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Mar 08, 2014 News
– but challenges still evident
A paradigm shift is unfolding in Guyana whereby the age-old role of men in the society is being modified. Moreover, men are no longer seen as merely the bread-winners but instead are expected to adopt an equality stance.
However, this notion has not been easily digested by some, particularly men, who are convinced that they are superior to women who they believe are “lesser beings.”
This observation was made by Presidential Adviser on Governance, Gail Teixeira, as she addressed a gathering at the Camp and Regent Streets, Georgetown, Gravity Lounge, a forum spearheaded by the Ministry of Education to recognise women just in time for International Women’s Day.
Teixeira has long been recognised as an outstanding Guyanese woman who has over the years battled to assert her place in a “man’s world”. For more than 40 years she has stood in the political frontline, which today has ensured that many determined women, like her, could stand ‘shoulder to shoulder’ with men in almost all realms of professionalism.
There are many other daughters of this soil with similar accomplishments. However, this forte is certainly not unique to Guyana as there is enormous evidence to support the fact that women across the globe have been able to expertly infiltrate the various fields of work even as they continue to rise to the challenge of being mothers, wives and just about every role humanly possible.
From the sports arena to the business sector, women have prominently stood-out, in some instances higher than their male counterparts, an achievement that was unfathomable in the not so distance past.
This is particularly evident in the education sector, Teixeira highlighted yesterday, as she alluded to the fact that “more girls are finishing high school more than ever before in our history; more females are enrolling and graduating from university.”
Also evident right here in Guyana, she noted, is the fact that more women, in many cases single parents, are today owners of their own homes. “We have women who have been able to own a house-lot for the first time in history, so the percentage of women who are now land owners is high in comparison to years ago; we are trying to put together all that data to show that in the last five years 50 per cent of the house lots that have been distributed are to women and we are becoming stronger and more economically stronger too.”
The now ambitious posture of women has however not been realised without challenges, some of which are still threatening to diminish the strides made over the years.
In fact, Teixeira amplified the nexus between women’s elevation and the issue of domestic and sexual violence. She disclosed that there is evidence to support that in some societies there is a backlash to when women achieve, have careers and enter public realms. This, she noted, is often characterised by acts of violence being perpetrated against women by physically stronger men. “They may feel threatened and that is the power (they feel ) they have and must use it,” Teixeira theorised.
“We have to deal with psychological problems like these and the way to address this is not only by the laws we make and to strengthen the judiciary so that we see more cases coming to the courts; we need programmes for the perpetrators on how to be better people and to recognise that what they do is wrong,” asserted Teixeira. “We need our men to be equal partners so if that means helping to wash the dishes then so be it…but what we are finding is that (some) men are having a problem with that adjustment,” she added.
But even in the face of the still existing challenges, Teixeira emphasised that women have much to celebrate. Moreover, she noted that women should take the time to not only elevate themselves but also to pamper and spoil themselves at times.
The forum yesterday saw the attendance of several top women of the Ministry of Education and its affiliates, and it was noticeably graced by other outstanding women the likes of Minister of Foreign Affairs, Carolyn Rodrigues; A Partnership for Unity Chief Whip and Member of Parliament, Amna Ally; Director General of the Foreign Affairs Ministry, Elisabeth Harper, among others.
The women were not only treated to a lavish lunch but to versatile entertainment by the Horizon Arts Production; singing by local artiste, Charmaine Blackman, and Comedian, Henry Rodney, who sought to humorously highlight that Guyana is home to just about every kind of women.
By the end of the programme, the women of the Education Ministry were heaping praises on Minister Manickchand, who according to them was the first Minister to truly recognise them as import assets to the Ministry.
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