16 HANDBOOK FOR NHRIs ON WOMEN’S RIGHTS AND GENDER EQUALITY Two international expert workshops on NHRIs and Gender Equality were organized by ODIHR, gathering over 50 NHRI practitioners, experts and academics, as well as international organizations and civil society representatives. The first workshop was organised in Prague, Czech Republic on 28 and 29 March 2011, gathering NHRIs from across the OSCE region and representatives of the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), to present the initial survey findings and to identify areas of good practice. The resulting Pilot Comparative Review, National Human Rights Institutions and their Practices in Protecting and Promoting Women’s Rights and Gender Equality, was published in August 2011. Organized in co-operation with the OSCE Centre in Astana, the second workshop was held in Almaty, Kazakhstan on 20 June 2012. This event gathered NHRIs from Central Asia, Eastern Europe and the South Caucasus, as well as representatives of international and civil society organizations. The workshop participants reviewed a draft of this Handbook. As part of the consultation process, a draft of this Handbook was shared with all participating NHRIs in August 2012, seeking their feedback and comments. Responses from 12 NHRIs were received. Every effort was made to address and include all the suggestions of NHRIs in the final version of the Handbook, to the extent possible. Current literature was also reviewed to ascertain the activities and structural features of NHRIs relevant to women’s rights and gender equality. A  query was posted on HuriTALK, 11 seeking information on NHRI practices relating to women’s rights and gender equality, with cross postings on the Gender Group, the Governance Network and the Justice Network community. Telephone interviews were conducted with staff in the OHCHR National Institutions and Regional Mechanisms Unit. 11 HuriTALK is a UN-wide virtual knowledge network on human rights policy, connecting more than 1,200 development practitioners from over more than 12 UN agencies and programmes. The network focuses on the exchange of information, good practices and lessons learned.