Reaffirming Commitment to Women’s Rights

― Removing inequality

―Working to promote and protect fundamental rights and freedom of women.

― 460 Women benefitted from Guyana Women’s Leaders Institute.

DPI, Guyana, Friday, March 8, 2019

The Ministry of Social Protection commemorated,” International Women’s Day 2019,” at the National Cultural Center with a grand cultural presentation and award ceremony for outstanding and long service providers within the discipline and social services.

Officials from several Government Ministries and the Diplomatic Corps flocked the venue to witness and celebrate womanhood. Minister of Social Protection, Amna Ally who delivered the feature address reassured the gathering of a promising future for Guyanese women.

“We need to enlighten our children about the importance of gender equality. Furthermore, if we are to dismantle the structures of oppression, we need to work collectively and not relegate these duties to Government only. We need the involvement of our communities, churches, civil societies, schools and men in order to attain gender equality. It is equally important to understand that gender issues are not focused on women alone but instead, on equal power relations between men and women,” Minister Amna Ally said.

The Minister further said it is important that everyone synergize their efforts and work together. She noted that despite extensive work undertaken by both the Government and Civil Society in terms of legislation, there are still deficits in the actual enjoyment of women’s social and economic and political rights.

“Our task is to keep building until we have raised enough platforms that will transform the very horizons of every woman and girl. The Government is fully committed to the promotion and the protection of the fundamental rights and freedom of our women as well as the fulfilment of our obligations, in line with the various international, regional and national instruments,” Minister Amna Ally said.

First Lady, Sandra Granger in her remarks to the gathering assured that all women and girls will be prioritised in Guyana which is keeping with Sustainable Development Goal five, which focus on achieving gender equality and the empowerment of all women.

“As our women and girls move to seek employment, training and advancement must be equally available for women and men. Female military officers should be exposed to the same level of training as their male counterparts so that they too can aspire to the highest level of commands,” Mrs. Granger said.

The First Lady said the education sector must be in the forefront of reform which recognises the skills required for employment in the 21^st century and develop and implement curricula, including at the tertiary level with the capacity to equip Guyana’s women for meaningful employment and economic viability.

“It is imperative that our girls be encouraged from the earliest age to be actively involved in STEM and Robotics and be on the cutting edge of information and communication technologies. We must look to them for our data managers, computer programmers, systems and software engineers, drone technicians and cybersecurity experts to name a few,” Mrs. Granger underscored.

The event concluded with the launch of the National Gender Equality and Social Inclusion Policy which aims to build on Women’s empowerment, rights and growth.

Ayana George.

Images: Marceano Narine.