Gender equality discussions important

IT is important for us to have gender equality discussions as these are still prevalent and ongoing issues in the Caribbean.

This comment came from Tonni Brodber, Acting Head of Office of UN Women, as she spoke during the Official Handover of the Draft Gender Equality Protocols ceremony, which was held at the UN House yesterday evening. Brodber explained that although there has been significant progress in the gender equality discussion in the Caribbean, having a healthy discussion is often dismissed due to the fact that many persons tend to highlight the work that women have done in the public sector or the number of women that graduated from the University of West Indies.

“This leads to a dismissal of gender equality as a development priority, when in fact it is a fundamental element in the ability of small island devel-oping states empowering and benefiting from the fullest capacities of their populations,” she explained.

She went on to announce that Barbados has signed the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) and noted that within a year, they will have reports on the progress towards equality and justice.

Brodber explained that CEDAW General Recommendation 33 says that women should be able to rely on a justice system free from myths and stereotypes, and on judiciary, whose impartiality is not compromised by these biased assumptions. She expressed that Barbados will be able to report to the CEDAW Committee that this protocol was a success as an indication of not only political will, but also tangible steps being taken within the last five years.

Acknowledging that Barbados is the first of its kind to be a part of such an agreement, Brodber congratulated the Judiciary of Barbados and the Caribbean Association of Judicial Officers (CAJO) for having reached this milestone. She believed that equality could not exist without the notion of fairness or justice.

“A well-functioning legal and justice system can provide a vital mechanism for equality,” she said.

Additionally, she added that laws and justice systems shape and are shaped by the society and the conscious and unconscious biases, and highlighted that the courts have been a critical site of accountability for individual women to claim rights. For this reason, Brodber said this is why UN Women has supported and continue to support work on increasing access to justice in the Caribbean for over a decade. (CLF)