UN Women and the Build Back Equal Project establishes breastfeeding facilities at Dominica’s Creole Festival in the Park

Unpaid care duties, particularly mothers caring for infants, have proven to be an obstacle to women engaging in formal work and for women who are entrepreneurs running solo businesses. There are often no private and safe facilities for them to feed and clean their infants when they are doing business at open air events or markets.

Under the Global Affairs Canada-funded Build Back Equal Project, UN Women MCO Caribbean Deputy Representative Isiuwa Iyahen supported the launch of an initiative to facilitate working mothers’ and women attendees care for their children at Dominica’s premier Creole Festival - Ti Vilaj Kwéyòl - in partnership with Melissa Poponne Skerrit, the Minister of Housing, Land and Urban Development. The family-friendly, safe space was designed for parents with infants and toddlers, offering a private area for diaper changes, feeding, or to take a quiet moment with their children. A trained maternal health officer also staffed the space. 

“I think this is a great idea, because one of my worries was where am I going to change her once I am at the event. I think that’s so thoughtful. I love the idea”. “Baby-friendly, well-kept environment.”, “Friendly and very convenient”, and “You barely find events catering to persons with kids in that way. So it’s sure to be appreciated”, were some of the comments shared by users and online feedback.

The initiative falls within the BBE project objectives for research and advocacy research for better practices in legislative, policy and SIDS appropriate financing to measures for subsidized childcare to address women’s unpaid care work burden.

Isiuwa Iyahen, Deputy Representative UN Women MCO Caribbean said UN Women was extremely pleased to support the nursing nook during the Ti Vilaj Kweyol Festival.  “The nursing nook provides women and their families, particularly those who are pregnant and nursing, the opportunity to feed and clean their infants in a safe, sanitary and relaxed environment. This sets an important precedent to other festivals but is also an encouragement to employers in both the public service and also the private sector, that offering nursing mothers a safe and sanitary environment to breastfeed in the workplace brings us one step closer to achieving substantive gender equality”, Iyahen added.

The initiative is a model that illustrates the intersectionality of health services and social safety net programmes through the creation of safe spaces for women and families, highlighting the importance of comprehensive support. It is anticipated that the facility will be used at future festivals and outdoor events.

This story was first published by UN Women MCO - Caribbean.