Women Judges Association working to address social issues – Chief Magistrate

In a statement to mark the second International Day of Women Judges (IDWJ) which was observed on Friday, March 10, the Guyana Association of Women Judges (GAWJ) said that it has been working to address social issues, including gender-based violence, human trafficking, early and forced marriage, corruption and discrimination in employment.
The GAWJ’s President, Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan, in a statement, highlighted that the recognition that women Judges should be celebrated worldwide is important because women Judges have a key role to play in the judiciaries they serve.
She further said that several international and regional organisations promote the empowerment of women and one such body is the International Association of Women Judges (IAWJ).
The IAWJ, she noted, “Provides an opportunity for Judges to network with Judges from all levels of the judiciary worldwide and to meet in countries all over the world. This network provides a forum where issues can be ventilated in a way that they cannot be dealt with in other countries.”
Apart from educating Judges in various subject areas of the law, the Chief Magistrate explained that the IAWJ also addresses issues of gender-based violence, human trafficking, early and forced marriage, corruption, and discrimination in employment and provides a safe forum for Judges to address challenges faced as women in the Judiciary and possible solutions.
In celebrating IDWJ, the judicial officer pointed out that society must recognise the uniqueness of women Judges and the role they play in nurturing their families, while still performing at a high level at work. Balancing these two responsibilities, she emphasised, is never easy and sometimes can be overwhelming, but women Judges do it daily.
“Therefore, the importance of women getting together cannot be overemphasised. They can learn from their predecessors, the best practices which are needed to succeed.”
According to her, the GAWJ was formed on September 17, 2016, under the umbrella of the IAWJ and its roles are to promote the empowerment of women on the bench to overcome gender bias in the law, to strengthen the rule of law through strong, committed, diverse leadership, fairness, and equality in the courts, and to educate women and children of their rights under the law.
Noteworthy, the Chief Magistrate said that Guyana’s Judiciary has developed tremendously from the time when the first woman Judge was elected to the High Court in 1980.
Women Judges today, she added, in Guyana represent 60 per cent of the Judiciary and this is reflected in the hierarchy of our Judiciary where women Judges are in the majority.
“We have also noted the interest of more women and girls in the legal profession and this is evident from the higher number of women than men who graduate from law school annually.”

The GAWJ in keeping with its role is working towards strengthening awareness through various programmes designated to promote and sustain the rule of law, gender equity, and access to justice. Some of the areas include trafficking in persons, people smuggling, and the law.
“We also provide career guidance to young women and girls, particularly in law. In 2022, the GAWJ hosted two radio awareness programmes on Trafficking in Persons and also mounted posters throughout the entire country in three languages (English, Spanish, and Portuguese) in order to bring awareness to the general population, especially the vulnerable.”
Although Guyana can boast of the inclusivity of women in its Judiciary and the significant strides which have been made, she noted that we cannot turn a blind eye to what is happening elsewhere.
“We do recognise the possible threat to the rule of law and to the important component of the independence of the Judiciary. We saw that over the past years, there were several challenges faced by women Judges internationally. There is still more work to be done to overcome these challenges.”
The Chief Magistrate, thus, urged, “As we join with all sister Judges throughout the world, my message is, despite all the challenges faced by women Judges throughout the globe, we must continue in our small groups to be the change that we want to see and strive to uphold the rule of law and to eradicate the gender bias which still exists. If we all work in our small groups and organisations, collectively we can send a strong message to the defaulters, that in unity there is strength.”