As the world celebrated International Women’s Day yesterday under the theme ‘Connecting Girls Inspiring futures’ The Alliance for Change (AFC) hopes that social issues affecting Guyanese women would be looked at with urgency by the authorities.
“The Alliance For Change calls on all the leaders to examine the true position and conditions of the majority of our women and to act immediately to help them” said AFC parliamentarian Cathy Hughes at a press conference the party held at the Ariantze Hotel on Wednesday.
Hughes and other fellow party executive Valerie Garrido-Lowe, while mentioning the strides women would have made over the decades, condemned the suffering of their Guyanese sisters as they related alarming statistics of exploitation mostly Amerindian women endured.
“At a recent caucus on women it was highlighted that one in every three women was molested at some time in her life. This is an astonishing revelation and does not speak well to the way our women are protected. Every day in the newspapers we read stories of women who were physically abused, more often than not it would have been at the hands of their spouse or partner. Many have lost their lives and many of these were young women still in their productive years. This country cannot afford to have our women killed/disabled at the rate it is happening“, Hughes said.
She said that her party will be petitioning the National Assembly to have adequate funds set aside in this year’s budget for the procurement of additional safe houses for abused women and their children, funds for transitional financial support and is demanding that there be special tax benefits for single parents.” “It is not enough to say that we have some of the more progressive legislation. Legislation without action is worthless”, she said.
However it was once again noted that government is yet to meet with the opposition to discuss the national budget. Questioned about the AFC’s move should a budget presentation date be set without consultation, party executive Moses Nagamootoo said he would not comment on the hypothetical scenario but that his party would wait to see what the next move on the budget would be.
Meanwhile Garrido-Lowe expressed disgust at the exploitation of Amerindian women by persons who trick pauperised teenage girls and women into thinking they would be given legitimate jobs as cooks in their mining camps. The cases she said were “too many” to single out and many times she receives complaints from families whose women left home for remote areas to work and were used as sex slaves either at camps or in the capital where they are told they would work as domestic servants or waitresses.
In addition she highlighted the plight of women, of the hinterland village called Chinese Landing in the Barama River, who are left to the mercy of the rainfall for potable water since their once drinkable creek water has been polluted by mining waste. The nearby river that the community, of approximately 180 uses has also become ”white” with sediments from mining done up river. Lowe also hopes that issues of healthcare and education would also be looked at in the riverain village.
