More needs to be done to not only promote women’ interests, but to give them opportunities to progress. This is according to His Excellency Dr Irfaan Ali, who described Guyanese women as strong, driven and committed during the launch of the WE LIFT- Women’s Empowerment Expo at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre on Saturday (yesterday).
He noted that there should be daily reflections on the hard work that women around the world are tasked with doing and that many factors inhibit female potential, but that women rise above and perform with admiration.
“I don’t have the capability to understand the level of challenges that a woman would go through in her life cycle… but women have in them the potential to do anything.”
According to his view, not only are women designed stronger than men, but that beyond the strength, they exhibit an “inner soul” which is transformational and essential in any society and in any country.
The Head of State said that women epitomise care, love, patience, and commitment and are the glue that keeps everything intact and that locally, there there are many women in key positions.
He made mention of his female Ministers, some of whom were at the venue and stated that Guyanese women are innovative, motivated and that their resourcefulness are unmatched.
President Ali, who was at the time delivering the feature address at the launch of the two-day event leading up to International Women’s Day on Monday, noted that despite the drive, women are faced with many challenges that impede their efforts.
According to a press statement from the Government, the Head of State referred to the challenges women have, especially single parent mothers, in accessing loans and pointed out that not just the Government, but the private sector also need to have renewed systems in place.
He also highlighted that women play an integral role in the family and are essential in the transformation of Guyana and pointed out that changing the country, starts with changing communities, changing homes and in every facet of that change women will be involved.
“We cannot change this country community by community, unless we develop a family. Unless we sit as families. We change the way families think. And when you combine that change you get community change, then you get national change. The value of more empowered families is important in advancement of women. Also stronger families are critical in supporting women.”
He said too that his intention is to promote more jobs which will benefit women, including call centres, which can earn additional income for housewives.
