Starting at the Bayroc Community Centre ground and ending at the Linden/Georgetown Bus Park, Lindeners took part in the ‘Speak Out, Speak Up’ march in the mining town on Saturday.
Organised by the Ministry of Social Protection in partnership with the Minister within the Ministry of Natural Resources, Simona Broomes, and the Linden Town Week Secretariat, the Department of Public Information (DPI) said that participants all marched to the music and recorded voices of Lindeners who stand against the acts of violence against women and girls.
“This march is in support of the violence against women movement, but not only in Linden because we’ve had some issues, but across Guyana because there has been an increase in women being killed and harassed because of various issues, and so today we want to walk against that violence in Linden and we’re hoping to make Linden a town that’s going to be violence free as it relates to women and girls”, the Mayor Waneka Arrindell relayed to DPI.
“Today we say Linden will not tolerate it, we will band together we will look out for our friends, our neighbours, our children and not just ourselves. We will report and prosecute any acts of violence against our women no matter how small until our women can walk on the streets and live without fear,” the Mayor said to the participants at the culmination of the march.
“I was told that this happens all the time, so, what’s the fuss? Forget it and move but when the righteous reign the people rejoice and every evil deed that’s sent out over the lives of our residents of Linden we will not stand by we will not sit down, we will stand, we will fight! The law is there to deal with the lawless!” she added.