Dear Editor,
When women are seen, counted, and in positions to lead, the whole world benefits. This is the fundamental theme which the world at large is focusing on to mark the occasion of International Women’s Day. The world will benefit as women are heard and this was amply magnified on Sunday as Oprah Winfrey hogged the limelight to host the TV platform to showcase the plight of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, confirming that she is the Queen for TV talk shows. In a pandemic world, women are, daily, challenged for their resilience, facing the home environment, work atmosphere and the outside world at large, fighting for liberty, equality, acknowledgement, recognition, acceptance and opportunity. Kamala Harris recently broke the glass ceiling to gain world attention last November, when she was appointed Vice President to US President Joe Biden in the most powerful nation on earth. At home, First Lady Arya Ali is swinging the baton at the helm, leading an army of prolific women occupying many key ministerial positions to govern the interest of the Guyanese public. These women are educated, determined, and progressive and have a mission to stamp their authority not to be underestimated. They also have an agenda to raise the bar for women and peruse and pursue a path for Guyana, with an interest to uplift the status of women and take care of their welfare satisfactorily and effectively.
It’s A Man’s Man’s Man’s World’s is a song written by James Brown and Betty Jean Newsome, recorded on Feb 16, 1966, and reached the No 1 position on the NY Billboard R&B chart. This type of alienation sadly underscores the importance of women; satiates the bias presumptuousness of a woman’s place is in the home; inflames prejudice and inflates the male ego! While there is a predominantly gender imbalance in the workforce, females tend to dominate the teaching, nursing and administrative professions. The world is changing and the new face is amply captured by Deepshikha Deshmukh, a wife, a daughter-in-law and mother who wears many hats with ease as she competently juggles and multi-task with life also as a film producer and an entrepreneur. She is a symbol of strength and courage and as a mother, she exemplifies the superpower to organise, delegate, work with a schedule and be a disciplinarian. Her advice is for females to leave the comfort, believe in themselves, have faith, be conscious of the environment and seek a platform to apply their talent.
Women have had a rough year, and Vice President Kamala Harris knows it. In her speech before the European Parliament on International Women’s Day, an event aimed at celebrating women’s empowerment and leadership during COVID-19 times, Vice President Kamala Harris called on nations to build a world that works for women. “Doing so it is not just an act of goodwill,” Harris said, “but a show of strength. If we build a world that works for women, our nations will all be safer, stronger, and more prosperous.” Canada on Monday took a step to ensure that its upcoming spring budget, which will also outline a promised post-pandemic stimulus package, includes measures to get women working and address gender inequality. Their Finance Minister, Chrystia Freeland said, “Canada’s future prosperity and competitiveness depend on the ability of women to participate equally – and fully – in our workforce.” She has promised a national childcare plan as a stimulus package worth up to C$100 billion over three tears to support women and their domestic needs. “To build a fairer and more equal Canada, we must ensure a feminist, intersectional recovery from this crisis,” Freeland said.
US President Biden last week congratulated Swati Mohan, Guidance and Control Engineer at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab’s Perseverance team, after as a leader, successfully landed a robot on Mars. He also has a slew of women on his management team. Twelve American men have walked on the moon. The last Apollo astronaut left his footprint there in December 1972. Now, a half-century later, NASA is planning to send people back to the moon. The new NASA programme is called Artemis, after Apollo’s mythical twin sister, and the goal is that the next footprint on the moon will be made by a woman. The Artemis programme isn’t just named for a woman, it’s largely being run by women. Charlie Blackwell-Thompson is NASA’s first female launch director. Despite the many advances of women to key positions throughout the world, “Simply put, our world does not yet work for women as it should,” according to Kamala Harris. Anupriya Goenka, an actress, is known to be a strong voice for gender equality and women empowerment. “It is quite ironical that at a time when we have women in power positions, many of us are still denied of our basic rights, and equal opportunity is still a myth which is why pay disparity continues to be a burning issue,” she said, adding, “What bothers me is that women are judged based on how they dress and how they speak, be it in personal or professional circles. If we don’t adhere to society’s definition of morality, we are called all sorts of names and are accused of sending out signals to invite men.” There is an urge for everyone to do their bit in spreading awareness in creating a society that gives respect and opportunity to both men and women which can bring about a shift in people’s mindset.
Respectfully,
Jai Lall
