SVG women celebrate International Women’s Day

The women in St Vincent and the Grenadines join the rest of the world in celebration of International Women’s Day (IWD), today, March 8 when a number of activities will be held to highlight issues relating to gender equality.{{more}}

This year, the day will be held under the theme “Planet 50-50 by 2030. Step it up for gender equality.”

Although there has been significant progress with regard to women’s involvement in the development process since the United Nations Assembly gave global recognition to the IWD, women are still faced with many challenges of inequalities in our society, which affect their fundamental rights and the political and economic empowerment of women.

Among the challenges are the issues of social exclusion, especially among women and young people, while the perennial problem of gender-based violence still needs to be addressed satisfactorily.

In order to achieve gender parity by 2030, mechanisms must be put in place to address the concerns which hinder equal participation of women, including young women, at all levels of the society.

There is need for gender balance in Parliament, which is the highest decision-making body; the issue of gender budgeting, which determines resource allocation, as well as increased support for the national women’s machinery, in order to strengthen its role in influencing government policies and programmes. Civil society organizations need to play a more crucial role in raising awareness and advocate for policies which promote and advance women’s progress. (Contributed by Ancelma Rose)