Guyana observes International Women’s Day

Mar 08, 2009 News

Today is International Women’s Day (IWD), an occasion which is observed on March 8 every year.
It is a major day of global celebration for the economic, political and social achievements of women past, present and future.

IWD has been observed since in the early 1900s, a time of great expansion and turbulence in the industrialised world that saw booming population growth and the rise of radical ideologies. On this occasion, the National Congress of Women (NCW), the women’s arm of the People’s National Congress Reform, has said that it endorses the United Nations theme for International Women’s Day 2009 – “Women and men united to end violence against women and girls”.

“As we think of International Women’s Day 2009, we must remember Clara Zetkin and those women in Germany who initiated the observance of this day. International Women’s Day provides an opportunity to pay tribute to the achievements of women, and to highlight the needs and concerns of women on the national, regional and global agenda. As such, we also salute our own Guyanese women, those stalwarts of the PNC Women’s Auxiliary and the WRSM, the forerunners to our organisation, who worked hard for the advancement of the women of our organisation and Guyana as a whole.”
The NCW is calling on all Guyanese to work together for the eradication of domestic violence from the Guyanese society.

The Guyana Human Rights Association noted that the first two months of 2009 witnessed a spate of deaths, wounding and maiming of women, mainly by former or current boyfriends, husbands or lovers. “Neither the police nor the courts appear to have any deterrent effect on the perpetrators of such crimes, giving added urgency to the passage of a reformed Sexual Offences Act through Parliament.”

In this context, the GHRA added, commemoration of International Women’s Day on Sunday March 8 finds Guyanese women in an embattled position. Vigorous assurances from all quarters that violence against women is high on the political and legal agenda abound, but the reality suggests otherwise, the body noted.
Men inclined to do violence against women continue to have little to fear from the law, it stated.
“Figures released earlier this year indicate an average of 1,000 new cases per month being introduced to the court system, all of which are handled by seven permanent and two temporary magistrates, along with the backlog of cases accumulated over years.”

They highlighted the need to establish a task force to deal with these issues.
The CARICOM Secretariat said that this annual celebration provides a special opportunity to reflect on the achievements on the path towards gender equality and women’s empowerment.
“Women and girls of the Region from all walks of life have been excelling in several fields. They have grasped the educational opportunities and have distinguished themselves in law, engineering, arts and sport, among other areas.”

According to a statement, CARICOM countries have made significant strides towards the attainment of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) related to women and, even as we cross the mid-point towards the attainment target-date of 2015, we are on track to meet the targets set out in the Goal 3, that is, gender equality and women’s empowerment.

“Despite these gains, however, many gaps still remain to be addressed for the achievement of women’s empowerment and gender equality. For even though there have been generous formal guarantees of equality, progress for many women, particularly the poorest and most socially marginalised, have been far too slow.”
Another organisation, Guyanese Women in Development, said that it salutes the women of the world and especially “our Guyanese women on the occasion of International Women’s Day”.

“We pay tribute to all those who had the courage and vision to start it all especially in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and to those who were inspired to continue the battle for women’s rights and equality.
“We have come a long way with the introduction of many new laws, regulations, regional and international conventions, as well as institutional mechanisms to protect women and promote gender equality.”
“Our hearts go out to the women and children of Darfur, the DRC and other war-torn societies.”

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