By Cyndie Demming

“Equal access to education, training and science and technology: Pathway to decent work for women.”

CHRISTABEL PANKHURST admonishes us to, “Remember the dignity of your womanhood. Do not appeal, do not beg, do not grovel. Take courage, join hands, stand beside us, fight with us.”

With sweat, pain, tears and heartache we have come a long way, 100 years ….I quiz myself about our story, my story, her story …and often speculate about what will be etched in the nation’s story in the next 100 years as it relates to our women folk.

This year’s theme has caused me to reflect on the implication of the centenary celebrations. For a brief moment let us carefully consider the ramifications of this theme. As we join forces to eliminate gender disparities at all levels of education by 2015, in support of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The aim is to ensure that every child and young person enjoy the benefits of equal access to education regardless of their sex.

The call is for partnership between government, donor countries, non-governmental organizations, civil society, the private sector, communities and families to join forces as stakeholders with a platform for action and fire up our efforts to get equal access to education, training, science and technology irrespective of the person’s political persuasion, social or economic background.

I admonish the decision makers to recognize and adhere to the fact that gender equality is a fundamental condition for the full enjoyment of human rights by women and men, and promoting gender equality worldwide is a global priority which can only be redound to our advantage.

In our beloved Federation, I pose the question, is gender equality promoted or, are our sheroes sidelined, trampled on, kicked down and boxed around while the offenders are hailed as heroes? How do these acts of violence support the decent lifestyles for women that the theme is advocating?

All is not lost as International instruments now exist to promote and defend women’s rights, but gender inequalities are real and persist in a wide range of areas. Violence against women, gendered poverty, and women’s exclusion from decision-making in political and economic life are all characteristics of the unlevel playing field that we find ourselves.

If our aim in St Kitts and Nevis is to promote and retain women’s rights the inequalities that exist must first be addressed and resolved through the transformation of social structures and relationships between men and women. Addressing this transformation process will require inclusion and not exclusion of all key stakeholders. This will result in promoting policy-oriented research, capacity-building, training and advocacy for gender equality and women’s rights in our nation.

The time has come for our women to demand training and recognition of our work in the various fields of expertise. Let us celebrate and promote all women especially our women in agriculture and light industries; farmers, manufacturers, agro processors, basket weavers, clothing and textiles specialists, furniture technicians, jewelry architects, and women in science and technology; veterinarians, engineers, doctors, nurses, architects, and marine biologists. It is widely known that a lack of recognition of women’s work leads to a lack of public investment in areas where women are highly noticeable.

I urgently call on the powers of authority to review policies that adversely affect women’s training and educational advancement processes. I admonish you to move immediately to create the right atmosphere for women to live decent lives …. It will be irresponsible to let 100 years of our toiling go in vain. Think about it!

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