This was emphasised by former Minister within the Ministry of Human Services and Social Security and President of the Inter-American Commission on Women (CIM), Ms. Indranie Chandarpal.

Shortly after its assumption into office in 1992, the Government began to place much emphasis on improving the income levels, providing employment opportunities, educating and preventing the abuse of women.

The appointment of a Minister of Human Services and Social Security with direct responsibility for Women's Affairs has been a significant step in the right direction to ensure that women are empowered.

The Women's Affairs Bureau (WAB), a Government Agency, was established specifically to take responsibility for coordinating national efforts to eliminate discrimination against women and ensuring the full participation and advancement of women in the political, social, economic and cultural aspects of society. WAB also offers counselling services and advice to women. The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) had also assisted with $88M to set up community counselling centres at several locations countrywide.

In 1995, the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Bill was passed in Parliament. While some may have reservations about this move by the Government to have such a Bill passed it was seen as empowering women with the choice of termination of pregnancy with advice, and to a free choice of contraception. The focus was more on low-income earners because often it is strenuous on them to raise their children.

During the same year, Government allocated $10M through the Poverty Alleviation Programme for specific women's programmes. Among these were:

- Conscious awareness programme in nine Regions; 500 women benefitted from this programme;

- Training for trainers involving women from all over the ten Administrative Regions;

- Small business training workshops;

- Gender training for managers and executives;

- Assistance given to several non-governmental organisations to assist with the training of 25 women in computer education;

- Financial contributions to small women's agricultural groups;

- Assisting hundreds of community groups through the Food for Work Programme, which was executed by the Social Impact Amelioration Programme (SIMAP). Women were the main beneficiaries.

In 1996, the Domestic Violence Bill and the National Policy Document were also passed in Parliament. This policy Paper outlines several principles on which the Government's policy on women is based. Some of the principles include:

- That women's rights are human rights and they include equitable access in the economic, social, cultural and political spheres;

- That women need to be able to live and grow as full as equal human beings, who have value both as persons in themselves and as mothers, workers, organisers and community managers;

- That equality between women and men must begin in the home, and that household democracy and sharing of parenting and domestic responsibilities must therefore be promoted.

Also, the Government of Guyana signed several declarations pertaining to women and the protection of their rights. For example, several reports were sent to the Committee on Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), which is a United Nations programme.

After 1997, the focus was to create a centre for abused girls. Even though this did not materialise, a night shelter for the destitute was established. Transportation was available to pick up people from the streets and take them to the Drop in Centre, which was based at the Sacred Heart School, Main Street. The destitute were also provided with two meals daily, along with clothing from the Food for the Poor.

During its first term in Office, the PPP/C Government prioritised the allocation of houselots to female-headed households. This was all in an effort to empower them. More recently, however, it has been emphasising the leadership role of women in society.

During its last tenure, it supported the amendment to the Guyana Constitution to allow 31 per cent of Parliamentarians to be women. The first female President Mrs. Janet Jagan was elected in 1997. Research material from the Prime Executive Coordinating Council on Women and Gender Equity Office indicates that female employees dominate the Public Service, the private domestic service area, the security guard service areas, the garment sector and agriculture.

Last year 159 women graduated from an Inter-American Development Bank (IDB)/Institute of Distance and Continuing Education (IDCE) non-traditional skills training programme. These women were trained in masonry, carpentry, electrical installation, plumbing and joinery among other areas. Some of these persons have already secured jobs in the public and private sectors.

"We gave women the opportunity to come on board and work with us", Mrs. Chandarpal said.

Moreover, there are for the first time three Amerindian Parliamentarians, and for the first time, a woman is the Minister of Amerindian Affairs. Out of a total of seven judges, four are women. For the first time in Guyana and the Caribbean, a woman Ms. Desiree Bernard was appointed Chancellor of the Judiciary. The Director General of Foreign Affairs is a woman Ms. Elizabeth Harper. It has been claimed also that 25 to 30 per cent of Amerindian Village Councillors are women.

The Government has established more than 140 Health Centres countrywide, and the majority of Community Health Workers (CHW's) are women. Further, in its efforts to provide a better health care system for women, over 1997 and 1999, the female mortality rate was reduced from 81in every 10,000 to 50.0 in every 10,000.

Government instituted a Rural Women's Network across the country. This was launched in 1998 with the aim of assisting rural women in training and in accessing credit so that they can be involved in sustainable development.

Members were exposed to training in agriculture and small-scale production. Ms. Chandarpal said that Government's aim through all of these events was to change psyche of poverty and to "ensure that at the end of it all, peoples needs are taken care of".

In 1997, the Handicraft Industry Development Agency (HIDA) was registered. It was launched the next year with 76 groups of craft workers. This agency was established to accelerate the development of the handicraft industry and to provide economic activities for women, most of whom were Amerindians.

In 1997, also, the Guyana Women's Leadership Institute (GWLI) was established. It is located at Cove and John, East Coast Demerara. The whole thrust of the institution is to build the capacity of women to enhance their participation in the decision making process and to contribute in a holistic manner to community and national development.

The Institute's aim is to provide management skills for girls and women to enable them to be confident, assertive, economically independent, thus being leaders in their communities.

This initiative was derived from the Government's policy to promote gender equity and the full and equal participation of Guyanese women in decision making countrywide.

Another recent initiative was the establishment of the Difficult Circumstances Unit (DCU), which supports persons in difficult circumstances financially and with food. This project was derived from the Poverty Reduction Strategy and most of the beneficiaries are women.

Cabinet has also considered the establishment of a Family Court and Family Code. This was derived from the Commission on the Family, which was established as part of a five-year plan of action for women 1993-2003.