CNMI women gather in celebration of Int’l Women’s Day

At a gathering held Tuesday evening at Minatchom Atdao Pavilion, government leaders joined women leaders from both private and government sectors in an event supporting Women’s Month Celebration. In this photo, from left, are Debra Inos, program administrator of CNMI Women’s Association; House Speaker Ralph Demapan; Rep. Angel Demapan; Sen. Sixto Igisomar; Lt. Gov. Victor Hocog; First Lady Diann Torres; Gov. Ralph DLG Torres; Margaret Cui Lijie, majority shareholder of Imperial Pacific Holdings-Best Sunshine International, Ltd.; Doris Reyes Drew, special assistant for Women’s Affairs Office; Dania Mettao, BSI CSR representative; and Rep. Felicidad Ogumoro, who is also CNMI Women’s Association chairwoman. (Contributed Photo)

Women from all walks of life in the CNMI and women from various parts of the globe joined together to celebrate the International Women’s Day last Wednesday.

The “Women’s Meet & Greet Dinner Gathering” at the Minatchom Atdao aimed to bring women together to establish a support network.

They also aimed to establish an ongoing social participation for women in need of additional emotional, social, and economic support as well as recognition, praise and continued support for women in leadership or women striving to live independently.   

According to special assistant for Women’s Affairs and a board member of the CNMI Women’s Association, Dolores Reyes Drew, this is the first time that a gathering of this kind was held.

“I found out that I need to gather all our women together. It’s going to be late for us if we just wait until we have funding,” said Drew, who also spearheaded the “Women’s Meet & Greet Dinner Gathering.”

“I would like to bring them together so we would have very strong times with all women from everywhere,” she added.

Drew said they would like to gather the women regardless of nationality as every woman is playing a vital role in the society.

Rep. Felicidad Ogumoro (R-Saipan), who chairs the CWA, called on the women to be role models to fellow females in the community and to take on a more active role, particularly in the Legislature.

Ogumoro pointed out that while women make up 50 percent of the Commonwealth’s population, they only make up 7 percent of the elected body.

“Let us work to continue to be role models for our young women and girls, so that they are able to realize their goals and dreams without the same barriers and challenges we faced as a result of our gender,” Ogumoro said.

Ogumoro also expressed her support to Drew.

“We support you 100 percent in your office’s efforts, and look forward to the continued collaboration necessary for us to achieve equality,” Ogumoro said.

For Drew, the top issues concerning women in the CNMI are “health, education, and the economy.” She added that they have a grant this year that would help them educate women in the community.

“There are some girls out there who want to find a job but they don’t know how to write their resumes. So we’d like to help them,” Drew said.

She added that they would seek more grants in the future and a summit will be held on March 30 and 31 for 175 participants, where in they will work on establishing leadership, and educating women on the economy.