Under the theme, “The Gender Agenda: Gaining Momentum,” Women’s Month 2013 is being celebrated internationally and here in Belize. One highlight of Women’s Month takes place the night of Wednesday, March 27, 2013 – that is, the 8th Annual Outstanding Women’s Awards, to be held at the Bliss Center for the Performing Arts in Belize City.

Minister of Human Development, Social Transformation and Poverty Alleviation, Anthony “Boots” Martinez, said, in his International Women’s Day/Women’s Month Message that, “Expectations of how men and women should act in our society and what roles they should play are shaped by culture, religion, and even economic, political and social circumstances. So they are not static; they can be changed.”

He also noted that “…gender equality cannot be achieved without men’s participation.”

Special Envoy for Women and Children, Kim Simplis-Barrow notes that, “The work towards gender equality never stops, but the progress being made becomes especially clear in the month of March, when outstanding women and girls are recognized for their achievements and for fostering the change needed in their communities.”

Among those to be recognized are Dr. Marjorie Parks, deputy director of health services and chief nursing officer in the Ministry of Health; Virginia Echols, board member of the UBAD Educational Foundation; Dylcia Feinstein, board member of the International Women’s Club; Patricia Flowers, president of My Neighbors and Me; and Micaela Wewe of the Belize Rural Women’s Association.