President Ali Vows to Tackle Femicide and Domestic Violence in Second Term
By Marvin Cato, HGP Nightly News
Femicide continues to cast a dark shadow over Guyana, with 13 women losing their lives to domestic violence from January to late August this year. The crisis, which was made a central campaign issue by Forward Guyana’s presidential candidate Amanzo Walton-Desir, has now been brought to the forefront of national policy.
During his inauguration address on Sunday, President Irfaan Ali pledged that his administration will intensify efforts to end the scourge of domestic violence. “We must kill this now,” Ali declared, outlining measures that include expanding scholarships, creating greater employment opportunities for women, and bolstering empowerment initiatives.
It should also be noted that Assembly for Liberty and Prosperity (ALP) leader Simona Brooms highlighted women’s issues during her campaign, promising to remove taxes on personal health and hygiene products, as well as to establish daycare and night care centers to support working mothers better.
The reality of Guyana’s femicide crisis is stark. Among the victims this year was 16-year-old Danielle David, beaten to death in Region One by her partner Ian Moore. April proved particularly tragic, with five women killed, including Mizona Ronaldo, who succumbed to severe burns inflicted by her partner, Kevin Kadugan, and sisters Meenal and Suana L. Cruz, along with their mother, Wavel Cruz, gunned down by ex-partner Perman Ramol in their Wakapoa Village home.
In August, 45-year-old Bibi Shadiza Haniff was fatally stabbed by her ex-husband Martin Tarr, and Ticatti Solomon was shot ten times by her husband Alroy Solomon, who also turned the weapon on himself, fatally wounding their son in the attack.
With these harrowing cases fresh in national memory, President Ali vowed to empower women, the elderly, and the youth, making the fight against domestic violence a defining pillar of his second term.
