Most of the women reading this are probably reasonably comfortable in their environment. Some of us, and the mothers of others, were in the forefront of the movement in the 1960s that brought equal pay, maternity leave and many other rights which are now normal in many parts of the world; though there’s still a way to go. But, as recent headlines have shown us, there are still places where not even princesses have rights. In other places, though laws exist, girls of 12 and even younger, are still being married off, sometimes to much older men. In war-torn countries the problem is compounded. That leads us right into domestic violence, made even worse by COVID restrictions, where no country or stratum of society is immune. If you see the signs in an employee or friend, remember there are hotlines in every country.
One of the biggest problems in the world today is human trafficking – modern slavery, with women and children being the greatest targets. This exists everywhere but unfortunately is not given priority by many governments.
We in the Caribbean are on par with developed countries in many areas but there is one where, sadly, we fall behind: sexual harassment in the workplace. It is not uncommon, right here in our corner of the world, for a problem to be reported to the highest level and still completely ignored. Let us all try, individually and collectively, to wipe this out in our own companies, through vigilance, and our own countries, with enforced laws.
Let’s end this conversation with an interest graph showing the best and worst countries to be a woman.
You might also be interested in:
- UN Women: Ending violence against women
- Amnesty International: Women’s Rights
- UN: Human Trafficking FAQs
- UN: Human Trafficking Report: Central America & The Caribbean ((pdf)
- International Women’s Day official UN commemoration: Achieving an equal future in a COVID-19 world on the way to the Generation Equality Forum (video)
- International Women’s Day events worldwide
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Your News Team: Shubhash, Betty, Pedro and Brian
The views expressed above are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions, standards or policies of the CAA. The CAA assumes no responsibility or liability for the accuracy or completeness of content contained in any linked site.
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