This year International Women’s Day provides an opportunity to call women and men everywhere to action by shining a spotlight on the issue of violence against women, the National Congress of Women (NCW), the women’s arm of the People’s National Congress Reform, said in a message marking the occasion.

And endorsing  the United Nations theme for International Women’s Day 2009 – “Women and men united to end violence against women and girls”,  the NCW noted that the occasion provides an opportunity to pay tribute to the achievements of women and to highlight the needs and concerns of women on the national, regional and global agenda,

Moreover, the NCW observed that despite the fact that the Domestic Violence Act was passed in the Parliament of Guyana since 1996, and there have been programmes including the “Stamp It Out” campaign against domestic violence, as well as the annual observance of International Day of Violence against Women, “this heinous act is still prevalent in our society.”

Against that background, the NCW called on everyone to work together for the eradication of domestic violence from the Guyanese society.

The organization also saluted  all Guyanese women, including stalwarts of the PNC Women’s Auxiliary and the WRSM,   the forerunners of NCW.