Dear Editor,
The Amerindian Peoples Association wishes to extend our heartiest regards to all women, particularly indigenous women as we observe International Women’s Day 2019. Every day across the world Indigenous women face discrimination from various parts of societies. However, in the face of these and many other circumstances our women still triumph. It is no secret that Indigenous women are often forgotten as major contributors to the development of societies. However, we at the APA stand firm with our position that Indigenous women are strong, resilient and determined contributors to the development of our nations. It is pertinent that we underscore the importance of indigenous women’s voices being at the forefront of all of our advocacy efforts. The APA has made it our duty to have women represented in our work and leadership throughout the country. We have prioritized having the representation of women at all levels of our management.
We are especially pleased to announce that the APA has recently installed a new Executive Committee with sixty percent of the core committee being women. The new Vice President of the APA is Mrs. Sherry Ann Balkaran, the Treasurer Eugenia Rahaman and Junisha Johnny now serves in the capacity of Assistant Secretary Treasurer. We also boast of having recently elected a National Women’s Representative who is Mrs. Melrose Henry and she will also play an integral part in the decisions made by the APA. The Executive Director of the APA, Jean LaRose is also a strong Indigenous women’s right activist who has been associated with the organization for just about twenty-seven of its twenty-eight years of existence. This is indicative of the association’s confidence in women’s ability to lead. In keeping with APA’s commitment to gender equality and recognizing the value of women, we would like to take this opportunity to wish all women in Guyana and around the world; a Happy International Women’s Day 2019!
Yours faithfully,
Dennis A. Glasgow,
Communications and Visibility
Officer,
Amerindian Peoples Association
