First Lady’s Office, Canadian High Commission partner to celebrate IWD 2021

For its International Women’s Day (IWD) programme, the High Commission of Canada said it is pleased to have its activities executed under the patronage of First Lady Arya Ali, with the support of Human Services and Social Security Minister Dr Vindhya Persaud. The Canadian High Commission noted that the partnership is to celebrate the successes and strides of women in Guyana and the challenges they face.

According to a statement from the High Commission, the COVID-19 pandemic has exposed the deep economic and social disparities between men and women despite advances made over the years to promote the rights of women and girls.
It said that even though women have been on the front lines of pandemic response and recovery, they have also faced its dire impacts including rising levels of domestic and intimate partner violence, increased and unacknowledged care responsibilities, and economic insecurity.
The Canadian High Commission referred to the UN Secretary General’s policy brief on the impact of COVID-19 on women in 2020 during which it was revealed that the pandemic had “deepening pre-existing inequalities, exposing vulnerabilities in social, political and economic systems”.
This year, as the Commission recognises the challenges that COVID-19 has brought, First Lady Ali and Minister Dr Persaud along with 13 Heads of Missions from Guyana’s international community, join Canadian High Commissioner Mark Berman to challenge the barriers to gender equality and advocate for women’s empowerment.
The Heads of Mission participated in a photo challenge. In addition to the photo challenge, the High Commission assured that it will continue to encourage conversations about gender equality with a virtual panel discussion themed “Migrant Women, COVID-19 and Gender-Based Violence”.
The panel discussion will feature Head of Development Cooperation at the High Commission, Janine Cocker; UNICEF Area Representative – Guyana and Suriname, Nicolas Pron; and Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society (HIAS) Country Director, Alex Theran.
It will be moderated by the President of the Guyana Press Association (GPA), Nazima Raghubir.
The High Commission will also be collaborating with the Office of the First Lady and the Human Services and Social Security Ministry to share via the High Commission and Government social media pages, the stories of women who have emerged from difficult circumstances as the triumphs and accomplishments of women are celebrated.
The Commission announced that the medium will also be used to share other International Women’s Day messages, videos, and images from the High Commission and its partners to #ChooseToChallenge inequalities. As such, the High Commission invites members of the public to join the #ChooseToChallenge campaign online to celebrate women and call for gender equality.