On Wednesday March 24th, 47 women from across the country and from all political hues graduated from the 1st Women in Politics Project hosted by the National Women’s Commission.
In speaking at the ceremony, Minister of Human Development and Social Transformation Hon. Peter Eden Martinez expressed great satisfaction in the
accomplishments by the 47 graduates pointing out that “I would like to think that these 47 women sitting before me today represent the future of politics in Belize.” He commended the participants since most of the participants were not from Belize City where the project was held. In fact, some of the participants came from as far as Toledo to be a part of the project which saw them gather every Saturday for 15 weeks to receive the training.
Martinez explained that “although we have come a long way, gender inequality continues to exist… females make up the vast majority of the students in tertiary level educational institutions, but the female unemployment rate is 11% higher than the male unemployment rate.” He added that “we can count the number of women who have stood for and been elected at the municipal and national levels.”
He continued explaining that the graduates were “teachers, public officers, homemakers, businesswomen, lawyers, reporters, economists, social scientists, development workers, community organizers and municipal leaders… if our women begin to take their rightful places alongside our men in the chief decision making bodies of our government… this gender balance will form an excellent framework for us to achieve the balanced, holistic, people centered development our citizens deserve.”
One of the participants graduating and who intends to take up her position in the leadership roles is Audrey Matura Sheppard. In speaking with the Guardian, she explains that it was a “very good experience, an eye opening experience that made me realize that women who are quiet have very strong leadership potential.” She noted that though there were participants from political parties in the project there was never any fight or dispute over partisan politics and added that “women in their own quiet way can advocate for changes and can hold leadership positions; you don’t have to be noisy or make a big fuss.”
And while the occasion was the graduation, Hon. Martinez pointed out that moves are well underway to ensure gender equality in Belize. He points out that the National Women’s Commission is revising the National Gender Policy which will be taken to Cabinet shortly. In the revision, he notes that the policy document that will be presented to Cabinet will include, among other things, a situational analysis, a women’s rights component and an implementation plan.
