Watching a blind Kimiela Isaacs deliver, without great effort but with utmost conviction, her version of the Yolanda Adams' gospel song, Still I Rise, was the perfect herald to yesterday's celebration of International Women's Day at the New Testament Church of God on Eastwood Park Road in St Andrew.

The hallelujahs and amens she elicited would only get louder as the Rev Evon Blair hailed the role of women in shaping society.

"I never see salt advertise," Blair preached, "but you can't do without salt, so I say to you, woman, you are the salt of the Earth," she said to rousing amens.

Continue the fight

From Dorcas, the seamstress documented in the Bible, to Jamaican nurse Mary Seacole and United States civil-rights icon Rosa Parks, Blair urged women to continue the fight against inequality in an effort to drive the country forward.

Olivia Grange, minister with responsibility for women and gender affairs, also stressed the importance of gender equality to development, peace and security.

She said women continued to be disrespected and abused, and that had to change.

Women, many of them qualified, are still without employment, representing 65.4 per cent of the jobless in 2007. They also continue to be abused, with the latest police data showing a 20 per cent increase in reports.

"Let us not only reflect on change," she said, "but seek to change and reverse the many negative influences and situations that so often hinder the develop-ment of our women and girls," she said.

Commitments

Grange said Jamaica was a signatory to a number of inter-national agreements over the years to promote and protect the rights of women and children and it was important for the country to follow through on those commitments.

"The Government has a responsibility to promote gender equality, to empower women and eliminate gender-based violence," she said.

Grange praised women throughout the world for their contribution, but reserved special praise for Jamaicans.

"We laud the courage of women worldwide but most importantly our Jamaican women, who have played transformative roles in our society," Grange told the church congregation on Sunday.