Women exert their strength in commemoration of International Women’s Day

[dropcap]G[/dropcap]reat things can happen when people come together. It is not always easy being a woman in Saint Lucia where a walk through the streets with your female body can make you the subject of sexual objectification, harassment and, in more traumatic cases, brutality. The Ministry’s Department of Gender Relations, in order to fortify the voices of women, empower them, and support their well-intentioned initiatives, went the extra mile this year to observe March 8’s International Women’s Day (IWD).

On Monday March 5, a press briefing was held at the Office of the Prime Minister to highlight local initiatives planned to commemorate the day, which has been themed by local government: ‘Rural and urban activists, transforming women’s lives’. Janey Joseph, acting Director of the Department of Gender Relations, Ministry of Education, Innovation, Gender Relations and Sustainable Development, at the start of the briefing stated, “We have brought together as many of the activists as we could find for today. And these are not by any means all of the activists that have been working behind the scenes year after year in transforming women’s lives.”

Presented events include:

Science and Technology Department within the Ministry of Sustainable Development

To celebrate both IWD and International Day of Women and Girls in Science and Technology, which was observed on February 11, the department chose to feature Saint Lucian women in Science both here and abroad on its recently published Facebook page “Science and Technology in Saint Lucia”.

This initiative has allowed the department the opportunity to celebrate the achievements of Saint Lucian women in Science as well as the progress Saint Lucia has made towards gender equality. With its campaign for IWD suitably mandated,“to contribute to the global momentum in striving for gender parity”, the department hopes that this will translate into a mentorship programme for girls interested in pursuing careers in science.

St. Joseph’s Convent (SJC)

On March 8, the principal staff and students of SJC celebrated International Women’s Day in collaboration with the Ministry of Sustainable Development

and a number of rural and

urban activists, under the sub-theme ‘Women in entrepreneurship’. The event, which was held at Constitution Park in Castries from 9:00am to 4:00pm, included a showcase of businesses owned by women in the following fields: food, cosmetology, the creative industries, services and events.

Saint Lucia Crisis Centre

On IWD the Saint Lucia Crisis Centre held “an open day” where women exhibited their work after a three-month sewing project. This is part of the organisation’s multi-faceted skills development programme for women.

Saint Lucia Books

In commemoration of IWD, the group collaborated with the Blue Coral Mall to facilitate a book showcase dedicated to female artists.

In the words of Co-ordinator Dahlia Francois,

“Saint Lucia Books is designed to showcase and make available our Saint Lucian literary products that are valuable, not only as artistic works but also as a resource which feeds our pride in being a creative corner of the world.”

Aspire Artemis Foundation

The Aspire Artmeis Foundation held a conference from March 6 to March 9 titled “Women’s Empowerment and Youth Development Summit”.

The group’s members, whose aim it is to create opportunities for the advancement of youth in underserved communities across the globe, used this three-day summit to allow cross-cultural exchange between young leaders around the world. Included in the summit were keynote addresses by best-selling author Fawn Germer and Simone Bowe, a young leaders’ panel discussion, and more.

Celestial Self-Development Centre (CSDC)

Today, Saturday March 10, the Celestial Self Development Centre, along with the Vital Voices Global Leadership Network, will host the Vital Voices Global Mentoring Walk.

The walk is designed to pair established women leaders with emerging women leaders and to facilitate mentorship between the two.

The walk is slated to begin at 3:00pm from the car park next to the CSDC office on Chaussee Road, Castries and is expected to last three hours.

HERStoire—Sister2Sister Safe Space Programme

On March 9, The HERStoire team officially launched its Sister2Sister Safe Space Programme at the Blue Coral Conference Room in Castries.

The programme will run until December 2018 and will include anonymous, virtual group chats, an on-going
online forum, blog posts,
videos, podcasts, talks, workshops and other
mediums. The group’s aim is to give women the opportunity to share their experiences and speak on their most intimate troubles, including subjects on sexual health and gender inequality.

She.lc

She.lc, which is in its third year of operation, is a collaborative venture between the Department of Gender Relations, the Mexican Embassy, Alliance Français, AIM and Youthspac.

The organisation hosted a forum on March 9 aimed at creating an opportunity for important discussions on women’s affairs and to manifest a feasible plan to address issues moving forward.

On March 16 and 17, She.lc will host workshops where the issue of sexual harassment, solutions and guidelines will be discussed and developed.

Strut For a Cause Project

Strut For a Cause is a philanthropic organisation with the mandate to assist non-profit organisations and communities in need of assistance.

On March 23 the group will host the “Clothesline Project”. This project was established in 1990 in the United States with the aim of highlighting the plight of women, particularly on issues such as domestic violence.

During the event women will be allowed to express their feelings, relate to others and foster connections with counsellors. To take part in the event, which will be held on the Derek Walcott Square, participants will inscribe their innermost feelings on T-shirts, which will be made available by the Strut For a Cause team. Other tools including paintbrushes and markers will also be provided.