Now’s the time! -–President plugs change for gender equality
President David Granger during his feature address yesterday at the Women’s Day Conference at the Arthur Chung Convention Centre
President David Granger during his feature address yesterday at the Women’s Day Conference at the Arthur Chung Convention Centre

By Jasmaine Payne

GUYANA’s legal framework for enhancing women’s rights is intact, and President David Granger believes it is now time to move towards enforcing those laws and changing our attitudes, so as to achieve true gender equality.

President Granger presenting to Ms. Yvonne Romascindo from Region 1 an award for outstanding work done in her community
President Granger presenting to Ms. Yvonne Romascindo from Region 1 an award for outstanding work done in her community

“The legal architecture is there, but what we need in addition to these conventions is an attempt on our part to put into practice what we’re passing into laws. We must therefore move from enactment of laws to enforcement of laws and change in attitudes,” President Granger said.

He added that the country must now therefore move towards a ‘realm of performance’, so as to tackle the task of breaking down the barriers which currently prevent women from being treated as equal to men.

He made these observations yesterday at a function at the Arthur Chung Convention Centre at Liliendaal, Greater Georgetown, to mark International Women’s Day. That event, dubbed “Celebrating Women”, was hosted by the Ministry of Social Protection, and saw 50 women from across the country being honoured for their outstanding contributions in their communities.

A STRONG FORCE

First Lady Mrs Sandra Granger presenting an award to Ms. Nandranie Coonjah from Region 2
First Lady Mrs Sandra Granger presenting an award to Ms. Nandranie Coonjah from Region 2

The President noted that Guyana has, for the past 40 years, been a strong force in its commitment to the promotion of gender equality; and this has been the case since the presentation of the State Paper on Equality for women in the National Assembly on January 15, 1976.

“A lot has happened since then, and I think we were something of a trendsetter. And today I’m happy to be associated with the continuing campaign which we started 40 years ago, and which the United Nations is set to continue over the next 14 years and beyond,” the President said.

He added that Guyana fully endorses the UN International Women’s Day theme: “Planet 50:50 by 2030”.

“The constitutional, conventional and regulatory framework is well established; the Constitution of our country enshrines women’s

Attendees at an exhibition showcasing women in business
Attendees at an exhibition showcasing women in business

rights,” President Granger said. To drive home the point, he quoted directly from the Constitution, tenets that spoke of the right of women to participate in various management and decision-making processes, as well as women’s entitlement to have equal rights and status with men in all spheres of political, economic and social life.

He also listed several laws which focus on women’s rights, such as the Equal Rights Amendment Act, 1990; the Married Persons Property Act, 1990; and the Prevention of Discrimination Act, 1997.

“In Guyana, therefore, the legislative architecture for gender equality is intact. What is not intact is the attitudinal and behavioural approach to equality,” President Granger said.

“What we’ve done so far,” he said, “can be considered revolutionary with what existed before. But even though there has been progress, there still needs to be much work if we are to reassert and reaffirm women’s rights.”

EDUCATION
One of the primary solutions, he believes, lies in the field of education, as this is a tool that will allow women upward movement in their careers.

“I do believe,” he said, “that education will unlock the opportunities and potential for women, and give them a better chance of graduating more rapidly to upper echelons of many professions in which they are presently underrepresented.”

As such, he feels women must be provided with greater opportunities for upward movement, which will help them to compete on a level playing field that is measured by performance, and not gender.

“That is why we have established the encouragement of this, ‘3 and 4 Bs’ programme, to ensure that girls are given the opportunity to get to school,” he said. “And I have given instructions that girls must get priority on any bus or any boat or any bicycle. The girls must be given priority until the playing field is level.”

He said that once in school, these girls should also be encouraged to complete their education, so that they would make the best decisions for their careers.

“We are convinced that if we can keep them in school during that difficult and often confusing period, more of them would graduate from secondary school and eventually university,” the President said.

He is also convinced that access to education can further help to break the cycle of poverty which, to his mind, is a greater source of inequality. Further, there must be steps to remove the wide disparities of class within society, the President said.

He said that the best educational facilities are mostly concentrated in the urban or coastal areas. “These disparities tend to exacerbate the problem of inequality, and this inequality means that poor persons would not have the similar opportunities to rich persons in other fields. So we need to close the gap in economic inequality if we are to close the gaps on social inequality,” he said.
EMPOWERMENT
The final step would be to ensure that women are empowered and given opportunity to make important decisions in society.

The President touched on the upcoming Local Government Elections, which will restore the constitutional right of citizens to participate in the governance of their communities. This offers an opportunity that could also redound to the advantage of women.

“Women must take the opportunity of our re-entry into the realm of local democracy to be empowered politically, so that they can participate fully in running their councils and communities,” he said.

Overall, he said, there is need for persons to have conversation among themselves about the issues surrounding women’s equality. “We need to discuss among ourselves how we will change, because so many things are imbedded in our minds and in our upbringing that cannot be legislated, and I think that may be one of the problems we face,” President Granger said.

He said this includes dealing with equality not just once a year, but on a continual basis. Accordingly, the President said it is his intention to pardon more mothers from prison, which was first done in December 2015.

“I really have a serious problem separating a mother from her children because she is trafficking a few joints of ganja. And if it’s wrong to sell ganja, I think it’s more wrong to separate a mother from her children,” the President said amidst much applause.

He also pledged his commitment to holding as a central part of his government’s agenda all things regarding women’s equality, empowerment and rights. He said that Guyana would fulfill its obligations under the UN Sustainable Development Goals, specifically Goal Number 5, which deals with Women’s Rights.

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