Women’s forum at Parish Hall

“Women Breaking Through Traditional Barriers” is the theme for this year’s Women’s Week. An educational forum took place at the Holy Redeemer Parish Hall this afternoon. Speakers included attorney Magali Marin, Deacon Ilona Smiling and journalist Anthia Mariano who discussed women and the law and how women perform in non-traditional jobs. According to Brenda Garbutt, the Acting Director of the Women’s Department, such forums highlight the contributions women make to society and as well gives women an idea of the choices they can make.

Brenda Garbutt, Coordinator, Forum

“Basically the purpose of it is to educate women, the Belizean public and women in general on women who are in non traditional jobs. What have been their experiences and the whole issue of turning to or moving away from the traditional type of work women used to do.”

Q: “What are you hoping to achieve?”

Brenda Garbutt

“We are hoping that one, to have a more sensitize Belize public in terms of what women can do. We are also hoping that they see these areas as alternatives for women and in addition to that, we are not only focusing on women, we are also trying to get the men involved. If you recall earlier we held a masculinity workshop. What we did was to get men to look at their behavior and to see how we can re-channel that behavior.”

During the forum, The YWCA gave awards to women who have made a significant contribution to Belizean sports. The YWCA has produced a special magazine highlighting their achievements.