CARICOM Regional Gender Equality Strategy Validation

Today at the Biltmore Plaza in Belize City, a CARICOM regional gender equality strategy validation meeting was held to look at a draft policy for the region. It comes almost a year after CARICOM has been doing its consultations. The draft policy aims towards women’s equality and will become the guiding gender policy for the entire region as it relates to rights of women and girls. News Five spoke with President of the National Women’s Commission Thea Garcia-Ramirez about the meeting.

Thea Garcia-Ramirez

Thea Garcia-Ramirez, President, National Women’s Commission

“Aimed towards women’s equality in the region. CARICOM, we are a member state and so we have the draft policy which we are working on and once circulated to all the member states then we will have a definitive gender policy for the entire region and that fits well with our own program and the human rights agenda of the ministry. Entire country of Belize can get behind a policy that speaks to equality, that speaks to women are equal and what we need to do in order for us to achieve that equality. If it means we have to have special considerations for education, for employment. If it means as a policy we have no tolerance for discrimination, as a policy we have no tolerance for violence in the home where it all starts. Because if we have violence in the streets it is merely a reflection of what happens at home. So I think the entire country can get behind the idea that there should be no tolerance for this. We cannot leave anyone behind. We cannot leave any girl any woman behind when it comes to educational opportunities, to job opportunities.”