NGO hails removal of NIS gender injustice

THE NETWORK of NGOs has congratulated Junior Finance Minister Conrad Enill for taking action to remove “gender discrimination in the National Insurance Act.” Coordinator of the group, Hazel Brown, hailed the removal of an “unjust denial” of a widow’s benefit for life to women under 50 years of age. “Thousands of women, including my own mother, suffered under this unfair and discriminatory provision. We have been lobbying for its removal since the beginning of the NIS scheme 1972 and our cries fell on deaf ears until now,” Brown said. “This in spite of the Government’s signing the UN Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) in 1989.”

She added: “This victory for women, many of whom are poor and dependant on these benefits, demonstrate how when women come together to defend their rights, using the UN and other Conventions, we can achieve gender justice.” Brown said more needed to be done, particularly with respect to domestic workers and the network would continue to advocate for justice for them.