GAWU’s 2008 International Women’s Day Message

The Women’s Forum of the Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union is privileged and proud to send fraternal greetings to all representatives of women in Guyana on the occasion of the United Nations recognized International Women’s Day 2008.

These greetings go out to all Guyanese women, themselves in their personal capacities. Those “capacities” include the singular noble status as mothers, wives, help-mates, companions, sisters, nieces, aunts, grandmothers, et al. Truly the Chinese are right when they proclaim that “WOMEN HOLD UP HALF THE SKY.” Though the Women’s Forum hope it is not really so, a local creole proverb opines that when “MOTHER DEAD, FAMILY DONE.”

Those expressions, we submit, are intended to illustrate the fundamental importance of women-folk in this world. As child-bearers, despite all the advances in medical sciences and technology, there is no complete substitute for a mother’s care, expertise and love. No surrogate, no technology can replace the nurturing of a human female. But sadly, in Guyana and the wider world, women’s roles are hardly appreciated. Abuse of women in all its manifestations, seems to be on the increase. Just this week UN Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon declared that stringent strategies and programmes to eliminate abuse of the world’s women and girls “cannot wait”, cannot be postponed.

Even the world’s modern plagues, discomforts and diseases seem to target the world’s vulnerable females. The IUF has reminded us: “The HIV-AIDS pandemic has exposed the deep-rooted, persistent inequalities between men and women. The UNAIDS director calls this women’s chronic lack of power: women’s power to decide over their own bodies, to choose their partners, to reject violence and sexual abuse, to have access to and control over contraceptives. Women, and in particular working women, continue to be denied access to education and professional training, to productive resources and land and to a living wage.

This lack of power not only means that more women and girls than men are affected by HIV/AIDS. It translates into increased poverty for whole societies. It is, therefore, urgent that trade union strengthen their capacity for tackling HIV/AIDS as a workplace issue, with a special focus on women and young workers.”

The GAWU Women’s Forum therefore pledges to heighten its own involvement in programmes to combat HIV/AIDS, Cancer, Diabetes and Tuberculosis in and out of the work-place. As a Forum promoting Gender awareness of trade unionism, women in Agricultural and Sugar sectors and Leadership, we of GAWU also pledge to educate our own members on how to confront the social ills now present in Guyanese society. Illiteracy, sexual discrimination, medical attention and employer abuse come to mind.

We take this opportunity, however, to commend the Ministry of Social Services for its work on women’s protection, development and other issues, to date. As one tribute to International Women’s Day 2008, the GAWU Women’s Forum will signal its intention to collaborate, more actively, with that Ministry in pursuance of women’s issues. We have thousands of female members in the sugar, rice, seafood, beverage manufacture, forestry and clerical sectors of the economy.

To the women of Guyana, on this 2008 International Women’s Day, therefore, the GAWU Women’s Forum sends its warmest greetings and dearest wishes for your all-round success.

A happy, reflective Women’s Day