Introduction

AuthorMeena Shivdas - Sarah Coleman
ProfessionGender Section, Commonwealth Secretariat - Justice Section, Commonwealth Secretariat
Pages3-4
3
Part I: Background
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1. Introduction
Meena Shivdas, Gender Section, and Sarah Coleman,
Justice Section, Commonwealth Secretariat
The Commonwealth, with its broadly shared legal heritage – reflected in a political,
geographical and culturally diverse landscape – presents both opportunities and chal-
lenges for the advancement of women’s rights in judicial and quasi-judicial realms.
CEDAW – the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against
Women – is a powerful international human rights instrument that reflects a global
determination to achieve gender equality through advancing women’s rights. To date,
all Commonwealth member states in Africa, Europe and the Caribbean, along with 82
per cent of member states in the Pacific, have ratified CEDAW.1
In almost all Commonwealth constitutions that make provision for the protection and
promotion of fundamental human rights and freedoms, the following elements are
generally to be found:
The right to life, liberty, security of the person, equality before the law and the
protection of the law,
Freedom of conscience, expression, assembly and association,
The right to privacy in personal and family life, and
In nearly all cases, the right to property.
All these rights and freedoms are guaranteed regardless of race, place of origin,
political opinion, colour, creed or sex, but subject to respect for the rights and freedoms
of others and for the public interest. However, turning aspiration into reality presents
many challenges, particularly in relation to the process of adjudicating on women’s
rights in both legal and cultural contexts. The need for addressing cultural and gender
stereotyping in the course of judicial and quasi-judicial processes to enable a fair
determination of women’s rights is widely recognised.
The Commonwealth Secretariat, through the mandate received under the Plan of Action
for Gender Equality 2005–2015, has embarked on a programme to address the fair
determination of women’s rights in the context of gender, culture and the law. In order
to reconcile customary norms and religious perspectives with more formal judicial
processes, national laws and CEDAW, the Secretariat engages in dialogues and
1. Dr Purna Sen (ed.) (2008) Human Rights in the Commonwealth: A Status Report. London:
Commonwealth Secretariat.

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