–    stakeholders speak-out on occasion of International Women’s Day
ON the occasion of International Women’s Day, today, stakeholders are taking stock of how far the fight for women’s rights and equality has come, and more so, emphasis is placed on the persisting challenges that continue to impact women from across all divides – class, religion, education and culture.
Against that background, the Guyana Chronicle invited several prominent women leading the fight for women’s rights to address both the successes of that fight and challenges that Guyanese women still face.

Chairperson of the Women and Gender Equality Commission, Ms. Indra Chandarpal, told the Chronicle that women have come a long way, expressly in the area of leadership where they are more visible.
“We see women taking their place in all walks of life,” she said.
However, Chandarpal stated that domestic violence is a pressing concern that continues to plague Guyanese society.
She pointed out that there are several initiatives and different programmes which would, hopefully, through a partnership, address the issue in a holistic way.
According to her, education is a top priority and she expressed the hope that perpetrators of not only domestic violence, but all forms of violence against women, would be pulled in and the problem arrested.
Chandarpal acknowledged that there are women who are left behind and insisted that a primary focus needs to be on elevating our women, expressly through improving their self-esteem.

A Member on the Women and Gender Equality Commission, educator and women’s rights’ champion, Mrs. Magda Pollard, stressed the point that much more remains to be done to improve the status of women in Guyana.
She explained that with another observance of International Women’s Day an area of focus should be increasing the number of partners and quality of partnerships, in particular the media.
“The media can help. I believe the time is long past when we should have a specialist reporter to deal with women’s issues in a continuous manner. The development of women is a basic issue for improvement of any society,” Pollard said.
She called for the private sector and civil society also to step up to the task of supporting the improvement of women’s status.
“We need to build our women’s capacity and capabilities…we need each woman to be able to recognize the person they are, as well as their rights and responsibilities,” the Commission Member said.
Pollard added that the success in improving the legal status of women is a particularly laudable achievement, but she noted that more needs to be done in terms of enforcement.
She pointed to the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, which were adopted by consensus on 15 September 1995, and stated that the objectives outlined there need to be mainstreamed in the different programmes to support women’s development.
The Platform for Action sets out measures for national and international action for the advancement of women and is expected to enhance the social, economic and political empowerment of women, improve their health and their access to relevant education and promote their reproductive rights.
The Declaration essentially embodies the commitment of the international community to the advancement of women and to the implementation of the Platform for Action, ensuring that a gender perspective is reflected in all policies and programmes at the national, regional and international levels.
Pollard said, “We need to do more…the attitudinal changes of men toward women is another major concern.”
On that note, she said the concern of violence against women, a persisting challenge, reflects the need for more work to be done.

Help and Shelter Coordinator, Ms. Margaret Kertzious, deals with her fair share of domestic violence and maintained that the need is for women empowerment.
In 2010, between January and October, a total of 35 women were murdered, the majority a result of domestic violence.
According to her, in this way women are able to recognise themselves as individuals, advance self development and understand that there is more to the negative conditions they seem to be trapped in.
“They have to understand self and who they are, as well as what they are capable of,” she posited.
Kertzious stressed, too, that the economic status of women significantly affects them and exaggerates the situation they are in.

Adding her bit was Deputy Chief Education Officer (Development), Mrs. Bibi Shariman Ali,  who said the polices in place have supported women, but there is a need for greater education as many women are still unaware of the protections they have under the law.
As a consequence, she noted that many women remain in situations where violence is perpetrated against them, not only affecting them, but their children also.
“We have come a long way. We see women involved at the highest levels of decision making, but these are not all the women and the challenges are real…much more public awareness is needed,” Ali said.

Women’s Advocate and Administrator of the Women’s Affairs Bureau (WAB) of the Ministry of Labour, Human Services and Social Security, Ms. Hymawattie Lagan told the Chronicle that the road travelled has been long, but acknowledged that there is a long way still to go.
“We have more to do; this is true especially with domestic violence, but we have indeed come a long way,” Lagan said.
She stated that support has been advanced on several platforms including:
•    The establishment of a single parents’ register;
•    The expansion of the legal aid service to support both women and children;
•    The updating of the Gender Neutral legislation, which deals with sexual offences, among other issues; and
•    The establishment of the Domestic Violence Policy Unit; among others.
Lagan said, “These are major steps for us to make changes for our women…we have seen some improvements.”
Pointing to the changes, she referenced the fact that women are at the helm of several key institutions in Guyana, such as: the Head of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Secretariat, Mrs. Lolita Applewhaite; the Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly, Ms. Clarissa Riehl; Chief Hydromet Officer of the Agriculture Ministry’s Hydro-meteorological Services, Mrs. Bkaleka Seulall; and Director of the Guyana Responsible Parenthood Association (GRPA), Mrs. Beverly Braithwaite-Chan, only to name a few.
Additionally, the WAB Administrator shared several other interesting statistics, which include:
•    50 percent of the population is women;
•    61 percent of the Guyana’s workforce is women, with 66 percent in public service;
•    31 percent of women are self-employed and unwaged services is still a major problem;
•    More women earn less than $30,000 per month, as compared to men;
•    84 percent of the graduates from Cyril Potter College of Education (CPCE) are women;
•    59 percent of the University of Guyana (UG) graduates are women;
•    79 percent of school Heads are women;
•    85 percent of trained teachers are women;
•    65 percent of the enrollment at UG are women, as is 85 percent of the enrollment at CPCE;
•    30 percent of households are headed by women;
•    31 percent of the National Assembly members are women;
•    29 percent of the Cabinet are women;
•    20 percent of women serve in leadership capacities in local government; and
•    in Hinterland communities, women Captains account for 15 percent in Region One (Barima/Waini), 14 percent in Region Seven (Cuyuni/Mazaruni) and 6 percent in Region Nine (Upper Takutu/Upper Essequibo).
“We have made stride,” Lagan stressed.
She maintained that all efforts will continue to elevate the status of women and young girls in Guyana and called for recognition of the rights of women and girls.
“We need support from all sectors and organisations. We now have the Men’s Affairs Bureau and we hope that through this body the attitudes of men and young boys are informed to reflect respect for the opposite sex…we have a lot of challenges to tackle, but we are pressing forward,” Lagan said.
This year’s celebrations are commemorated under the theme: ‘Equal access to education, training and science and technology: Pathway to decent work for women’.