Minister Amna Ally and Senior Gender Affairs Officer from the Gender Affairs Bureau Pastor Diego Alphonso joins hands in celebration with some of Guyana’s leading male role models
Georgetown: Men should be empowered to challenge prevailing social norms and to change their behaviours with the objective of attaining gender equality. This was the charge from Minister of Social Protection, Amna Ally, in observation of International Men’s Day.
The Ministry of Social Protection’s Gender Affairs Bureau in collaboration with the National Community Policing Groups today hosted ‘A Salute to Men’ at the Guyana Police Force Training Centre Auditorium, Camp Street, Georgetown. The showcase of Guyana’s male talent was in keeping with the theme: “Celebrating men and boys”.
“I want to encourage men to participate fully in all actions towards gender equality and urge the establishment of the principle of shared power and responsibility between men and women in the home, community, in the workplace and in the wider national and international communities,” Minister Ally said.
However, the Minister acknowledged that there is the need for more interventions targetting and supporting men and boys. She assured that the administration is committed to addressing issues that affect Guyana’s males. “More emphasis will be placed on men’s and boys’ health issues, promote gender equality and highlight positive role models in Guyana,” Minister Ally pledged.
The Minister made a special appeal for greater positive male parental involvement to arrest the country’s growing sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) rate. “Take positive initiatives to eliminate gender stereotypes and promote gender equality, including combating violence against women,” Minister Ally charged.
The Ministry of Social Protection is working with men and women to eliminate SGBV and promote gender equality and freedom from discrimination in Guyana. “We must consider measures that we can all take to protect men and boys from harm and provide them with a safe world where they can thrive and prosper,” Minister Ally said.
Men’s involvement in their children’s upbringing could also lead to a reduction in antisocial or dangerous risk-taking behaviours, as men remain the “glue that holds our families, our communities and our world together” Minister Ally reasoned. “Let the boy child grow up knowing he has a precious role to play for a gender-balanced and equitable society,” she said.
The evening’s display of male talent in song and dance was interspersed with “man talk”, words of encouragement from male leaders the likes of Kester Dean, Hajee Roshan Khan and Allister Collins.
International Men’s Day has been observed annually on November 19 since February 1992. The six pillars of International Men’s Day”, include focusing on men’s and boys’ health, improving gender relations, promoting gender equality, and highlighting male role models.
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