Equality Bahamas hosted “Intersections of Blackness and Womanhood” on August 10, 2022 as a part of its Women’s Wednesdays event series. Gaynel Curry (The Bahamas) and June Soomer (St. Lucia), both Independent Expert Members of the Permanent UN Forum on People of African Descent, led the discussion which included responses to the following:
What is the UN Permanent Forum for People of African Descent, and why is it important?
Why is it important to address issues of race in 2022?
In what ways do women of African descent need to be represented in UN spaces?
How can we use the Forum and similar entities to advance the rights of women?
Watch the session below.
Ms. Gaynel Curry is an Independent Expert Member of the United Nations (UN) Permanent Forum of People of African Descent, which serves as a platform for improving the safety and quality of life and livelihoods of people of African descent. Ms Curry has worked with the UN for more than 23 years in various capacities and duty stations, including in Afghanistan, South Sudan, and Timor-Leste. Most recently, she served as Human Rights Advisor in the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) in Geneva, where she led work on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development within the Human Rights Council.
Ms Curry oversaw the work of OHCHR-New York Office in support of the International Decade for People of African Descent and assisted the work of the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. While serving as the Gender and Women’s Rights Advisor and Acting Chief of Global Issues in the New York Office, Ms Curry co-led the implementation of several Security Council resolutions on Conflict-related Sexual Violence. She led engagements with the Commission on the Status of Women and supported the work of the CEDAW Committee as well as the Special Rapporteur on Violence against Women. Ms Curry has held several positions in her government, including Director of the Department of Gender and Family Affairs. She is currently an Adjunct Faculty Member at the University of The Bahamas and provides independent consultancy services on a broad range of human rights issues.
Honourable Ambassador Dr. June Soomer, SLC, holds a PhD in History from the University of the West Indies. She lectured at the UWI and universities in the U.S., and worked at the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (1996 -2006). She was Saint Lucia’s Plenipotentiary Ambassador to the OECS and CARICOM, with responsibility for Diaspora Affairs (2008-2016), and the Secretary General of the Association of Caribbean States (2016-2020). She was the first woman to hold these posts, as well as the post of the Chair of the Open Campus Council, a position she currently holds. Dr. Soomer is a member of the Saint Lucia Reparations Committee and a member of the UN Permanent Forum for People of African Descent.
She has many awards including The Saint Lucia Cross for distinguished service in the fields of Education, Diplomacy, Regionalism and Development Specialty, February 2021; and The Order of José de Marcoleta in the Degree of Grand Cross from the Republic of Nicaragua in the area of diplomacy, August 2021.
Women’s Wednesdays was designed by Equality Bahamas as a response to community members’ requests for a space to access resources, experts, and practitioners, share knowledge, and engage in conversation with one another. Officially started in May 2017, Women’s Wednesdays highlights Bahamian women and our experiences in The Bahamas, specific to our identities including gender, race, sexuality, age, and ability. Held once per month at minimum, the events draw women together to have conversations that bring our individual lives into focus while connecting to family, community, and national narratives.
#WW242 intentionally centers and prioritizes women and girls, and is open to the public through in-person events, livestreams, and social media activity. With the support of the National Art Gallery of The Bahamas, we create a safe space for knowledge-building, idea-sharing, critical dialogue, and movement-building.
