Ten Guyanese women murdered in five months

Jun 04, 2018 News

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One woman being murdered at the hands of her partner is one too many, but ten in the first five months of this year has set off alarm bells.
It all started on January 2, when twenty-six-year-old Stacy Singh, a mother of two small children was stabbed repeatedly in the back and left face-down at her Richmond Hill home. Her abusive husband hanged himself from a tree in a city park.
Days after, twenty-one-year-old, Lorinda Thomas of Baramita, North West District, succumbed at a hospital after her reputed husband, Dhanraj Teophilus, allegedly dealt her a severe beating.
According to reports, the young woman was beaten after a night of drinking with relatives, and was left lying unconscious at the corner of a road.
Even the elderly are not spared. Ursilla Padarat, 68, a pensioner of Belle West Housing Scheme was murdered on March 14.
The woman’s body was discovered in a sitting position on a chair in her house with a wound to the neck and one to her head. She was found by a neighbour who said that the victim woman had a pen and book on her lap when she was found. The motive for her killing remains unknown, and the case remains unsolved.
On March 31, Orwain Sandy, a GDF Captain allegedly shot and killed his reputed wife, Reona Payne in broad daylight in Alexander Village. It was reported that Sandy was allegedly abusive towards Payne for years before the killing.
The alleged killer surrendered to police after fatally shooting her 14 times. The matter is currently before the court.
Guyanese women living abroad were also slain. In Barbados, on April 14, Onica King, a 36-year-old Guyanese cosmetologist, was brutally murdered at her work place.
Darmattie Persaud was killed after leaving her abusive relationship. Persaud went to live with her sister and her abusive partner followed and killed her.
Dianna Hernandez did not live to tell the story of what transpired the night before her death. She was killed on April 26, by Nigel Glasgow, an abattoir employee.
Glasgow also killed their three dogs, and then set a neighbour’s house alight before ingesting a poisonous substance. He later succumbed.
In a mysterious twist, on April 30, Rosemary Rudder, a 32-year-old-woman, of Eccles, East Bank Demerara was found dead. It is alleged that she was strangled by her lover after she reportedly barged in on him and saw him with another woman. The alleged lover has been charged.
A few days ago, the country was shaken to its core by the recent murder of twenty-year-old Deoranie ‘Priya’ Inderpaul of 123 Hope Low Land, East Coast Demerara.
She was stabbed to death by her reputed husband, with whom she had broken off the relationship with just three weeks before.
The suspect, Doodnauth Ramlall, a 28-year-old labourer of 324 Hope Low Land, ECD, then ingested three carbon tablets and succumbed while receiving treatment at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC).
According to information, the woman was at home with her two-year-old son when she was confronted by Ramlall who dealt her several stabs about her body.
The murder of Deoranie came just one week after another woman was allegedly submerged by her reputed husband hours after she visited him at his Plantation Walk, New Housing Scheme, EBD home. Lowtie Atwaroo, the victim, had ended the abusive relationship some eight weeks prior to her death.
On the day of her demise Atwaroo went to visit her husband to reconcile with him.
The two had an argument after which he allegedly held her down in a nearby gutter causing her to drown.
The woman’s relatives, after realising that she had not returned home, went in search of her and discovered her lifeless body in a gutter.
Her reputed husband was arrested and charged for the capital offence and is currently on remand.
“These killings are occurring with impunity because there is no concrete comprehensive prevention plan to arrest and stem the tide of violence against women and girls,” said Nicole Cole, Clinical Social Worker and Women’s Right Activist.
Cole stated that it is a violation of women’s human rights as enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Convention on the elimination of all forms of discrimination against women to which violence against women is the most pervasive.
She added that the state has a duty to protect women because it has signed and ratified the CEDAW Conventional, which is enshrined in the Constitution of Guyana.
“There must be prevention at the Primary, Secondary and Tertiary levels which requires human and financial resources,” Cole added.
Cole stated that in 2013, the former Government held a national conference on interpersonal violence to which 55 recommendations were crafted; thereafter, a National committee for the prevention of Interpersonal Violence was instituted and began to function in 2014, however, when New Government came in office it ceased functioning.
Cole stressed that Guyana needs to do more advocacies on a monthly basis and everyone should wear orange to fight violence against women.

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