Government makes no apology for spending $15M on Feminition
…Calls event a springboard of opportunities for women
MINISTER OF Human Services, Priya Manickchand, on Friday staunchly defended Government’s investment of $15 million to host ‘Feminition: Definition of a Woman’, an exposition to display the talents and innovations of Guyanese women, being held at the Guyana National Stadium at Providence. “It is a fantastic investment, and we unapologetically invested $15 million in this. [Fantastic sponsors have joined us]. The corporate community has been very responsive. We look forward to that continued response in all of our activities promoting gender equality, and all the negative effects of inequality,” she said, adding:
“Feminition has been conceived as another intervention in the empowerment of women. It is intended to recognise, highlight and promote skills, talent, capacities and capabilities of Guyana’s women. I expect that this exposition shall inspire women who exhibit, as well as women who visit the exposition, to greater heights by encouraging women to take up their place in society as equals, by allowing the necessary networking in groups and services and by educating about rights and available services.”
This exhibition, she went on to say, “provides the platform for women to springboard, the platform for opportunities that can be grabbed and that can improve many lives of women, of men and of children.” 
Gender equality, she said, would not just benefit women but also men and children. “We are all going to develop at a much faster pace,” the minister said.
CEO of the Guyana Bank for Trade and Industry (GBTI), John Tracey called the event a groundbreaking and historic one. GBTI is the financier and fund manager of the Women of Worth (WOW) scheme for single-parent women. To date, after almost one year of operation, the scheme has lent some $165 million to about 1,000 single mothers. It is hoped that another 5,000 women will benefit from the scheme.
Addressing the gathering on Friday, Tracey said, “We are committed to the struggle to end gender prejudice and gender discrimination. We wish to see our women take their rightful place in the task of nation-building that they are offered the same opportunities as men to education, to job opportunity, to access to credit from the banking sector.”
He said his organisation is against all forms of violence, both mental and physical, both in the home and in the workplace. “I hope I reflect the view of the men folk of Guyana, that women have the same creative abilities, the same entrepreneurial skills,” the banker said, adding that women have the same interest as men in carving their own destiny and in living productive lives.
“We are fortunate in this region that the movement to gender equality and the empowerment of our women has advanced to a stage beyond that of many parts of the world. It is safe to say that we have come a far way as a society where gender roles were once restricted by archaic views to one where many barriers have been removed and there are many more opportunities for women’s participation in the development of our nation,” Tracey said.
The exposition, which culminated last night in an all-female mega-concert featuring Queen Ifrica of Jamaica, Faye-Ann Lyons, daughter of famed Trinidad calypsonian, SuperBlue, and a slew of local artistes, will end today.