THE Women and Gender Equality Commission (W&GEC) on Friday held its Guyana/Beijing + 20 National Conference One-day Stakeholders’ Review of progress, gaps and actions in Guyana’s implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action.

Proceedings were held at the Guyana International Conference Centre (GICC) at Liliendaal, East Coast Demerara in observance of the International Day Against Violence Against Women –- November 25 — and the 16 Days of Human Rights Activism. The theme for the review was “Let’s challenge militarism and end violence against women”.

The WGEC salutes survivors of domestic violence, mourns the deaths of victims, and pays tribute to the organisations that work tirelessly to address and reduce violence against women and girls, men and boys, and all vulnerable groups.

Minister of Human Services and Social Security, Ms. Jennifer Webster, advocated for the advancement and empowerment of women, since women play a key role in emancipating a nation from the clutches of poverty.

She said that, the world over, young girls are rarely allowed to complete their education, and are given work or family instead, and that two-thirds of the world’s illiterates are women. However, as the year 2015 approaches, world leaders have called for a long-term agenda to improve the quality of life for our people and the need to protect the planet for future generations.

Webster told the conference that the Government of Guyana reaffirms its commitment in fulfilling its obligations under the platform for action aimed at ensuring the protection and equality of our women within the Guyanese society. She added that Government also remains committed to implementing concrete measures aimed at promoting gender equality and empowering women in Guyana. While much progress has been made in the platform, she said, there is still a lot more to be done.

Webster highlighted some of the achievements made in a few areas, such as education, agriculture, business, health, forestry, information and technology as we are training more women, including single parent women, who own their own homes.

She pointed out that the Government of Guyana continues to examine legislation and to consider whether to initiate new ones to meet the demands of the changing society and environment.

Webster said that, since 2010, Government identified information technology as an emerging growth sector which calls for greater diversification of the labour force. Consequently, Government has been promoting information communication project, the One Laptop Per Family (OLPF) programme, which is aimed at providing 90,000 households with a laptop each and computer training.

She noted that elderly, particularly older women, have been overlooked in the development agenda, since one-fifth of the world’s population will be over the age of 60 by the time the post-2015 framework comes to an end.

Webster added that life expectancy rates have improved in Guyana; and with respect to women, the life expectancy rate for women in Guyana is 70 years.

She also highlighted the challenges as she spoke of our achievements in Guyana, and called for social change and commitment.

Webster used the opportunity yesterday to call on media practitioners to play their role in the issue of violence against women in terms of coverage of incidents and the use of the media meaningfully in creating awareness.

In an overview, UN Women – Caribbean Region, Christine Arab, of in a Powerpoint presentation of A Global and Regional Summary of Gender Equality in the Post 2015 Agenda outlined the 170 targets and the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to be adopted worldwide. She explained that the idea of feminism is that women are victims in the social media, but a feminist advocates that everyone has a right to equality.

Also making remarks was Chairperson of the Programme, Vanda Radzik, Commissioner of the W&GEC, speaking on the achievements of women; Cheryl Sampson, Deputy Chairperson W$GEC; Women’s Democracy Network and International Republican Institute’s Glen Bradbury; and Indranie Chandarpal, Chairperson W&GEC.

(Michel Outridge)