Legislative improvements needed to advance women’s equality – Opposition MP

Opposition Member of Parliament (MP) and former Education Minister, Priya Manickchand on Tuesday underscored the recognition and equality that are enshrined in Guyana’s Constitution as it relates to women. However, she observed that even though much has been done to advance women’s rights, legislative changes are needed to ensure that women are treated equally to fully maximise their potential.

The MP made these comments at the hosting of an event to mark International Women’s Day 2018 at Freedom House organised by the Women Progressive Organisation (WPO) of the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) entitled, “Women Speak: The status of Women in Guyana 2018.”
Manickchand pointed to several gaps that existed which affect the full realisation of female rights.

Reforms
She urged reforms to the divorce laws, noting that such separations require “fault-based” reasoning. The former Minister also said that for division of property, a woman was entitled to half of what the couple acquired together if she was working, but was only entitled to one-third if she worked “inside the home”. This, Manickchand contends, puts women at a disadvantage since domestic chores can also be considered work.
She observed that while the country’s major political parties were able to come together and pass landmark legislation that favoured the advancement of both young and mature females, there are aspects within our laws that do not address the rights of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) females. The MP believes that there should be adjustments as these persons can contribute to society. Some of the other progressive advances, she noted, were the Sexual Offences Act, Family Court, Legal Aid and adjustments to Married Persons Act to give common-law spouses ownership rights after five years.

Support for CJ, Chancellor
At the same time, she renewed calls for the confirmed appointments of Justice Roxane George, SC, and Justice Yonette Cummings-Edwards to the posts of Chief Justice and Chancellor of the Judiciary. Manickchand said that these appointments reflected a situation where a female was being replaced by a man, noting that this was a good example of how women’s rights were “reflected on paper” only.
“Never hold back your talents and capabilities because they are saying, ‘she’s too pushy’,” the MP encouraged.
Tuesday evening’s event was hosted by fellow MP Gail Teixeira, who told the round table gathering that much of the rights women would have attained in the past were been eroded, especially with some 2000 working women being affected directly in the sugar industry. She also stressed that no bill in the National Assembly was passed to advance the rights of women.
Observing that there were still gaps in the areas of politics and health, Teixeira said women must stand up for rights if they want democracy, progress, and peace. Other speakers such as Coretta McDonald, President of Guyana Trades Union Congress (GTUC); Psychologist Dr Dawn Stewart and MP Gillian Burton-Persaud all gave resounding and moving speeches that urged women to demand their right places at the same level with men so that they could advance their causes.
They also encouraged female-folk to value themselves and to take note of their mental health. Other women speakers included rice farmer Bibi Mohamed, who noted the challenges of rice cultivation, and Bibi Shareeda Ali, the wife of a dismissed Wales sugar worker. Ali said that most of all, she wanted her children to be educated and workers not having jobs meant that they would be subjected to a life of poverty.
Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo was the only male who addressed the audience of women from various walks of life. He noted Guyanese must work together to confront the challenges that women face and observed that programmes such as WoW (Women of Worth) have done much to advance females. He stressed that mothers have a role to play in reducing race-based stereotypes so that Guyana could be a more united society.
International Women’s Day was observed on March 8. (Shemuel Fanfair)