Commonwealth senior judges and officials meet in Nairobi to discuss the need to repeal discriminatory laws and entrench gender equality and equal protection of the law.
Written by The Commonwealth Secretariat
Senior judges and officials have urged leaders to work with judiciary and the civil society to remove discriminatory gender laws and introduce equal rights in the legal system.
They gathered in Nairobi, Kenya for a panel discussion hosted on the margins of the 12th Commonwealth Women’s Affairs Ministers Meeting.
Speaking at the event, Justice Martha Koome, Kenya’s Court of Appeal, said: “Gender equality is the fundamental right. It is not just a principle of law but it is also a principle of development, be it social, economic or political.”
Ahead of the event, the Commonwealth presented a strategy, Equality in Law for Women and Girls by 2030: A Multi-Stakeholder Strategy for Accelerated Action, to senior officials for women’s affairs.
The strategy will fast-track full legal protection for 50 million women and girls in 100 countries from 2019 to 2023 in all aspects of constitutional, civil, criminal, labour and administrative laws.