Abstract:
Adolescent girls with intellectual disabilities are highly susceptible to
involuntary sterilisation in Nigeria. Existing Nigerian laws contain no
provisions expressly prohibiting involuntary sterilisation and the provisions
that could be indirectly applied are inadequate. Accordingly, this article
seeks to draw lessons from the provisions of the Convention on the Rights
of Persons with Disabilities that are pertinent to protecting adolescent girls
with intellectual disabilities from involuntary sterilisation in Nigeria. In
doing this, it examines four provisions of the CRPD, namely, the rights to
respect for home and the family (article 23); health (article 25); equality
and non-discrimination (article 5); and equal recognition before the law
(article 12). The right to retain fertility in article 23 can unequivocally be
construed as prohibiting involuntary sterilisation of persons with
disabilities. In Nigeria, the recognition of people's right to consent to
medical procedures, including sterilisation, determines whether or not they
are allowed to consent to such procedures. Accordingly, a lack of informed
consent results in third parties making decisions about sterilisation
without consulting those about whom the decisions are made. Also,
involuntary sterilisation is an issue of inequality and discrimination and,
thus, the right to equality and non-discrimination is very important in
protecting adolescent girls with intellectual disabilities from involuntary sterilisation. The article contends that the CRPD provides an avenue for
challenging the discrimination and inequality that sterilisation presents for
adolescent girls with intellectual disabilities in Nigeria, and makes
recommendations based on the provisions of the CRPD.
