THE United Nations (UN) International Women’s Day is marked on 8th March. Rightfully, some will argue that every day is ‘women’s day’, given the multiple roles this gender plays in the development of family and society. The year’s theme, “Planet 50-50 by 2030: Step It Up for Gender Equality”, calls for concerted efforts to bring about equality through the dedication of more resources and greater political action.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, in his message marking the day, said: “I remain outraged by the denial of rights to women and girls — but I take heart from the people everywhere who act on the secure knowledge that women’s empowerment leads to society’s advancement. Let us devote solid funding, courageous advocacy and unbending political will to achieving gender equality around the world. There is no greater investment in our common future.”

His consternation, the world is advised, has to do with a tradition he had seen and questioned. As a boy growing up in post-war Korea, he had observed that women who were going into labour would leave their shoes at the threshold and then look back in fear. Asking his mother about this practice, she told him those women were wondering if they would ever step into those shoes again.

That this tradition influenced him in a profound way is evident in his acknowledgement that, when he arrived at the UN (1st January 2007), women were not leading peace missions in the field. Today there is the first-ever female Force Commander of UN troops; women’s representation is at historic highs at the upper levels; and almost a quarter of all missions are headed by women at the heart of peace and security, which previously was a man’s province. This is leadership worthy of admiration and emulation.

Some lives have been shaped by a story others have taken for granted or have come to accept as the way things ought to be. When questioned, in instances, the story’s basis has been found to not be driven by science or principles of equality.

If the world is to live up to the UN Human Rights declaration, the spirit and intent of which is to achieve and maintain peace and harmony among groups, Article II’s avowal that all are created equal should be doggedly pursued.

Ours has been a history, or ‘her-story’, of gender inequality. This is in large part informed by the unscientific belief of a woman’s capability, or her ‘knowing her place,’ and where remnants of a patriarchal society remain.

This is not to say that efforts have not been made, with measurable success over the years, to topple these beliefs. What this historical fact is saying is that there remains work to be done, not only in toppling more barriers, but in ensuring that those that have been toppled remain toppled.

Where laws guaranteeing women’s rights as seen in the Women and Gender Equality Commission and List of Representatives, these are floor standards set, which ought not to be practised in the breach. Equality requires strengthening and deepening of these foundations, the creation and implementation of policies and programmes that will secure women’s rights in every sphere of desired participation.

Where sexual harassment and abuse continues to be present in the workplaces, homes, and on the streets, stamping these out must also allow for anonymous reports to be made and investigated, and for perpetrators to be dealt with condignly. No woman must be made to feel that the transgressing of her right to choose her partner/mate is a precondition to securing and maintaining employment or certain positions.

This nation faces a critical situation of single-parent, working, female-headed households.  It matters not how such circumstances are created, but what can be done at a social level to ensure the care of unattended children should be pursued. The story of a female security guard returning home to a house destroyed by fire and children lost in the fire is heart-rending. The time has come when childcare (day and night) and child-friendly work environments should become national and corporate priorities.

Whereas some societies have legally stipulated age where children can be left alone or in the care of another, our small communal society may, in addition to looking at the feasibility of such law, conduct national conversations on the importance of the extended family structure in addressing childcare and safety issues.
Guyana, as a member of the UN, has an obligation to work to make the 2030 goal realisable.  More importantly, women are encouraged to ensure the goal is achieved through their involvement in shaping the nation’s social, economic, political and cultural development.