–President Ali announces plans to intensify battle against domestic violence; invest in healthcare, training and other key areas to enhance the lives of every woman
–says women benefitting immensely from govt’s developmental programmes, contributing significantly to local advancements

PROTECTING Guyana’s women and improving their lives is a primary focus of the government, President, Dr. Irfaan Ali said during a ceremony to commemorate International Women’s Day, on Wednesday.

The government, he underscored, intends to focus heavily on closing any development gap that exists, and will ensure that there are significant investments in women’s health, training and education, and other key developmental initiatives.

Specifically, the President said particular areas of focus are to clear the backlog of women in need of fibroids removal surgery, increase investment in cervical cancer testing to boost prevention, and increase the training of healthcare providers to improve women’s access to healthcare.

Further, outside of healthcare, in the area of training, 500 women will be trained in heavy-duty machinery operations to increase their entry of employment in high paying jobs in the mining and oil and gas sectors.

The government is also increasing access to training for teachers, and registered nurses, who are predominantly women.

According to the President, the successes of women in Guyana are great, important and transformative.

“As your President, I cannot be more proud of the women of this country. The sacrifices of the women of this country, the intelligence, the bravery the knowledge and everything that you do every single day to make our country better. We honour you, and I want you to know on behalf of all the men of Guyana we love you tremendously,” Dr. Ali expressed.

He went on to say: “Women are not only efficient at what they do, but they do it with a different sense of pride and purpose. And this is something that men can learn, the pride and purpose women take in doing something is truly remarkable.”

Making his case, the President outlined statistics that revealed a number of ways in which women in Guyana are truly making use of the many opportunities available to them and are positively contributing to the improvement of the local society.

In the area of academics, women continue to lead in enrollment in higher education. In the Guyana Online Academy of Learning (GOAL), through which the government offers scholarships for university and other certificate programmes, 72.6 per cent of the students are women.

Of the total scholarships given by the Ministry of Public Service, 57 per cent went to women, while in the public sector training, 69 per cent of all those who are trained are women.

At University of Guyana, 70 per cent of the total student population are women, while the withdrawal rate among females is among the lowest in this region at 0.4 per cent.

In the healthcare system women also stand out, with 60 per cent of the doctors and 98 per cent of the nurses in this country being women.

“These are stats that are overwhelming… We have much, much to celebrate today,” the President commented.

In housing, some 65 per cent of the total low-income core homes went to women, most of whom are single women. In the Home Improvement Subsidy programme, 85 per cent of the persons who benefitted are also women.

“But guess what? That does not just fall into the hands of women, they work for it. Because when you look at the housing programme, 79 per cent of all the consultations were attended by women… that means that women are participating in the process to change their life and uplift their life,” the President said.

WOMEN ARE PARTICIPATING
He added: “Women are participating in the development process. Women are participating in the transformation process in our country and on behalf of all men I give you a resounding round of applause.”

In law enforcement, 22 per cent of the total law enforcement personnel constitute the female population, with 26 per cent of those being senior officers. In the judiciary, 60 per cent are females.

In terms of business support, 60 per cent of all investment from the Ministry of Tourism, Industry and Commerce went to women. Regarding the empowerment grant, more than 55 per cent went to women.

But even as women celebrate a lot of benefits and opportunities in Guyana, the gender is not without its share of challenges and disadvantages.

Women are still disproportionately the victims of gender-based violence, particularly in the case of domestic violence.

The President took the time on Wednesday night address the issue, noting that the root cause of this scourge is silence and collective guilt on the issue. The President called on all to stand strong and definitively against violence against women.

“How many of us would witness violence against women and stay quiet? How many of us would see it in our families was saved in our community? How many mothers will cover for their sons? How many wives will cover for your husband how many, it is always want too many,” the President said.

He added: “We must collectively decide as individuals, as families, as a community we will fight it. There is absolutely no excuse for raising a finger against women. But we have to stop it. We have to play our part.”

The President called on all Guyanese to pledge to make efforts to deal with domestic violence a priority.

“Let this be a national priority. Sit and talk to your children let them understand that this is not part of humanity and human behaviour. We all must be part of his solution,” the President said.