International Human Rights Clinic Students' Research Promotes UN Women Database

UN Women’s Constitutional Database Boosts Efforts Towards Women’s Rights

On 6 May, professors and students from the University of Chicago Law School, University of Pennsylvania Law School, Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs, the University of Milan, shared their experiences in utilizing UN Women’s revised Global Gender Equality Constitutional Database (GECD) at a symposium co-hosted by UN Women and the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).

Students unveiled their methodologies, which involved country visits and analyzing various constitutions throughout their research and use of the database. Students also presented recommendations for individual countries in incorporating international law and helping women realize their rights.

"It's a great tool for me moving forward to think about how law and how language effects everyone on a much wider scale. It [the database] shows you not only how you can interpret the language, but also the types of constraints women on the ground face given the language and the types of benefits they receive from the language," said Salwa Shameem a public policy student at the University of Chicago, who has been using the database since last September.

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