My choice for Guyana’s Woman of the Year

(Originally published in Guyana’s Stabroek News on 31 December 2011)

I don’t know if you have noticed it, but Guyana’s women are waking up. 2011 was a year of awakening for women in the nation – and with good reason. It has finally become crystal clear that if women want better lives, they are going to have to make it happen themselves.

For example, despite all the election hype surrounding women’s issues and promises to put women into leadership positions, do you know that at this point there is less female representation in government now than in the last term? After the 2006 elections, approximately 32% of Guyana’s ministers were women; as opposed to 25% in President Ramotar’s new Cabinet.

As it stands now, with the AFC and APNU still to choose one more MP each, female participation in Parliament is as follows: the AFC went from having an impressive 40% female representation last term to a measly 14% in this term. The PNCR had a notable 45% of females in the last term, but APNU now has 32% this term despite a promise in its manifesto to bring in even more female representation than before. The PPP/C, which has always had the lowest female representation in Parliament, dropped even further from 31% last term to 28% this term.

These statistics show good reason why the women of Guyana have awakened. Women are once again positioned with their hands out hoping for patriarchal benevolence at which they will be expected to curtsey while they thank the men for their generosity in taking care of us frail women; since we obviously are still not in the position to take care of ourselves.

The problem is that these male leaders are not taking care of the nation’s women. Not at all. If anything, the situation for women is getting worse. In fact, politics is only one area where women have been shafted this year.

My Christmas wish is for the First Lady to be a First Lady

(Originally published in Guyana’s Stabroek News on 24 December 2011)

Christmas is the time of year when you find hope even when hope is hard to find and when you make wishes for life to be better for yourself as well as for those around you. It is with this Christmas hope in my heart that I wish for a better situation for Guyana’s new First Lady.

You see the last First Lady, Ms Varshnie Singh, really had a hard time of it while her husband was president. In fact, since there was no official “First Lady” office, she was forced to rely on benevolence from the president to fulfil what she felt was her obligation to help her fellow Guyanese.

Since benevolence is not exactly a quality attributed to the former president, one can just imagine how things unfolded for the former First Lady. In fact, in a statement she gave upon being tossed out of her home with only the clothes on her back, she said, “During our marriage I was not allowed to work and did not receive proper maintenance or care, financial or otherwise.”

She also said, “The First Lady’s office is a myth that I created because of a need. It advocates on behalf of the voiceless and receives no government funding or any type of assistance.”

Let God be the judge?

(Originally published in Guyana’s Stabroek News on 17 December 2011)

Yet another man in a high position is accused of violence against a woman. I am so completely sick of this garbage that I might literally lose my lunch on the shoes of any of those so-called men who dare to come face to face with me.

A 34-year-old woman has accused Commissioner of Police Henry Greene of sexually abusing her after she went to him for help on a matter involving another police officer and his wife. At the time of writing this column, Greene still held his position as Commissioner of Police. This issue must be investigated and for that investigation to take properly take place, Greene must be out of the picture. If he does not step down as he should, he should be removed.

Let’s think about this logically for a moment. In any other country, if such serious allegations were levelled against the commissioner of police, that person would be immediately removed from his position until an investigation was completed. Why is it that there must be an outcry from the whole country before justice is seen against those accused of wrong-doing in high positions in Guyana?

Greene told the media, “Let God be the judge.” Nah, I think we mere mortals can handle this one. I’d rather see a human judge Greene first then karma can deal its own judgement.

It is never too late to fight for your rights

(Originally published in Guyana’s Stabroek News on 10 December 2011)

The feminist movement heydays were long over before I even knew I needed to stand up for my own rights. I grew up in an urban environment, single mother, poverty-ridden home.

Those who grow up in such situations are never thinking about fighting oppressive government policies, they are more concerned with just getting by from day to day. Will the electricity be turned off today? Can we eat something more than mayonnaise sandwiches? Will my overworked, high-pressured, abusive mother snap again today? The last thing on my mind was fighting for my rights as a woman.

On top of everything else, there was school to keep my urban survival skills sharp and church to make me feel small and insignificant – as if I did not have enough to accomplish that task already. One of the many things I learned in church was to be mad at the feminists. I did not know why, I just knew that I should. I was taught they were out of control male wannabes.

I married at a young age to a wonderful guy and started having children 18 months later. My focus was then on toddler chasing and house cleaning. I still did not know I should be concerned with my rights. In fact, at this point in the late 80s, feminism was an intimidating topic for me. I just knew that I needed more than to stay at home with the kids. I was in dire need of some intellectual stimulation, but instead I tried to play the role of what the church declared to be a good wife and mother.

For some women, this would be fine, but I needed more. My husband was working during the day and going to college at night. So I would care for the children all day – every day of the week. Then on the weekend, I would go to church to have them tell me how I should be happy since this was God’s design for women.

I tried to be happy and to some extent I was happy. I had beautiful children whom I adored and a good husband. Beyond that, I was bored and feeling like a slave. It wasn’t that my husband did not love me, we just both fell into the traditional roles of family life, which worked for him – but it did not work for me. After years of this, I decided I could not handle it anymore. I honestly did not know what I needed; I just knew I needed more than what I had.

I started rejecting the church’s notions on women and realising I could not possibly fit in the suffocating mould they had created for all women. It was time for me to take control of my own life. After years of discontentment, I decided I needed to go to school. This would change my life forever.

Saying all the right words

(Originally published in Guyana’s Stabroek News on 3 December 2011)

“It is clear that these people think women are not thinkers, we are only relegated to certain labour jobs and to bring all the mammy elements. It is sad and I find it insulting and disrespectful in this day and age.” This was just a small part of an email I received from a friend recently.

My Guyanese friend and I frequently correspond via email as she lives in one part of the Caribbean and I am always between Guyana and the US. We typically talk about life happenings and such, so I was a bit taken aback to see such a passionate statement from my mild-mannered friend.

She was writing specifically to tell me how upset she was after listening to the podcast of the presidential forum that was held at the Theatre Guild on November 16. At the time of the email, I had not yet had the chance to listen to the forum, but made a point to do so after receiving my friend’s email.

What does each party’s manifesto pledge to do for Guyana’s women?

(Originally published in Guyana’s Stabroek News on 26 November 2011)  

The elections are upon us and this year has seen more focus on women’s issues on the political platforms than ever before. This is how it should be and even more so until women are safe and hold equal status in all spheres of life. As such, I combed through the manifestos of each party to see what Guyana’s leaders had to offer the women.

This column highlights what each party has stated it will specifically do for the women of the nation in the next term. Key issues pertaining to women will be addressed with the coordinating response from the parties according to their manifestos. If there is no answer provided for the issue, it will be noted.

(Note: Each party’s manifesto response is listed alphabetically by the party’s acronym.)


Domestic violence:
 
AFC – Establish legal aid support for women who are victims of domestic violence systems and a rescue support fund during rehabilitation. Increase the number of shelters and care centres available to women in trauma. Establish and implement a Family Court to address the specific needs of women. Enact a Family Law Act to deal with common law unions, child support and the custody of children, spouse maintenance and the resolution of property disputes. Establish systems to ensure earlier intervention by social services in disputes and the collection of data to determine causes of domestic violence, identification and implementation of solutions. (Page 31) Train and empower the police to respond more effectively to domestic violence. (Page 17)