(Labour Party Secretariat): Last Friday afternoon (22nd January), the St.Kitts/Nevis Labour Party candidate for Constituency #2 (Central Basseterre), Marcella Liburd launched the country's first women's manifesto entitled 'Committed to Women' , at a public meeting of the party held at the Circus in downtown, Basseterre.
"The Labour Party is committed to women and I am presenting today this women's manifesto in honour and recognition of women because when you take care of the women, you take care of the families and you take care the future of your country," said Liburd.
Copies of the 11-page document were later distributed to the public. Liburd's campaign slogan was 'Stronger Families, Safer Communities.'
Liburd further stated "The Labour Party is committed to women because we recognise that without the women our families would suffer and the statistics show that when women are elected to office , families do better. And so looking after women is looking after your families including your men ," she said.
As highlighted in the Manifesto, while women individually and collectively, have made enormous strides, there is still room for improvement in all areas affecting their lives.
Areas of focus are economic and social development, violence against women, women's right/legislation and health.
Part of the introduction reads: ' The St.Kitts/Nevis Labour Party is committed to the empowerment of women and advancement of gender equity in our nation. This commitment is evident in the increasing educational and training opportunities for women at all levels........The Labour Party is committed to promoting legislation to protect women from discrimination and and enable their full and active participation in all levels of society.
Additionally, the Labour Party is committed to undertaking collective action to address women's economic disadvantage and under representation in decision-making. The eradication of social and cultural exclusion practices will remain the focus of the Labour Party government.'
Liburd pinpointed that the People's Action Movement (PAM) held office for fifteen years and did nothing for the upliftment of women in the country. She outlined that the Labour Party Administration appointed the first female speaker, totaling to two as well as three female senators.
"We want to recongsie the fact that women in this country have been better off under Labour than under any other government, in every area. When you look at the track record you will see that the Labour party is 'the real McCoy' when it comes to the development of women in this country," Liburd said.
In the area of economic and social development, one proposal is for the benefits of employees at the at the Industrial Park, formally known as the 'Factory' , to receive a gratuity package upon ten years of service.
Additionally Liburd is determined to work towards a comprehensive annual physical examination in helping to tackle the diseases that are more prevalent among women like breast and ovarian cancer in women over the age of 35. This women's age group will receive free mammograms and pap smears, which according to Liburd would help reduce the incident of cancer in this country.
"We have to look after our women because if the women are unhealthy and the nation is unhealthy , then the family suffers."
She pinpointed that another area to be addressed is the women who stay at home to look after the elderly, disabled and sick.
"Very often we tend to underestimate the significance and the importance of people who stay at home people and look after their families .It is a major contribution to the economic value of the country and we cannot afford to continue not to recognise them and so this manifesto says that we must recognise women who stay at home to give care in that way because they deprive themselves of going to work and the least that we could do is to recognise them for the value that they contribute to our society," she said.
Following the General Elections held here on Monday, Liburd amassed a ballot tally of 1,907-beating the PAM candidate, Roy Flemming with 1,476.
