PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
05 June, 2020
St Kitts and Nevis General Elections – 2 Women Candidates
Basseterre, St Kitts and Nevis – 5 June, 2020 (SKN): Caribbean Women in Leadership (CIWiL) congratulate, Ms. Akilah Byron-Nesbitt and Ms. Marcella Liburd the female candidates contesting today’s (5 June, 2020) General Elections in the Federation of St Kitts and Nevis.
Since its independence, the Federation has held regular elections and adhered to basic democratic principles. However, the country reports one of the lowest rates of women in active politics in the region. This is evidenced by a 2018 UN Women report on ‘Women in Political Leadership in the Caribbean, which stated that women make up only 13% of serving parliamentarians and 20% of government ministers in the Federation. Globally, St Kitts and Nevis is ranked 144th (of 193 countries) on the “Women in Politics: 2019” map, created by the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) and UN Women. In this context CIWiL calls on political parties and decision makers to introduce policies and strategies that remove the barriers faced by women who wish to enter politics. This trend continues with 2 of the 23 candidates being women, which represents less than 10% of all aspirants for the upcoming elections.
CIWiL joins the women of St Kitts and Nevis in calling for women’s equal participation in political and public life. We recognise that to achieve more just and equitable governance, women must be fully involved in the decision-making processes that impact their lives. This is even more critical given the economic, social development and environmental sustainability challenges which threaten the region.
The equitable inclusion of women from diverse backgrounds in politics and decision making is an important factor to achieving gender equality. This promotes democratic governance in political and public life in keeping with our region’s international commitments (Beijing Platform for Action under 12 critical areas of concern and the UN Sustainable Development Goal 5 indicator 5.5). This perspective also supports key international Instruments to which St. Kitts and Nevis is a signatory, including, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) – Article 7, which states ‘…countries shall ensure that women have equal rights with men to vote, hold public office and participate in civil society’.
CIWiL encourages St Kitts and Nevis and all regional governments to adopt gender inclusive legislative policies to achieve gender parity in decision making and leadership.
Contact: For more information, please contact, the Gender and Communications Officer at cdaniel@ciwil.org or at 1-868-345-9153.