their new or amended constitutions since include provisions in support of gender equality or nondiscrimination that strengthen the status of women and set the basis for their more balanced involvement in the economy in light of this progress governments could engage in further efforts to strengthen alignment with international instruments and ensure equal access to economic opportunities for women and men while women in the six countries have access to courts in principle they face various barriers in practice from lack of knowledge among judges of current standards to slack enforcement by courts of law and a deficit of women judges women themselves are often not aware of their rights and social norms and financial constraints may discourage them from going to court