Remembering the women in my life

Mar 08, 2026 Features / Columnists, The GHK Lall Column

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Hard Truths by GHK Lall

(Kaieteur News) – On this celebration of International Women’s Day, I remember the women in my life who couldn’t read and write.  I write for them.  They will somehow read and absorb this ode written with them in mind, wherever they are.  They will thrill to this sonnet dedicated to their unflagging efforts, their heartfelt giving that made boys into men.  Men inspired by their endless courage, taking to heart their dreams fueled by the fearful ashes of poverty, to fight through the hazes and thickets of life to stand for what is right.

Women have a right to be at the pinnacle, to share in the fruits.  Many toiled for thankless hours, so that their children can have a different life from them.  A better one, a bolder one, unfettered by shackles. Women confined to the home could by their sacrifices sketch the blueprint, then pave the way, so that their offspring are prepared, if only mentally, to take their place in the world.  Women have been giving.  They have not been getting as much as they should.  The recognition.  The adoration.  The kneeling before their throne with love and care, and remembrances for all the grim and dismal days and nights, when hope was the only candle flickering.  However thinly, however forlornly, hope flickered, it never could be extinguished.  No matter how many times I have said it before, a thousand times more still falls short.  Thanks to the women in my life, and all that you have done for me, all the graces you made mine, all the care that cannot be compared.  International Women’s Day is personal and it is spiritual.  It is more than a day.  To all men, this exhortation goes forth: remember the women, cherish them, put them on a pedestal.

From mothers of mine, to teachers that help me hold the line today.  They held my hand yesterday, and made me stay in line.  What is there to offer in return for their timeless, priceless gifts of love, the golden rule, and the straight path?  To those women-mainly Black, more than a few Brown and Bronze, some local, others foreign, and more than a few now gone-the best that I can do is to stand as a sentinel for the rights of today’s women.  A champion for them to take their seats around the table of discussion, when the gifts of Guyana are parceled out.  The ebony and ivory in the many complexioned rainbow of history, those who must share in this lavish patrimony.  Those who belong, are overdue.  A pregnancy can only last so long, be delayed so much.

Who feels the brunt of the pain, the perils, and the poignancies, when times are hard, and the road is dark?  Who is there to comfort when the world is that most cruel of places?  Their quiet strength must be the inheritance, an inseparable element in the DNA, of their sons and daughters reared and tutored, their legacy to this country, this life that can be so unsparing and unforgiving at times.  Men fight wars when called.  Women fight daily wars in the home, but for which no bugles blow.  Theirs is the suffering of denial, from home to office, and other spaces where they should be on top.  Theirs is the agony of brutality meted out, and about which the best that can be done is report the harrowing tale, help the survivors to pick up the pieces, and move on.  How to move on is the challenge, the slippery mystery to which the best answer is still to be found.  Giving up is not a consideration, the searching for solutions the ongoing quest.

I remember the women-white and Chinese, Jamaican and Haitian, and an army of Guyanese-who came to comfort another woman in the times of her end.  They comforted me, strengthened me.  Others can forget.  I don’t know how, and don’t want to know.  For such are the hours when women are at their best, are matchless.  Been there, seen that, lived it.  Elsewhere and right here.

This meager tribute from one man is to womanhood, motherhood, and sisterhood.  Those towers of strength that ought to progress beyond where they are.  Time and resilience, and the power of self-belief, are their best assets, will be the differentiating factor in the long run.  Women are as timeless as the river.  They touch many shores, nurture many souls, and they will travel as far.  On this day that honours women all over, may the men in their lives-sons, brothers, spouses, colleagues, friends-make them proud.

(The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of this newspaper.)

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• Celebration, GHK Lall, Women day, women in my life

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