KINGSTON, Jamaica — People’s National Party (PNP) standard-bearer for Kingston Central, Steve McGregor on Saturday recognised and feted four female stalwarts from the constituency in recognition of International Women’s Day.

The former senior superintendent of police made presentations to the women at the Terra Nova hotel, where they had breakfast on Saturday.

“With my workforce being over 90 per cent women, what can I do just to show how appreciative we are of our women and how appreciative I am for the support that I’m getting from the women in my constituency? So I sat with my campaign team, and we came up with this idea. Today, March 8, we gather to celebrate International Women’s Day, a day that embodies the spirit of women’s empowerment and equality,” McGregor said.

“It is a day to acknowledge women’s achievements, educate and raise awareness amongst women and equality, call for positive change, and lobby for accelerated gender parity. As we recognise the vital role women play in our community, building, mothering, mentoring, and nurturing. I am reminded of the remarkable women in the Central Kingston Division constituency. Women are the backbone of our community, and it is my honour to launch this Tallawah Awards on their behalf,” he continued.

McGregor, in his remarks, described a “tallawah woman” as a woman of strength, determination and resilience.

“She’s the teacher who goes the extra mile, the carer who provides love and support, the market vendor who offers a helping hand, and the volunteer who ensures that no child goes hungry. She’s a consistent, caring, dedicated, and resilient woman. As Jamaicans we say, ‘wi likkle, but wi tallawah’ and it is out of that thought that the whole idea for Tallawah Women came about,” he explained.

“These women embody the spirit; they may seek to recognise and to give strength to the men in our country. As we honour you here today, we have selected four women from the Kingston Central Division. There are a lot more, but we did our due diligence. We called upon my counsellors, my counsellor caretaker, just to find, and we came up with four women that we have here sitting before us today,” he added.

Councillor for the Allman Town Division Charmaine Daniels was among the women feted by McGregor on Saturday.