Women playing important roles in resolving global problems

SEARCHLIGHT EXTENDS warmest greetings to all the women of St Vincent and the Grenadines, the Caribbean and the rest of the world, on the occasion of International Women’s Day (IWD) this Sunday. We wish for success in all the activities planned and hope that the opportunity is used, not only to address the many challenges facing women, but that it is also utilized as a springboard for revitalizing the women’s movement locally.

As we celebrate the sterling accomplishments of the many outstanding women over the ages, we cannot but note how these have helped significantly to debunk the baseless theory of male superiority. Women have proven time and again that they are equal to the task of successfully meeting the challenges confronting them and in providing leadership.

Our own UN Ambassador Her Excellency Rhonda King is one such achiever of whom we should all be proud but there are many others, in places high and low. All around the world, women are playing their part in helping to resolve seemingly intractable problems and are now an integral part of international Missions.

Among these are election Observer Missions undertaken by various international bodies, a must these days in monitoring general elections. It is no easy task and a living example is the case of Guyana where elections have been racked with controversies for more than six decades now. Heading the CARICOM Observer Mission which monitored the conduct of last Monday’s election in that country is St Lucian Ms. Cynthia Combie Martyr, the Chief Elections Officer of her country.

Days after the polls have concluded, Guyanese are still awaiting the final results and controversies have arisen over a number of issues ranging from the alleged use of fake identification cards, the removal of results posted outside polling stations and the utilisation of a spreadsheet with numbers which do not correspond with the numbers on copies of observers and agents of political parties. Efforts to resolve the issues were continuing at press time.

However Combie Martyr is not at all fazed and has openly expressed dissatisfaction that previous recommendations for reform of the electoral system in Guyana have never been implemented. She charged that “Guyana is still in the same situation electorally as it was all those years ago” and bravely said that the Mission is not satisfied with the manner in which Guyana’s leaders have dealt with the recommendations made.

As we commend the firm stance of this Caribbean woman, we note that her observations have implications for other countries in the region, including ours. Should we not heed the wisdom of Ms. Combie Martyr and seek all-party consensus on electoral reform? Her call is not that of a lone voice for it has already been echoed by the Commonwealth Observer Mission, headed by former Barbadian Prime Minister Owen Arthur which has called for electoral reform and urged that any election-related disputes be addressed through appropriate dispute resolution mechanisms. Are our leaders listening?