Head of Womens' Grup Says Attention Must be Directed To Challenges Faced By Women
Today is International Womens’ Day a day set aside to recognize the achievements and progress of women in social political and economic fields.
Yet despite the achievements women continue to wrestle with a number of serious issues including violence against women and girls. Flavia Cherry St. Lucia’s National representative to the Caribbean Association for Feminist Research and Action (CAFRA) says more needs to be done to raise awareness of these issues.
"The continuing and persistent problem of domestic violence against women...now we have a totally unacceptable level of crime in the country which is having severe impact on women and girls; we have issues relating to trafficking, issues relating to the economic empowerment of women and the fact that because of the global economic climate things are becoming even more difficult for women. That normally has a harder and different impact on women in rural communities; women who are farmers, women who were already poor even before the economic climate became as bad as it is now. So there are a host of issues that really are impacting on women but someohow they are not getting the kind of attention that they should get." she says.
Cherry says she is hopeful that activities to mark Womens’ Day can draw further awareness of those issues affecting womens’ lives.
CAFRA for its part has planned an entire week of activities, including a church service, press conferences, newspaper supplements, a symposium on sexual health and aging, various media features, including TV interviews, and a team visit to rural business women. The organization was also represented on a committee to select this year’s woman of the year Martha Jn Phillip of Martha’s Tyre Service. CAFRA will also host a symposium on trade and finance for women in business in Choiseul.