Sharon Rowley: Don’t ignore violence against women

Rowley, an attorney, was speaking at event titled Celebrating the Powerful Women of Arima held at the Arima Town Hall Sorzano Street, Arima yesterday. The event was held in commemoration of International Women’s Day which was celebrated on Wednesday last week. She also called on parents to teach their children to respect each other and themselves.

“It is my firm belief that we all can be empowered,” Rowley said.

“We all have the power, but many give it up by thinking that we have none. We have to do all that we can do to ensure that all women in Trinidad and Tobago are treated with dignity. We must all be able to live lives filled with opportunity; lives free from discrimination and violence. “We all have a part to play in ensuring our society is safe and secure for all...As parents we have a responsibility to our young people.

Not only must we guide our daughters, but we must teach our sons to respect our women. We must teach our children to respect themselves.” The celebration was held to recognise the women of Arima who have dedicated their lives to making a valuable contribution to this country’s development.

“They show us that we could have social economic and political empowerment,” said Rowley.

“They show us what gender equality is all about.” Among those women who were honoured were Lt Commander Kele-Ann Bourne of the TT Coast Guard - the first woman of the southern Caribbean to sail across the Atlantic, and Arima’s first female mayor Rose Janneire who also served as assistant general secretary and public relations officer of the People’s National Movement (PNM). Janniere died in July 2011 at the age of 68.