benin: A Victory for Democracy', in Africa Report (May-June 1991). Robinson's paper is particularly interesting for its attention to the parallels to the French historical example.
23. 'Autocrat's Fears Realized in Niger', in Africa Report, Nov.-Dec. 1991, p.11.
24. 'US Embassy Economic Trends Report for Niger', photocopied text dated May 1993.
25. The validity of these charges was treated as common knowledge among the politically active class in Niger. They were also discussed in an article in Jeune Afrique Economie, No. 166 (April 1993). In an interview granted near the end of his mandate, Amadou Cheiffou took a very defensive tone in answering these accusations, recognizing failures but attempting to assign blame elsewhere. Jeune Afrique Economie, No. 162 (Dec. 1992).
26. The validity of these charges was treated as common knowledge among the politically active class in Niger. They were also discussed in an article in Jeune Afrique Economie, No. 166 (April 1993). In an interview granted near the end of his mandate, Amadou Cheiffou took a very defensive tone in answering these accusations, recognizing failures but attempting to assign blame elsewhere. Jeune Afrique Economie, No. 162 (Dec. 1992).
27. This sketch of the legal history of the family code is based primarily on an interview with the Secretary General of the Association of Nigerien Women Jurists (Association des femmes juristes du Niger, AFJN), who served as member of the commission set up to write the family code, and who is also director of the Office of Special Legislative Affairs and International Relations of the Ministry of Justice. Niamey, 14 June 1993. The major elements of this history were corroborated in interviews with other actors and observers of the dispute.
28. Mali has to date continued to rely on a system similar to Niger's, based on 'custom or tradition'. Significant in terms of the relative success of Mali's own 1991 transition to democracy is the fact that issues like the code were very carefully avoided. In Senegal, another Sahelian country with similar characteristics, the passage of a family code in 1964 resulted in a prolonged struggle between the country's political and religious elites. Although the political elite eventually prevailed, the marabouts' 'revenge' has been to ensure that it is virtually never applied.
29. AFJN delegate, in the interview cited above, 14 June 1993.
30. This account follows that recounted to me by the AFJN representatives, which I found no reason to doubt. The AIN delegate, in an interview, did not deny that this provision had been accepted, but simply insisted that it was wrong. Since, as explained below, the 1989 draft was modified after the national conference, the story is likely to remain a point of contention.
31. Interviews' with the president of the Comité des textes fondamentaux, Niamey 25 June 1993, as well as with AFJN Secretary General cited above. Both of these insisted adamantly that the Muslim members of the committee knew very well that there had been no changes, and that they were simply acting 'in bad faith' in making these claims.
32. Interview, former Minister of Justice, Niamey, 23 June 1993.
33. Interview, former president of comité des textes fondamentaux, Niamey, 25 June 1993.
34. For a description of how Kountché's regime attempted to use the AIN to further its goals see Abdoulaye Niandou Souley, 'Les "licenciés du Caire" et l'Etat au Niger', in René Otayek (ed.). Le Radicalisme islamique au sud du Sahara: Da'wa, arabisation et critique de l'Occident (Paris: Karthala, 1993).
35. The four new Muslim associations accorded legal status during the transition are: the Association pour la renaissance de la culture islamique (ARCI), which is closely associated with the Niassène branch of the Tijaniyya Sufi order, two reputed to be of pro-Iranian sentiment: the Association nigérienne pour l'appel à la solidarité islamique (ANASI), and the Association nigérienne pour l'appel à l'unité et à la solidarité islamique (ANAUSI); and, perhaps the most important, the Association pour la diffusion de l'islam au Niger (Adini-Islam), linked to a group of Northern Nigerian origin which calls itself 'Izala' and espouses a 'fundamentalist' Wahhabist version of Islam critical of many local practices associated with Sufism. For a discussion of this group see Ousmane Kane, 'Izala: The Rise of Muslim Reformism in Northern Nigeria', in Martin E. Marty and R. Scott Appleby (eds.), Accounting for Fundamentalisms: The Dynamic Character of Movements, Vol.4: The Fundamentalism Project (Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press, 1991),pp.490-512.
36. Jeune Afrique, No. 1749, 14-20 July 1994. My translation.
37. The letter to the president as well as the text of the joint declaration were signed by all five Muslim groups and published in the Nigérien press. The citations below are taken from the newspaper Le Sahel, 31 May 1993.
38. This final citation is from an article supporting the Muslim groups, signed by Issa Alzouma and published in Le Sahel Dimanche, 28 May 1993.
39. Interview, Niamey, 22 June 1993. The position described here is drawn primarily from this interview.
40. It is worth noting the gist of the defence presented by this individual, and which is commonly made by Muslims, concerning the inequality of inheritance between sons and daughters. In the Qur'anic prescription, while sons inherit twice the amount of their sisters, they are also constrained in how they may dispose of the money. Most significantly, they are obliged first and foremost to ensure the well-being of various categories of female relatives. A daughter's inheritance, by contrast, is her own to do with as she will.
41. In June 1994, for example, 'thousands' of Nigérien Muslim women gathered to denounce the family code at the grand mosque of Niamey at the invitation of the 'sections féminines' of the various Islamic associations, and issued a press release rejecting the code in its entirety. The text of the release was published in Le Sahel, 6 June 1994.
42. This is the formulation of the AFJN representative in the interview cited above.
43. The AFN was founded in 1975, the year after Kountché arrived in power, in conjunction with the UN declaration of the 'international year of the woman'. Information on the AFN and its position on the code is drawn from an interview with the Secretary General of the organization, Niamey, 21 June 1993.
44. Interview, ANDDH human rights activist, 23 June 1993.
45. The ANDDH was founded in April 1991, just a few months before the beginning of the national conference. Information on this organization and its position on the family code is drawn from two interviews with the Secretary General of the organization, a lawyer who served as Minister of Justice in the first months of the transitional government, Niamey, 23 and 26 June 1993.
46. These points are clearly revealed in two photocopied documents, 'Déclaration de l'ANDDH à l'occasion du 44ème anniversaire de la déclaration universelle des droits de l'homme', (Declaration of the ANDDH on the occasion of the 44th anniversary of the universal declaration of human rights), 10 Dec. 1992, and 'Déclaration de l'ANDDH à la conférence nationale' (The ANDDH declaration to the national conference), 29 July 1991.
47. Photocopy, governmental decree authorizing the creation of RIDD-Fitila, dated 3 March 1993. This was provided to me by the president of RIDD-Fitila (former president of the 'committee on fundamental documents'), and other information on the organization is based on the interview with him cited above, 25 June 1993.
48. This was sometimes quite basic. USAID, for example, paid for the construction of the 2400 plywood boxes which served as ballot boxes for the elections at a cost of $70,000.
49. See 'State Department Finds Widespread Abuse of World's Women', in The New York Times, 3 Feb. 1994.
50. United States Embassy, Niamey, 'Final Country Report on Human Rights Practices: Niger', photocopied document dated 19 Jan. 1993.
51. For a concise statement of this organization, see Findings. No.20 (July 1994), a publication of the Africa Regional Studies Program of the World Bank. As part of a programme on 'legal reform issues for women in Africa', the Africa Gender Team has produced three papers: 'Law as an Institutional Barrier to the Economic Empowerment of Women', 'Gender, the Evolution of Legal Institutions and Economic Development in Sub-Saharan Africa', and 'Women-in-Development: the Legal Issues in Africa Today'.
52. Interview, official in US AID democratization projects office, Niamey, 22 June 1993. Much of the information on US activities in Niger is drawn from this interview.
53. Cited in Jeune Afrique, No.1749, 14-20 July 1994. My translation.
54. Interview, Niamey, 21 June 1993.
55. Robinson, 'Democratization: Understanding the Relationship', p.62.
56. See Samuel P. Huntington, The Third Wave: Democratization in the Late Twentieth Century (Norman, OK and London: University of Oklahoma Press, 1991).