CHAPTER THREE: DEMOCRACY AND POLITICAL GOVERNANCE __________________________________________________________________________  Perform its function of controlling the accounts of government and other public institutions under its authority fully and transparently, and ensure that deadlines are respected.  Prioritise its activities by aligning them with those of the government and combining its efforts with those of the National Assembly, while taking into account its limited means and capacities. Objective 7: Promote and protect women’s rights i. Summary of the CSAR 268. The CSAR briefly mentions measures that were taken to promote and protect women’s rights and the participation of women in building society. These include the Individual and Family Code, the law on sexual harassment, the law on discrimination against women, and the inclusion of gender issues in several development programmes and projects. Benin also ratified the Additional Protocol on the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights relative to Women’s Rights in Africa on 6 March 2005. The CSAR also mentions the opinions expressed during focus group meetings, held as part of the preliminary study, and the results of the sample survey carried out for drafting the CSAR. 269. With regard to the obstacles hindering the promotion of women and the protection of their rights, the CSAR mentions illiteracy, which constitutes a serious handicap for the social affirmation of women; socio-cultural impediments linked to tradition; the weak representation of women on national decision-making bodies; and mutual solidarity. There are also the issues of the inadequate internalisation of conventional laws contained in national statutes and their dissemination because of the poor resources allocated; a lack of follow-up; the disintegration of structures and departments entrusted with the promotion and protection of women’s rights; a lack of knowledge about laws; failure to apply sanctions when laws about the promotion and protection of women’s rights are not observed; flexibility in the conditions for granting loans; and the lack of subsidies for girls enrolled in private establishments. 270. The report quotes recommendations made by people interviewed in the survey. They proposed remedies for these obstacles or weaknesses, including the restructuring of organisations responsible for promoting and protecting women’s rights in order to ensure that activities intended to achieve these ends are coordinated better; the ratification of the Convention on the Political Rights of Women; the mobilisation of women on women’s issues; the sanctioning of those who violate laws on the promotion and protection of women’s rights; subsidies for girls enrolled in private establishments; and easing the conditions for granting loans to women. 109