By: Javone Vickerie.
Georgetown, Guyana – August 29, 2025 – Presidential Candidate for the Forward Guyana Movement, Amanda Walton-Desir, issued an emotional call to women across the country on Wednesday, urging them to rise up, reclaim their dignity, and cast their ballots for change in the upcoming September 1 elections.
In a speech charged with personal testimony and national urgency, Walton-Desir told supporters that too many women in Guyana have been “silenced, dismissed, and even slaughtered,” while their worth continues to be diminished.
But she insisted that women hold the power to reshape the nation’s future if they show up on Election Day. “Things change when we show up. Things change when we vote with courage. Things change when we decide our daughters deserve better than what we had,” Walton-Desir declared.
She reminded listeners of the historic role women have played in holding Guyana together, raising families, sustaining businesses, and caring for communities, while too often being denied leadership. Drawing from her own experiences of being objectified in politics, she said: “They’ve tried to reduce me to an image on a pole, to make me a spectacle. Why? Because too many still see our women as property. But sisters, we are not property. We are the backbone of this nation.”
Walton-Desir pushed back against claims that a vote for the Forward Guyana Movement is wasted, framing such a ballot as an act of courage rather than futility. “A wasted vote is one that keeps you trapped in the same cycle of neglect. A courageous vote is one that says my voice cannot be bought, my conscience cannot be silenced,” she said.
She cast the elections as a battle for the soul of Guyana and declared that women are the custodians of that soul. “If the soul of this nation is to rise, then women must rise. We have got to stand up. We have got to rise up. And we have got to claim this future that belongs to us and to our children,” she said to loud applause.
Promising to be a leader who shows up beyond campaign season, Walton-Desir vowed: “I will fight for you every day. I will be your voice where decisions are made, not just at election time, but every single day thereafter.”
Her message closed with a rallying cry for women to organize their strength, courage, and votes: “Sisters, assemble… because together, we will not only change this election, we will change the future of Guyana.”
