From:TheBahamasWeekly.com
Gaynel Curry is New Director of Gender and Family Affairs
By Felicity Ingraham
Nov 16, 2016 - 5:29:48 PM
Gaynel Curry, Director, Gender and Family Affairs
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Nassau, Bahamas - Gaynel Curry has so much to offer, that she is sought after by countries
all around the world to assist in drafting policy and implementing
measures that result in greater protection and empowerment for women and
girls. She could be anywhere in the world right now, and she would be
considered a most valuable asset to that country's government in
advising on such issues. However, this veteran Bahamas
government and United Nations official decided it was time to come home
- at least for a while. Ms. Curry has been given a leave of absence
from her rigorous duties at the UN Headquarters in New York City, to
take time out to assist her own nation with its social issues.
Minister Melanie Griffin welcomed Curry back to The Bahamas,
happy to have such a gem return with an eager spirit to help women, and
the family as a whole, in her native country. Curry has officially
been appointed Director of the new Department of Gender & Family
Affairs in the Ministry of Social Services and Community Development.
Minister Griffin officially introduced Ms. Curry to the press as well as Ministry stakeholders during a press conference at the Ministry's new building on John F. Kennedy Drive
on Monday.
This
brand new department is an expansion of a former unit within the
Ministry - the Bureau of Women's Affairs. The expansion includes a
focus not only on women and girls, but it will also now include men and
boys. The approach, according to Curry, is a holistic one in which
strengthening the family as a unit and promoting the protection of each
individual member of the family is paramount.
The
well-being of each member of the family will inevitably result in a
better, more peaceful society, which is a vision Minister Griffin firmly
believes can become a reality for the Bahamas.
Her establishment of this new division is designed to focus on
advocacy, coordination, policy advice, and communicating with local and
international bodies to promote the rights of Bahamian women and men and encourage respect as well as protection of these rights.
The Department of Gender & Family Affairs looks at men and boys, women and girls, and considers how to improve the Bahamian
family. It will look at gender-based violence (violence against women,
gang violence, etc.), high school drop-outs, developing healthy
relationships, and a host of other issues affecting the family. Curry
will be responsible for structuring the department and advising on legal
and policy issues. She will also be scrutinising laws, policies and
programs to determine where the country stands according to
international standards. Her work will result in policy development and
the introduction of programs to empower and advance women and men as
equal partners in national development and the presence of strong family
units. The department will also work to educate people around the
issues of equality, fairness and justice to raise the awareness of these
issues with people from all walks of life. Her team will also work
closely with the existing advocacy groups to support work already in
action in this regard.
Department staff (l-r) Elaine Hinsey, Registry Clerk; Director Gaynel Curry; Aneesah Abdullah, Administrative Cadet; and Melvyn Symonette, Senior Assistant Secretary
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Curry comes with a
wealth of international experience combined with a passion for her
homeland. She grew up in the Chippingham area of New Providence with a
strong mother who instilled the importance of education, excellence and
self-pride in her children. This positive reinforcement that can set
the course in a person's life for the better. It's the kind of message
she wants children in this country to hear and to feel today. Time
spent with her grandmother in the Hay Street area added strong cultural
and realistic elements to her upbringing that never left her.
For
nearly two decades, Curry has climbed the ranks of the United Nations
framework. Her work has been so effective that she is sought after by
several countries and international institutions to assist with advocacy
and policy advice. She has been granted leave for a couple of years to
assist her beloved country, but remains a staff member of the UN, which
continues to consider her a valuable member of the institution. She
comes to us from the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for
Human Rights (OHCHR) in New York, where she served as the Acting Chief
of Global Issues and the Gender and Women's Rights Advisor. In her
capacity as chief, she managed, supervised and coordinated the work
carried out by the office on a broad range of thematic human rights
issues. Those issues include economic, social and cultural rights and
sustainable development; sexual violence in conflict; human rights and
counter-terrorism; racial discrimination and the rights of minorities
and indigenous peoples; and the rule of law and access to justice. Her
primary functions included providing policy advice to senior leadership
on global trends and developments in the UN Security Council, General
Assembly, the Economic and Social Council and the Commission on the
Status of Women.
Curry started her career in
the UN as a Human Rights Officer in Geneva, Switzerland in 1998,
servicing the Committee on the Rights of the Child. She subsequently
supported several other human treaty bodies, including the Committee on
the Elimination of Discrimination against Women and the Committee on the
Elimination of Racial Discrimination. She served as the UN Human
Rights Advisor in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of East Timor at
independence, facilitating the country's ratification of the core
international human rights treaties as well as the inclusion human
rights in its policies and institutions. Having come from an
archipelagic nation herself, Curry was able to become instrumental to
these island people, far away between the South China Sea and Indian
Ocean.
Afghanistan welcomed her for 18
months, as she worked to strengthen coherence in the common policies and
programs of the Afghan government, troop contributors, donors and UN
entities on issues of governance, rule of law and human rights. Her
commitment and success in rolling out effective strategies led to her
being selected to set up the UN's first Women Protection Advisors to
respond to conflict related to sexual violence inSouth Sudan. Having
helped in so many areas of significance all around the world, the UN
commissioner her to the headquarters in New York, where she resided for
seven years before being called home.
Before joining the UN, Curry worked as a Personal Assistant in the Office of the Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas
and as a Senior Assistant Secretary in the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs. She attained a Master's Degree in International Human Rights
Law from the University of Oxford, UK. She also holds another Master's
Degree in International Affairs with a specialisation in Public
International Law from the American University in Washington, DC. She
also holds a Degree in Law (LLB) from the University of London and a
Bachelor of Arts Degree in History and Social Sciences from the
University of the West Indies. Her tertiary education began right at
home, where she obtained an Associate's Degree in History and an
Advanced Diploma in Public Policy and Administration from The College of
The Bahamas.
Her daughter, Angel, is absolutely elated about the move, soaking up all the Bahamian
sunshine and culture she can, while embellishing in the love shown to
her by her family members. Coming from the greys and blacks of New York
City, moving to the Bahamas could be any child's dream. In this case, she has the privilege of coming "home".
Curry
is gearing up for an important week of events this month, in what is
among her first duties as the new director of the Department of Gender
and Family Affairs. National Women's Week will he hosted
November 20 - 26, 2016
under the theme: "Promoting Women as Equal Partners with Men in
National Development". Events include a church service; an interactive
dialogue at the COB Performing Arts Center; a forum in partnership with
the Zonta Club, which launches the "Sixteen Days of Activism"; and an "Orange your Office" Competition, which invites the entire Bahamas to display the colour orange in their work spaces on
November 25
as a way of symbolising a brighter future without violence. National
Women's Week will also feature Family Island forums and a fun/health
walk and celebration to be held on National Women's Day, with a focus on
young women leaders and remembering the Women's Suffrage Movement.
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