In­ter­na­tion­al Women’s Day this year in Trinidad and To­ba­go holds a far greater sig­nif­i­cance than ever be­fore.

Not on­ly will the coun­try recog­nise the tremen­dous con­tri­bu­tions women have and con­tin­ue to make to this na­tion, but this year the coun­try is lis­ten­ing to the cries and the voic­es of women.

The fa­mous quote, “Women are the back­bone of the fam­i­ly and the bedrock of a na­tion” sums up per­fect­ly the women of Trinidad and To­ba­go.

For decades, women here have prid­ed them­selves on bring­ing life in­to the world, rais­ing fam­i­lies, work­ing and pro­vid­ing for their loved ones and car­ing for all those who come in­to their paths.

This coun­try has seen women soar in all spheres of life, from me­dia, pol­i­tics, law en­force­ment and busi­ness, all the way to the Pres­i­den­cy.

There has been no doubt that women pos­sess ex­tra­or­di­nary strength and prowess - jug­gling both fam­i­ly life and the de­mands of a ca­reer.

But many women in this coun­try have al­so been suf­fer­ing in si­lence.

While smil­ing on the out­side, many have en­dured and still en­dure vi­o­lence at the hands of loved ones.

Sad­ly, in just about every nook and cran­ny of this coun­try, there is that woman who is be­ing abused with no end in sight.

So many oth­ers have al­so lost their lives in a grue­some fash­ion.

The re­cent dis­ap­pear­ance and mur­ders of Ashan­ti Ri­ley and An­drea Bharatt placed the spot­light on an­oth­er as­pect of cru­el­ty met­ed out to women and girls, who of­ten fall vic­tim to sex­u­al sadists.

But now, women are no longer alone and in agony.

The coun­try is lis­ten­ing.

Gen­der-based vi­o­lence and do­mes­tic vi­o­lence are no longer “not my busi­ness” in Trinidad and To­ba­go; now they are every­body’s busi­ness. They are be­ing seen for what they are - crimes against women. Crimes that are no longer cul­tur­al­ly ac­cept­ed. Crimes that can no longer be buffered with an apol­o­gy or eas­i­ly dis­missed.

These crimes have been hurt­ing this coun­try’s women and do­ing un­speak­able dam­age to the heart of this na­tion - which women un­doubt­ed­ly are.

For­tu­nate­ly, cit­i­zens have come to­geth­er re­al­is­ing it must stop and have de­mand­ed those in lead­er­ship po­si­tions do more than of­fer the cus­tom­ary plat­i­tudes.

Much to their cred­it, those in Gov­ern­ment have heard the pleas and are do­ing their part to ef­fect the change and of­fer the pro­tec­tion that women so bad­ly need.

For­mer US Pres­i­dent Barack Oba­ma once said, “You can judge a na­tion, and how suc­cess­ful it will be, based on how it treats its women and its girls.”

Trinidad and To­ba­go, it seems, is fi­nal­ly on a jour­ney to re­al suc­cess be­cause it un­der­stands it can no longer treat its women poor­ly and sav­age­ly.

It is, at last, now lis­ten­ing to what women have to say.