Int’l Women’s Day: Be unshakeable in fight for gender equality – First Lady

First Lady of Guyana, Arya Ali on Tuesday voiced the need for women and girls to remain determine and unshakeable in the continued battle for gender equality, in a world where patriarchy and hurdles continue to surface.
On the occasion of International Women’s Day, the First Lady said women must persevere despite resistance as only then will their fight end.

“Our fight will be long and brutal. It will continue to face resistance from every corner where patriarchy raises its head but we must remain steadfast and unshakeable. It is only by doing that will gender equality be achieved and victory guaranteed,” she underscored in her message.
According to her, Guyana’s unprecedented growth that is anticipated ahead makes it even more relevant for leaders to ensure that girls equally benefit from these opportunities.

“With our country experiencing unprecedented growth and rapid transformation, it is incumbent on us particularly leaders and officials, to ensure that our women and girls are not excluded from those exciting opportunities which are life-changing. Our women and girls require the tools that are necessary to ensure that they are able to fully participate in every sector of our economy and every sphere of life. They must be educated, trained, nurtured, mentored, financed, and supported in every possible way.”
She outlined that while the fifth Sustainable Development Goal speaks to achieving gender equality and empowering women and girls, the “sobering news” is that at the current pace, people will not see gender parity in this lifetime.
Ali contended, “The world economic forum’s Global Gender Gap report reminds us that this will nearly take 100 years for the world to attain gender parity. Women face greater hurdles than men in almost all spheres of economic activity, including access to finance, assets, technology, good quality jobs and peer-to-peer networks. Only 55 per cent of women globally are engaged in the labour market as opposed to 78 per cent of men. Women on average devote one to five more hours a day than men in paid domestic work and childcare.”
Meanwhile, Human Services and Social Security Minister, Dr Vindhya Persaud used the opportunity to share that the time to act and make concerted actions in practicing gender equality is now.
“While women are expected to be the strongest proponents of gender equality by opening opportunities and supporting each other, the gender equality that we strive to achieve will be unattainable without the equal and effective partnership of men,” Dr Persaud articulated.
She added, “While the battle to achieve gender equality might be arduous, we all need to equally commit to actions that every day adds up towards transforming mindsets, attitudes and behaviours that are opposed to the achievement of widespread gender equality.” (G12)