FIFTEEN years ago, the lamp which lit the way of the Women’s Revolutionary Socialist Movement (WRSM) suddenly went out.
It was the 10th October 2003 that Viola Victorine Burnham, O.R. unceremoniously left us. Cde. Vi, as she was fondly and familiarly called, had led a group of women as they built on the foundation of the founders of the People’s National Congress Women’s Auxiliary – the women’s arm of our great party.
During her leadership as National Chairman of the WRSM, having had the opportunity to participate in the United Nations Decade for Women, Viola Burnham, O.R., repositioned the organisation and proceeded to advocate strongly for equality for women in all spheres of nation building.
Under her leadership and propelled by the WRSM, the women encouraged the then Prime Minister of our country, Linden Forbes Sampson Burnham, to present to the National Assembly the State Paper on the Equality of Women in 1976. After the State Paper was presented, there was a paradigm shift to strengthen the advocacy for women’s rights. The Women’s Affairs Bureau of Guyana was established; a number of Laws of Guyana were revised, which resulted in important legal changes being made to ensure equality for women.
Viola Burnham believed in using what we produced, hence the emergence of the slogan “Produce or Perish.” The Feed, Clothe and House Campaign began and she invited our women and the entire country to use our local fruits and products to make our cakes and other delicacies. She encouraged women to develop cottage industries, and tie-dye products were the order of the day. She also encouraged the use of appropriate technology; hence we made use of what was available in our country.
The death of her husband saw her being appointed Vice President under the Hugh Desmond Hoyte government and she became more involved in the politics of Guyana. Viola Burnham was conferred with the Order of Roraima, the second highest national award, for her sterling contribution to the development of women in Guyana. The National Chairman and the Executive of the National Congress, of Women will continue the good work started by Viola Victorine Harper Burnham. Viola Victorine Harper Burnham, promoted the full participation of women in all phases of community and national life; Viola has gone, but her memory will be etched in the annals of Guyana’s history.
