Women’s rights have been recognized by national, regional and international human rights instruments. In Africa particularly, both the African Charter and the African Women Protocol provide for the right to health. However, the continent offers the highest rate of women suffering from fistula. This paper aims to answer the question whether the current level of governments’ response to the plight of victims of obstetric fistula, complies with the requirements of international human rights law. It looks at whether the consideration of victims of fistula from a right-based approach will contribute to affordability and free access to treatment for women suffering from the disease / Thesis (LLM (Human Rights and Democratisation in Africa)) -- University of Pretoria, 2008. / A Dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Law University of Pretoria, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree Masters of Law (LLM in Human Rights and Democratisation in Africa). Prepared under the supervision of Prof. Doutor Gilles Cistac, of the faculty of law, Universidade Eduardo Mondlane, Mozambique / http://www.chr.up.ac.za/ / Centre for Human Rights / LLM