All Caribbean countries have ratified the CEDAW which provides the basis for realizing equality between women and men through ensuring womens equal access to, and equal opportunities in, political and public life, as well as education, reproductive health, employment, family law, child care, and social security.

CEDAW also promotes the value of shared family responsibilities between women and men and requires social and cultural change with a view to achieving the elimination of prejudices and practices which are based on the idea of the inferiority or the superiority of either of the sexes.

Gender equality is a human right. According to Roberta Clarke, Regional Programme Director of the UNIFEM Caribbean Office, gender equality is essential for women so that they can exercise their full citizenship and to have lives free of violence, full of choice and self-direction. For men, gender equality is equally important as it can free society of restrictive expectations of what it is to be a man, encouraging the value of caring, nurturing and the benefits of equal, respectful partnerships with women.

The photo contest is a celebration of the past thirty years of a commitment to equality and a call to action to continue the movement towards gender equality. Contestants should try to capture expressions of gender equality and non-discrimination in action in the Caribbean, such as images showing boys, girls, men and women challenging restrictive gender stereotypes in the home, community and workplace and living out the values of equality, peace and respect.

Submissions can be made in print or digital format and sent to unifem.car@unifem.org or CEDAW Photo Contest; UNIFEM Caribbean Office, UN House, Marine Gardens, Hastings, Christ Church, Barbados. For more information please contact your local Gender Bureau or the UNIFEM Caribbean Office at 246 467 6127

Click here to download - Information on CEDAW

Click here to download - Competition Information