Gender Equality Strategy takes center stage at local Beijing +25 Summit

Mar 06, 2019 News

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As Guyana undertakes a comprehensive national-level review, the process and the achievements made in gender equality and the empowerment of women is taking center stage.
The topic was highlighted at Regional Gender Equality Strategy and BEIJING+25 Summit, yesterday, at the Herdmanston Lodge, Peter Rose Street, Queenstown Georgetown.
The Summit was jointly convened by the Ministry of Social Protection, the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Secretariat, Cuso International and the UN Women Multi-Country Office of the Caribbean.
The Beijing declaration and platform for action of 1995 is a visionary agenda for the empowerment of women. It still remains today the most comprehensive global policy framework and roadmap for action, and is a current source of guidance and inspiration to realize gender equality and the human rights of women and girls, everywhere.
And its stature and significance as a roadmap for the achievement of gender equality remains undiminished.
The 25th anniversary of the Beijing platform of action represents a milestone in the global movement towards gender equality.
In 2020, the global community will observe the 25th anniversary of the fourth world conference on women and adoption of the Beijing declaration and platform for action (1995).
A five-year milestone will be reached towards achieving the sustainable development goals of the 2030 agenda for sustainable development. Thus, 2020 will be a crucial year for the progressive realization of gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls, globally.
Minister of Social Protection, Amna Ally, in her address to the forum, noted that Guyana is exploring ways to achieve the full realization of the 2030 agenda for sustainable development and gender equality.
“[The agenda] will enable us to identify the current challenges and gaps as well as examine future plans to accelerate implementation at the national level.”
According to Ally, Guyana has made significant progress in the status of women since the adoption of the Beijing declaration and platform for action.
“I wish to note that the government of Guyana remains committed to promoting gender equality and the empowerment of women in all spheres of life.

“Government policies and programmes focus on reducing poverty and improving and equalizing access to goods and services throughout the country to all, but most especially the poor and vulnerable.”
“Initiatives and programmes to enhance the livelihoods have been prominent themes in our national budgets; however, these have significantly expanded recently. There have been several key and progressive interventions to strengthen the programmes and policies to support our women and girls.”
The Minister spoke too about the empowerment of women through Guyana women’s leadership institute.
“In 2018 the institute hosted workshops in all the administrative regions on gender and local government: entitled “female decision makers”. These workshops were geared to promote a platform that equips women with the requisite skills and knowledge to improve their individual and institutional competence within their communities.
The workshop also helped women develop skills to function at the different sectoral areas, throughout the various stages of any community undertaking.
“A total of 460 women have benefitted to date.”
Minister Ally noted that in strengthening the national machinery, government has developed a National Gender and Social Inclusion Policy.
The National Gender and Social Inclusion Policy is expected to be implemented during the second quarter of 2019 and will aim to mainstream gender issues into all sectors in order to eliminate all negative economic, social and cultural practices that impede equality and equity.
“It will strengthen links between Government, non-governmental organizations, and the private sector in mainstreaming of gender, in the respective sectors and develop, maintain and provide gender sensitive information and gender disaggregated data for use in planning and project implementation at all levels and in all sectors,” Ally added.
Meanwhile, in accordance with the international plan, Guyana continues to make progress on the status of women in public life and has been maintaining steady ratings with regards to representation of women in parliament.
As such, Ally said it is well ahead of many developed countries on the women in national parliament index. According to the 2018 index women hold 31.9% of seats in the National Assembly in Guyana.
Also of importance, is the role education plays in changing a girl’s life and society at large can never be understated.
“That is why I am happy that Guyana now has a policy for the reintegration of teenage mothers. This policy has support measures that will enable teenage mothers to continue their secondary education in schools.
“In addition to that, I wish to note that Government will continue to work with our partners to address sexual and reproductive health and rights.”

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