3.2 Summarise your strategic context This section provides the background to your Gender Strategy. It explains the environment, issues and conditions that shaped the Strategy and why it is needed. It should also show how the Strategy connects to your NHRI’s wider priorities and obligations. You could include: • The current state of gender equality in your country. • K  ey national laws, policies and priorities related to gender equality. • E  conomic, social, cultural, civil and political factors that influence gender equality. • C  hallenges of advancing gender equality in your context. Most of this information will have been gathered during your situation analysis before developing the Strategy (refer s1.5). This section is a short summary of that information. Example: Human Rights Commission of Assuwa Assuwa has taken important steps towards gender equality, with constitutional guarantees of non-discrimination and policy reforms aligned to international human rights standards. Progress is visible in education access, women’s political participation, and the growth of civil society organisations advocating for women’s rights and LGBTQI+ inclusion. Yet persistent gaps remain between commitments and lived realities. Implementation and enforcement of laws are uneven, and critical services – such as shelters, legal aid, and psychosocial support – remain limited. Gender-based violence continues at high levels, while harmful norms and practices restrict equal participation in social and economic life. Women and gender-diverse people face significant barriers to decent work, experience a gender pay gap, and carry a disproportionate share of unpaid care responsibilities. Rural communities, persons with disabilities, and minority groups are particularly disadvantaged. Access to health and education is improving, but comprehensive sexuality education and reproductive health services are not consistently available, and stigma deters many from seeking care. Emerging challenges, including online harassment and the gendered impacts of climate change, further exacerbate vulnerabilities. Meanwhile, representation of women and genderdiverse people in leadership roles is growing but remains well below parity. In this context, the NHRI has a critical role in bridging protection gaps, monitoring state compliance with international obligations, and advocating for structural change. Equally, it must lead by example – embedding gender equality in its own policies, practices, and culture – so that all people in Assuwa can enjoy their rights equally and fully. Gender Strategy Toolkit 2026 49