Time for Equality

The UN agency for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women has launched a Constitutional Database which, for the first time, examines constitutions through a gender lens. 

“Constitutions are important mechanisms to entrench human rights. They are often an important step in ensuring that States eliminate gender-based discrimination and enact other laws that advance women’s rights. Furthermore, the way a country’s constitution shapes each aspect of State power can facilitate, or limit, opportunities for advancing gender equality”.

The UN Constitutional Database is the first database focusing on constitutional provisions affecting women and covers 195 countries, including all UN member states and observers.

“While consolidating all existing provisions related to gender equality in constitutions worldwide, this database does not seek to endorse or evaluate them. In order to ensure a comprehensive understanding of the provisions in the mapping, UN Women recommends that users refer to the entire text of the constitution(s), as well as related resolutions, laws, rulings, amendments, constitutional decisions and other judicial mechanisms to help ensure a correct interpretation. UN Women also recommends that users may wish to look into how these provisions have been considered, where relevant, by international human rights mechanisms, such as the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, as well as by appropriate regional mechanisms. The database will be updated periodically.”

The database is organized regionally into Africa, Americas, Asia, Europe and Oceania and the constitutional provisions are available in English translation as well as in their original language, with a total of 62 languages.

The aim of this tool is to help activists and experts on gender equality and human rights to examine the principles and rules which guarantee, deny, or protect the rights of women and girls around the world.

More info at: http://constitutions.unwomen.org/