WOMEN TAKE OVER PoS

THE SOLIDARITY OF THOUSANDS of TT women was witnessed yesterday, as women from all walks of life gathered on the Brian Lara Promenade from as early as 9 am to celebrate International Women’s Day. The Ministry of Community Development, Culture and Gender Affairs hosted a series of events which included an opening ceremony, followed by exhibitions of various booths and a street parade around the Brian Lara Promenade. The parade which began at 12.20 pm, consisted of representatives from Government ministries, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and women’s groups, took to the streets with banners and flags along Independence Square. Many of the messages sent out by the groups called on women to continue the fight against the HIV/AIDS virus.

The women of the Police Service received a lusty applause from the crowds, as they marched confidently along Independence Square. For many women the highlights of the day were the various booths on the Promenade with information on different job opportunities for women, as some booths were handing out employment forms to be filled out. Women visiting the booths said they were pleased with this year’s display, as they would be leaving with a great network of information. Among the popular booths were the Child Welfare League which treated women to free manicures, the Regiment and the Police Service. Minister in the Ministry of Finance, Christine Sahadeo delivered an address at the opening ceremony in the basement of the Ministry of Finance, questioning the Prime Minister’s statement on the glass ceiling being “non-existent” in TT.

“That statement in my humble view is still argumentative. Breaking the glass ceiling suggests that having achieved success, it then opens the window of opportunity for another. What about the Boys’ Club? Is it significant? Are we (women) part of that prestigious club? As we can see, many of our male colleagues have not made adjustments to embrace us,” said Sahadeo. Minister of Culture Joan Yuille-Williams greeted the crowd on the Brian Lara Promenade, with reassurances of support for the women of the Breakfast Shed. “They are an institution and the Government is not going to let them down. We are trying to conduct further negotiations,” said Williams.

NO celebration for Laventille mother

WHILE Trinidad and Tobago spent thousands of dollars yesterday marking International Women’s Day, a Laventille mother of six, Marlene Andrews, continues to sleep under the stars, and counts her blessings every time she is lucky enough to get money to buy food or to travel to various organisations in an attempt to get a home for her family. International Women’s Day, commemorated yesterday across the globe, found Andrews sitting on a mattress under a tree at Upper Laventille Road, East Dry River, where she has been sleeping for the past three weeks, since her house collapsed on Carnival Tuesday. In an interview with Newsday yesterday, Andrews said several organisations contacted her after reading about her plight in Newsday, but not many  kept their promise to help.

She said she received a letter from the Port-of-Spain Corporation indicating that she should visit Browne’s Furniture Store in Barataria to collect a few household items. However, she said she has no place to store the items. Andrews also indicated that she has been to the National Housing Authority and while the officials there were helpful, they had no housing units for her. With regard to her health, Marlene said that sleeping under a tree in the open air is having a negative effect on her. She is ill with a chest cold and fears that if she does not get a home soon the problem may become worse. A concerned neighbour pointed out that a number of ministers, including Community Development, Culture and Gender Affairs Minister Joan Yuille-Williams and Junior Finance Minister Christine Sahadeo, stood on the Brian Lara Promenade yesterday proclaiming the work being done by their ministries to alleviate poverty and assist and cherish the women of TT. 

The neighbour dismissed this as old talk, as “none of them came to visit Marlene or her children to see how they were surviving on International Women’s Day.” In her speech yesterday, Yuille-Williams indicated that her ministry was committed to the task of “empowering the nation’s women towards the achievement of gender equality, facilitating economic growth and establishing requisite structures which would result in TT becoming a developed country by 2020.” The neighbour, who said that she wished she could do more to help Marlene and her children, noted that “these ministers talking all kind of things about caring for people, eradicating poverty, helping the poor, getting rid of unemployment, but how are they doing this when a mother and her six children are homeless and dependent on the kindness of strangers.”

Of her six children, Marlene still has responsibility for four, while the other two are “more or less” on their own. She explained that the younger of the brood ages six to 13 are living at the homes of family and friends while her 12-year-old daughter Shirnel sleeps under the tree with her. She expressed concern for Shirnel who is due to sit her SEA examination next year and whose books were completely destroyed when their home came crashing down Carnival Tuesday. Marlene said that Member of Parliament for the area Fitzgerald Hinds has not contacted her nor has he sent any correspondence to her indicating that he was willing or going to assist her in anyway.

In Tobago —
Women told not to sell themselves short

A historical picture of women’s achievements and struggles — from biblical time to the present — to gain their rightful place in today’s developing world was drawn by secretary for Community Development and Gender Affairs, Cynthia Alfred, yesterday during her feature address at the commemoration of International Women’s Day at James Park. Alfred, also Deputy Chief Secretary of the THA, focused heavily on the local theme of “Gender Equality Beyond 2005, Building A More Secure Future For Sustainable Development” as she urged women not to sell themselves short and confine themselves to traditional roles. “When God made us, he made us equal to men. No longer in this country should a woman allow herself to be abused because women have rights and we have to stand up for what is right and proper.

No longer must a mother hide her head and pretend that she doesn’t know when someone in the family is interfering with her girls, the days for that have passed. We are the bedrock of the society.” Eight of Tobago’s outstanding community contributors were also honoured during the ceremony. Lydia Paul, Beatrice Julien, Merle Romeo, Emelda Cruickshank, Angelita Dillon-Bekor, Annetta Archer, Alverna Yorke and Cheryl Romeo received awards in the areas of community service, women’s development, music (drummology), service in the health sector, early childhood development, health and community policing respectively.