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| Minister of Social Protection Volda Lawrence (left) and First Lady Sandra Granger (Ulelli Verbeke Photography) |
In
commemoration of International Women’s Day (IWD) 2016, the British High
Commission, Georgetown, in collaboration with Red Thread, Guyanese
Women Roundtable (GWR), Guyana Trans United (GTU) and the Society
Against Sexual Orientation Discrimination (SASOD) hosted a Women’s
Empowerment Cocktail and Reception to celebrate marginalized women.
The
event, which was held on the evening of IWD itself, last Tuesday, March
8, at the British High Commissioner’s Residence in Georgetown, was
organised to create an empowering space for lesbian, bisexual and
transgender (LBT) women and allies; to celebrate the strength and
perseverance of these women; and to stimulate networking and
strengthening of relationships among LBT women and allies.
Chaired by GWR’s Convenor, Dr. Dawn Stewart, the programme was well
attended by scores of persons including First Lady, Sandra Granger;
Minister of Social Protection, Volda Lawrence; Minister within the
Ministry of Communities, Dawn Hastings–Williams; many members of the
diplomatic corps, civil society representatives and media personnel.
Delivering
welcome remarks was Acting British High Commissioner, Ron Rimmer. He
underlined that International Women’s Day is a global day celebrating
the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women, and
also marks a call to action for accelerating gender parity and that the
United Kingdom is fully committed to equality and non-discrimination and
actively promotes women’s rights nationally and internationally, and
has done so for a considerable period of time. He urged everyone
present to do their bit to ensure that the rights of girls and women are
realized. “Each of us can assist within our own spheres of influence
and commit to take pragmatic action to accelerate gender equality,
pledge to take concrete steps to help achieve gender equality more
quickly, take action to collectively help women advance equal to their
numbers and realize the limitless potential they can offer. This can be
done by helping women and girls achieve their ambitions, calling for
gender-balanced leadership, respecting and valuing difference,
developing more inclusive and flexible cultures and rooting out
workplace bias,” Rimmer said.
Acting British High Commissioner Ron Rimmer
delivering welcome remarks (Ulelli Verbeke Photography)
The
Honourable Minister of Social Protection, Volda Lawrence offered
special remarks on behalf of the Government of Guyana. Minister Lawrence
noted that, “in Guyana, gender inequality rears its ugly head in
different forms; we have women who are discriminated against in terms of
accessing employment and equal remuneration, we have groups such as
lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people which are
stigmatized and ostracized, because of their sexual orientation and
gender identity, whose rights to acceptance in work environments and
accessing educational pursuits are denied. We witness the high incidence
of abuse and domestic violence of our women and young girls,
trafficking in persons, not to mention the alarming trend of suicide
that is rampant among our young women as well as our young men.” She
stressed that, “in this era of global progress, we can ill-afford to
remain caught in the traps of traditional mind-sets, shunning and
deeming LGBT persons as outcasts in our society. We have to wake up to
the realization that these are human beings whose human, political and
social rights are being violated when we deny them access to the
opportunities that we enjoy, when we categorically say no to every
initiative of theirs to be involved or we pressure them in the work
environment when we learn that their sexual orientation or gender
identity is different from ours. Admittedly, we would have failed as a
society, as a nation if we do not take the necessary steps and make the
shift towards acceptance of these individuals.” In closing, Minister
Lawrence posited that, “it is critical that we find sustainable
solutions to the social issues that plague us. I wish to reiterate that
we have to commit to changing the perception of these individuals. Yes,
if we intend to promote gender equality, we cannot pretend that this
group is non-existent. In our workplaces, in our institutions, we have
to embrace these individuals and use their potential and skills for the
benefit of economic, social and political progress. We must accord them
the same process of inclusion, recognition and upward mobility
irrespective of their sexual orientation and gender identity. We
therefore have to spread awareness in our working environments. From the
top of the organizational chart right through to the auxiliary staff,
we have to rally for a change in attitude. We must spread the message of
tolerance, and remove the gender bias with respect to this group (LGBT
people).” She underscored the importance of transforming thoughts and
words into positive actions and reiterated the Ministry of Social
Protection’s commitment to prioritizing gender equality and women’s
empowerment, and supporting all organizations that are involved in the
struggle for gender parity.
Minister
of Social Protection Volda Lawrence delivering special remarks.
(Ulelli Verbeke Photography)
The
keynote address was delivered by Attorney–at–Law Patricia Bacchus who
expressed her delight in being able to contribute to the progression of
gender equality. Bacchus chronicled her experience as a young woman
working in the male-dominated corporate sphere and the many occurrences
of gender bias she’s had to face; many of which were manifested through
curious glances, unwarranted comments about her appearance and
belittling her intelligence. She noted that, “oddly, the preconceptions
on gender roles were also manifested by women – many of whom would ask
me when I would take a break or slow things down to find a good husband
and make some babies.” Bacchus indicated that initially she ignored
these situations but that times are changing and she believes that she
must take the opportunity to correct them and inspire some attitudinal
changes. Bacchus highlighted some of the specific initiatives she
thought we should focus on as a country working towards gender equality:
ensuring equal opportunity employment policies in both the private and
public sectors; adhering to policies regarding equal pay for equal work;
revisiting the industry opportunities for women, and ensure access to
opportunities outside of the conventional realms of teaching, nursing,
security services, garment assembly and domestic work and written
policies by both private and public sector employers, regarding equal
opportunity, non-discrimination, as well as written and enforceable
policies against workplace abuse and violence.
Attorney-at-Law
Patricia Bacchus delivers the keynote address.
(Ulelli Verbeke Photography)
The
evening was also filled with empowering performances by a number of
remarkable women artistes. Jackie Jaxx, singer and songwriter, was
outstanding in her rendition of Alicia Keys’ “Superwoman.” Before her
performance she noted the struggles faced by women artistes in Guyana
and her commitment to empowering herself and others in the local
entertainment industry. The second performer, Natasha Yhap, delivered an
amazing rendition of “A Woman’s Worth,” also by Alicia Keys. Also
lending their talent to the event was spoken-word poet and actress
Lloyda Nichols, who read an excerpt from a Caribbean women’s
anthropology to which she contributed called “Senseisha,” and delivered
one of her new poems on sexuality, “Slay,” written specially for last
week’s event.
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