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"Females make up approximately 75 per cent of the public service and over half of the population of Guyana and the Association considers the absence of any woman as a member of these Commissions as a sign of disrespect to the females of Guyana," GAWL said in a statement yesterday.
Adds the statement: "GAWL would like to remind the Appointive Committee of the National Assembly, the Government and the Opposition parties that Guyana is a signatory to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, a convention that is now a part of the Constitution of Guyana which is the supreme law of the land, enforceable through the Human Rights provision as stated in article 154A and which must be compiled with at all times.
ON THE ROAD --- Traffic on the East Bank Demerara road continues to be a challenge for the Ministry of Public Works, as it hastens the construction of a four-lane road amid an unprecedented increase in vehicular traffic on the road. Work on expanding the road through the Ruimveldt Industrial Site moved apace yesterday to provide an alternative to the traditional Georgetown-East Bank link. (Mike Norville photo)
"As a signatory to this human rights convention and having endorsed the Beijing Platform for Action which flowed from the Fourth World Conference on Women in 1995, and the Beijing Plus Five Outcomes Document of the United Nations General Assembly of 2000, Guyana is obligated not to discriminate against women and to ensure that women are allowed to fully participate in the decision making process of the State.
"To do otherwise is a violation of the Constitution, which provides in article 154A that the executive, legislature, judiciary and all organs and agencies of Government as well as natural and legal persons shall respect and uphold the human rights enshrined in the treaties. Also article 39 (2) states that 'In the interpretation of the fundamental rights provisions in this Constitution a court shall pay due regard to the international law, international conventions, covenants and charters bearing on human rights.'
"Also, other recent amendments to the Constitution of Guyana reiterate that women are not to be excluded from the decision-making processes of the State and are not to be discriminated against. The provisions allowing for at least one-third women on the party lists and the concomitant increase in the number of women in the National Assembly flow from constitutional amendments which were fought for by the women of Guyana in order to eliminate the very discriminatory practices which had become a norm. Article 29 states that 'Women's participation in the various management and decision-making processes, whether private, public or state, shall be encouraged and facilitated by laws enacted for that purpose or otherwise.'