NCW hails sterling work of Guyanese women

Mar 08, 2022 Letters

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Dear Editor

Members of the National Congress of Women (NCW) extend warm wishes to Guyanese women, our Caribbean sisters, and women worldwide, on the occasion of International Women’s Day, March 8, 2022. The theme for IWD 2022 is “Gender equality today for a sustainable tomorrow”.

The theme focuses on “sustainability”, and highlights the contribution of women and girls around the world, who are actively involved in programs relating to climate change adaptation, mitigation, and response, to build a more sustainable future for all. A United Nations report states that “the latest data emphasize the link between gender, social equity and climate change, and recognize that without gender equality today, a sustainable future, an equal future and remains out of reach”.

Against the background of the theme, the NCW notes that women and their families have experienced difficult situations in the last few years. Climate change and environmental disruptions have caused flooding in different communities, throughout Guyana. Women and their families have also faced economic and social hardships, as a result of the devastating effects of the COVID 19 pandemic.

The NCW is appreciative of the sterling work of Guyanese women (frontline workers), who have worked tirelessly, during 2020, 2021, and 2022, to maintain basic services to Guyanese, particularly in the health, education, and public sectors. Our organization, also, congratulates our sisters who are contributing to the development of our country in different spheres: politics and public life, legal, education, health, science and technology, environment field, security, trade unions, religious, social and community organizations, and in the field, office, and factory.

The NCW, also, recognises the contribution of iconic women of our Movement. The late Jane Phillips – Gay and Winifred Gaskin were trailblazers, who founded the Peoples National Congress Women’s Auxiliary (PNCWA) in 1957, and were pioneers in the struggle for equality and the emancipation of Guyanese women. Two outstanding leaders, the late Viola Burnham and Shirley Field – Ridley, worked untiringly in Guyana and overseas, during the 1970s and 1980s, to secure the equal participation of women, in all sectors of national development.

For many decades, the NCW and its predecessor organizations, the Peoples National Congress Women’s Auxiliary (PNCWA) and the Women’s Revolutionary Socialist Movement (WRSM) have been in the forefront of advocating for equal rights for Guyanese women. Our Movement resolutely advocated for, and supported the implementation of unprecedented gender equality measures by the PNC Government, during the 1970s, 1980s, and early 1990s.

A landmark achievement was the presentation of the State Paper on Equality for Women in Guyana on 15 January 1976, by Prime Minister, L.F.S. Burnham. The State Paper laid the foundation for many of the gender equality policies which Guyanese women currently enjoy. The adoption of legal and policy measures contributed to the removal of discrimination against women in the legal, education, and employment spheres, and in different sectors of national life. Laws which discriminated against women and children were removed from the Statute Book, and equal rights laws were enacted. Legal measures were also adopted which granted women and men equal justice in the division of marital property.

During the phase of the WRSM, from 1976, our organization collaborated with the Council on the Affairs and Status of Women in Guyana (CASWIG), and submitted a formal proposal to the PNC Government, for the adoption of measures to secure women’s full and equal participation in development. One outcome of that proposal was the establishment of the Women’s Affairs Bureau, (now renamed the Gender Affairs Bureau), as a governmental agency in 1980, with responsibility for monitoring and implementing sustained gender equality policies and programs.

Other achievements included the employment of women as Permanent Secretaries in the Public Service, and the eligibility of women to work in the technical field, in industries and factories, on an equal basis with men. Women’s representation increased in the National Assembly, the Regional Democratic Councils, Town Councils, and National Boards and Committees. Our Movement implemented consciousness raising programs, skills- training and income – generating projects, which contributed to the economic and social empowerment of women.

Currently, many Guyanese women are at risk of losing hard won equal rights, as a result of environmental issues, low wages and income, and inequitable social and economic policies and practices, in our country. The NCW pledges to work with purpose and vigour, to ensure that all Guyanese women benefit equally from the sovereign wealth derived from the utilization of the natural resources of our country. The NCW pledges to work with women’s organizations in Guyana, to ensure that gender equality policies are interwoven in our country’s sustainable development policies and programs, and that the equal rights and opportunities achieved by Guyanese women are sustainable.

On the occasion of IWD, 2022, the National Congress of Women urges all Guyanese to celebrate International Women’s Day, in recognition of the achievements of women in different sectors of national life.

Regards
National Congress of Women

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