UN Women launch Legal Equality Handbook with case studies from CWP network
The Commonwealth Women Parliamentarians (CWP) have contributed case studies to a new UN Women Handbook aimed at legal equality
The Understanding, Assessing and Achieving Equality Before the Law in the Commonwealth Handbook is a toolbox to designed to aid Commonwealth Parliamentarians, Legislatures, judges, policy makers, policy influencers, academics and advocates working in governmental, intergovernmental and non-governmental spaces at advancing de jure equality (equality in the laws) in the Commonwealth.
It offers critical actors engaged in efforts to combat discriminatory law guidance in assessing and undertaking gender responsive legislative reforms. For Parliamentarians, the Handbook provides resources for preparing for debates on Bills which promote gender equality and offers six key lessons and recommendations for successful law reform.
Members of the Commonwealth Women Parliamentarians (CWP) network contributed to this piece of research through the provision of case studies and examples of legislation from their Parliaments that promote gender equality and contributes to efforts to eliminate discriminatory law.
Case studies included in the Handbook highlight legislation and best practice from CPA Branches such as Malawi, Rwanda, Tanzania, United Kingdom, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, the Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea to name a few.
The Handbook was produced by UN Women in collaboration with the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association, the Commonwealth Secretariat, the World Bank Group and also complements the Inter Parliamentary Union (IPU) work in this area.
This research is an outcome of the joint partnership between the CPA and UN Women signed in 2023 to achieve common objectives in the field of gender equality and the eradication of discrimination in laws and society.
Download the Handbook
To find out more about the Commonwealth Women Parliamentarians (CWP) network please click here.
-ENDS-
The Commonwealth Women Parliamentarians (CWP) was founded in 1989 to increase the number of female elected representatives in 180 Parliaments and Legislatures across the Commonwealth and to ensure that women’s issues are brought to the fore in parliamentary debate and legislation. The network campaigns for gender equality in all spheres. For media enquiries, please contact communications@cpahq.org.
