CEDAW – the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women – is a powerful international human rights instrument that reflects a global determination to achieve gender equality. Turning aspiration into reality presents many challenges, particularly in relation to the process of adjudicating on women’s rights in both legal and cultural contexts.

This book looks at the range of cultural and legal challenges relating to the implementation of CEDAW, and the individual approaches adopted in various jurisdictions and contexts across the Commonwealth. Commonwealth declarations in support of CEDAW and initiatives from numerous Commonwealth countries are brought together here to support continuing efforts to address these issues.

This practical guide will inform and assist judges, adjudicators, lawyers and activists to advance the implementation of the principles of CEDAW within jurisdictions connected historically by the application of the common law.