The Guyana Trades Union Congress (GTUC) joins with our fellow men and women around the world, more particularly Guyana, to mark International Women’s Day. This year’s commemoration is being honoured with the theme #ChooseToChallenge, and could not be more fitting. Women continue to be the backbone of society. They are not only considered as nurturers in the home but have held their own in the workplace and often the force behind struggles to bring about change in society. Women are known to ignore or defer their personal care and well-being to ensure others are attended to. They are oftentimes overworked, overlooked and taken for granted.
Many can recount stories of domestic abuse, workplace harassment and other egregious treatment that in the traditional man’s world, patriarchal society, would be overlooked, justified or the affected expected to ‘bear their strain.’ In national planning and development the input of women is seen as incidental or assumption made that a man knows what is best and could therefore determine. That is your power and should not be ceded or overrun because only a woman knows what is best for her.
Hence, the theme #ChooseToChallenge becomes pivotal to the development of women, as individuals and a demographic. GTUC joins hands with all women in this challenge to be treated as equals in their personal and public lives and to assume their equal place at organisational and national decision-making platforms in playing a meaningful role in shaping the future for themselves, loved ones and society. Disruption can be functional, because oftentimes only through challenging the system things get better. Thus today, GTUC says to all women to go forth boldly and claim their rightful place in self and national development. The world is too your oyster, you have proven you can achieve anything you set your minds to.
Happy International Women’s Day!
