BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – WOMEN of all sizes and ages gathered at the Marriott Resort and Royal Beach Casino yesterday afternoon (Mar. 7) to celebrate the centenary of International Women’s Day (IWD).
IWD is described by the UN website as a day when women are recognised for their achievements without regard to divisions, whether national, ethnic, linguistic, cultural, economic or political. It was first commemorated in 1910 in Copenhagen, Denmark and is now marked by the UN General Assembly as March 8 of each year.
The 2010 theme is “Equal rights, equal opportunities: progress for all”, a topic that was widely explored and discussed by the hundreds of women at the second annual “Winning with Women” forum on Sunday. The event was facilitated by the Ministry of Gender Affairs, which is led by the lone female Parliamentarian in the Federation, Hon. Marcella Liburd.
Yesterday’s session focused heavily on women pushing through the proverbial glass ceiling, with both Liburd and featured speaker Mary Ann Chambers, a former Canadian MP, encouraging those assembled to pursue their ambitions unabashedly. The abundant talent of local women were also on display, highlighted by compelling performances from songstress Makeila Armstrong, poet Jihan Williams and Junior Calypso Monarch Karissa Willet.
The ministry held several lead-up activities to the forum, including visits to schools on Friday (Mar. 5) by prominent women in society to give motivational talks on overcoming gender challenges, while a health walk on Saturday (Mar. 6) was said to be well-attended.
In a message disseminated to media houses earlier today (Mar. 8), Liburd wished all the women in the Federation a happy IWD and encouraged the men in their lives to treat them “especially well” for the rest of the day.
She explained that although the government had worked hard to facilitate female empowerment, there was still “much to be done” before women fulfilled their societal potential.
“Here in St. Kitts-Nevis, we have made much progress in the social, economic and political development of our women. They are highly educated, have free access to efficient primary healthcare service, have benefitted greatly from programmes of home ownership and land distribution, and there are more women in positions of leadership in the public sector than at any time in our past.
“However, violence against women, sexual abuse of women, poverty reduction among women, greater participation by women in politics and greater recognition of woman caregivers are all issues that still confront us. As more than half our population are women, we must promote women’s empowerment. By so doing, we are supporting mothers and wives, girlfriends and daughters and etcetera in their struggles to attain a better quality of life.”
Local celebrations culminate today (Mar. 8) with an awards ceremony where various women will be honoured for their achievements in fields such as entrepreneurship, education, health care, and volunteerism.
