Violation of the right to equality and non-discrimination 74. The Complainants allege that due to patriarchy and adherence to cultural practices, women are often subjected to daily discriminatory practices and human rights violations. The Complainants argue that these and other factors, such as low income, lack of formal education, rural location, early marriage and low status of women, combined with corruption and mismanagement of resources, poor infrastructure and lack of funding for the health sector, exacerbate the poor maternal health situation in Nigeria. 75. According to the Complainants, these factors have underpinned seemingly insurmountable financial barriers that include a system of user fees that prevents poor women from accessing antenatal and intrapartumcare in Nigeria. Women who receive maternity-related health care risk being detained in health facilities if they are unable to pay later. As a result of this prac~ice,women avoid treatment if they cannot afford it, or may expose themselves to danger by leaving the hospital before the end of treatment to avoid hospital charges. 76. They also point to another financial barrier related to the practice of compulsory blood donation by the spouses of pregnant women. According to the Complainants, although Nigeria's blood donation policy requires all donations to be voluntary, human rights reports confirm that pregnant women attempting to access maternal health services in many public or government hospitals, as well as private facilities, are often forced to bring their husbands to donate blood. Although patients can sometimes opt out of this widespread practice of compulsory blood donation by paying a fee, this option is not always known and has a discriminatory impact on the poor. who may prefer to pay - but cannot afford's ~ fee instead of donating blood. 77. Compulsory blood donation by their spouses can have multiple negative consequences, for pregnarit women who cannot or will not force their husbands to donate blood a;e disadvantaged, in particular by the husbands' refusal to allow their wives to access prenatal, intrapartum, and postpartum services and by the women's exposure to domestic violence if they try to force their husbands to donate blood. The requirement to donate blood also disadvantages unmarried pregnant women, including those who become pregnant as a result of sexual violence, or whose husbands become ill, abandon them or die during pregnancy. These women have no choice but to pay the fee in lieu of blood donation, which many of them may not be able to afford. The discriminato . - ct of the fee on tv: """1 ~ . poor and unmarried women results in reduced ace -. ,t~ 4iep,;r, ... ' ve health services, lower quality of care and poorer health ou romes "1;~c:. "....l ~ ~ f~" ~ 78. The Complainants also point to provisions of the '~p 0 Pr-e> ·J{ol rohibit discriminatory practices against women, includi " " 'cfe' o'~ !i aputo Protocol which prohibits discriminatory practices a 'u.ij ~ <J i calls on I"! kak ~"E' E'r DES ~~" {I 14