Lectures, health screening in Tobago for International Women's Day

International Women’s Day 2023 will be celebrated on Wednesday, calling on society to embrace equality.

The event is celebrated annually on March 8 as a focal point in the women's rights movement, bringing attention to issues such as gender equality, reproductive rights, and violence and abuse against women.

Speaking on the Tobago Updates morning show on Monday, president and founder of Woman with Substance Onika Mars said that her NGO would be hosting a workshop with the theme: I am beautiful.

“This happens on Wednesday. We chose to do that workshop because we are all about empowerment. It’s International Women’s Day, we want to celebrate our women.”

She said the workshop spoke to self-awareness, discovering one’s inner beauty and self-confidence.

“That entire focus is on self. We want the women to know that if even my focus is on self, that’s okay, you are not selfish.

"We have a lot of women who are broken. We have women who don’t understand who they are as individuals, and we’ve been having clients coming in over the past few weeks who struggle with self-esteem and don’t even know who they are.”

She said there would be speakers as well as a healthcare practitioners to discuss women’s issues such as menopause, sexually transmitted diseases, sexual and reproductive health.

The workshop will be held at Shangri-La Women Empowerment Centre in Lowlands from 9 am and caters to ten women.

The THA Division of Health, Wellness and Social Protection together with the Tobago Regional Health Authority (TRHA) will also be hosting a series of events.

According to a press release from the division, during the week, the focus on women will intensify at various health centres, starting at Moriah on Monday and followed by Pembroke on Tuesday.

Activities will range from pap smears to HIV rapid testing.

On International Women’s Day, there will be feature lectures at the Scarborough Esplanade on physical health, mental health and nutrition, exercise techniques for busy women, vaccine administration, breast care, overall wellness education and an aerobics burnout. The day’s activities begin at 9 am.

On Thursday, the focus returns to the Buccoo Health Centre. On Friday, attention will turn to the TRHA’s internal stakeholders, as that day has been set aside strictly for the screening of staff.

On Saturday, Tobago will join the rest of the country with a national day of screening at the Scarborough, Canaan and Roxborough Health Centres, and the Tobago Health Promotion Clinic. These health facilities will be offering pap smears, breast exams, HIV testing, blood pressure and glucose checks, BMI assessments, health and nutrition education and immunisation (HPV/Flu), from 9 am to 3 pm.