On the gender dimension and the revision and the constitution

April 12, 2021

Lucinda Ahukarié, president of the association of women lawyers, Photo: UNDP 2021

On March 31st, 2021, supported by UNDP Guinea-Bissau, the Female Lawyers' Association of Guinea-Bissau presented a gender-sensitive revised version of the Constitution to members of Parliament and other government officials.

The presentation comes in the aftermath of a seminar on constitutional revision held last year, which sought to include a gender perspective in the discussion. The seminar allowed different groups of women and young people as actors for change, generally excluded to participate in the debates on the review, to express their opinions and build consensus on the elaboration of a gender-sensitive constitutional proposal, and among other things that promote women's political participation.

Lucinda Ahukarié, president of the association of women lawyers, in her speech at the opening of the seminar, said that 52% of the Guinean population are women but play a very limited role.

According to data presented by the UN WOMEN in 2019, Guinea-Bissau is considered one of the lowest rates of women parliamentarians in Africa, although it has made international, regional, and national commitments to a greater number of women in political positions. 

Lucinda Ahukarié affirmed that the constitution of a country provides a structure for its legal system, which shapes, not only the political status of women but also its economic and social status.

This activity is funded by the UN PBF in the context of the Political Stabilization and Reform through Confidence Building and Inclusive Dialogue Project.