— Attorney- General

AS Attorney-General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Anil Nandlall SC extended his International Women’s Day greetings on Tuesday, he stated that though Guyana is a small country, a lot has been accomplished in the area of gender equality.

Nandlall made these remarks during the Tuesday evening edition of his social media show, “Issues in the News”, where he stated that Guyana’s legal system has a number of mechanisms to prevent any form of discrimination against women.

“That mechanism is enshrined in our most supreme law, the Constitution, as a fundamental right and freedom. No woman can be discriminated by the State of Guyana or any public sector or any public agency or any government or any public officer on the ground of gender or on any ground connected with gender,” the minister said.

He added that in every sphere of activities at the level of the government and at the level of the State there are policies, mechanisms and protective safeguards against discrimination in any form against women on the basis of gender.

Giving further details on the advancements in this regard, the Attorney-General noted that Guyana has a Gender and Equality Commission as a constitutional body which was established to advance the cause of gender equality, among other functions.

As such, he mentioned that there are very few countries in the world that have a constitutional commission of this type. He noted that it was in these moments that Guyanese must reflect on the accomplishments that the country has made.

“We have a series of legislation on our statute books all designed exclusively to advance the cause of gender equality and to entrench equality of the sexes and to protect women and females from any form of discrimination whatsoever,” he noted.

As an example, he highlighted Guyana’s equal rights act, the removal of discrimination act, employment and severance pay act, among others that he noted ensure that women’s rights are protected.

“We have a commendable framework of legislation, policies, concepts and mechanisms within our governmental architecture as well as within the State apparatus that aggregates to form a formidable protective network in respect of women and to advance the cause of gender equality,” the Attorney- General expressed

To this end, he added that Guyanese must look at these institutional frameworks as they have allowed women to achieve and celebrate their accomplishments.