Georgetown : Women now have the opportunity to know their rights and be more involved in decision making with the launch of “A guide to the rights of women” booklet by the Social Protection Ministry. The launch took place at Parliament Building on Monday.
The 48-page booklet gives information on the Equal Rights Act, Prevention of Discrimination Act, Rights in Marriage or Common Law Act, Divorce, Maternity Rights, Maintenance and Custody, Domestic Violence and Women’s Rights in the workplace and where to access legal aid among other useful information.
Information about the rights in the booklet was taken from Guyana’s Constitution and laws, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Prevention of Discrimination Act and the Equal Rights Act that speaks to the prevention, punishment and eradication of violence against women.
Yvonne Stephenson, who compiled the book said in many cases women are ignorant of their rights and where to seek information for legal aid, but the booklet provides the relevant information for improving themselves.
Ms. Stephenson noted that past Guyanese women were not given the privileges of these rights which resulted in the hard work of Janet Jagan, Jane Phillips Gay and Jessica Burnham who fought diligently for the change when they became the first three women to enter the National Assembly.
Despite the many measures taken by agencies to protect women, Ms. Stephenson noted that women are fearful of rejection and refuse help. It is therefore anticipated that this publication will remove such fear and make women courageous against their rights being violated and increase their participation at all level of decision making.
Minister of Social Protection Volda Lawrence in her address stated that it is imperative that women know their social and human rights. The Minister believes that the booklet will cause women to be vigilant and cautious in protecting their rights from being violated.
Indigenous people and other organisations are urged to partner with the ministry to have the booklet printed in their dialect for women in the hinterland.
The United Nations (UN) Commission, because of its concern about the status of women, established the International Law of the Norms of Equality.
The Convention on the Political Rights of Women was then implemented by the UN in 1952 to deal with legal obligations involving the principle of equal rights between men and women. This eventually led to the adoption of the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) convention in 1979 to deal with the rights of women and make clear that these rights are applicable to all women.
Some of the rights stipulated in the convention are; a woman is entitled to work, is entitled to safety and protection of her person in her home and place of work and equal pay for work of equal value. These rights are embodied in the Guyana Constitution. Guyana was among the first countries that joined the UN with the formulation of this convention.
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