Women and girls, the world over face many of the same issues: lack of access to education and employment; unequal pay for equal work; domestic and political violence; issues about reproductive rights; and a general bias and inequality in the workplace and society.
In Guyana, with our various ethnic and religious groups, there are even more political, cultural and religious values that have to be considered within the feminist whole. The struggles of rural women, for instance, have different emphases than those of urban or professional women. While there are connections and similarities because of the female commonality, the women’s movement cannot be conveniently packaged into a single unit or programme, since that would overlook our unique and different selves.
The propensity for violence against women in our society is very high, and while much is made of domestic violence, no one cares to include the bouts of racial/political violence that are directed at Indian Guyanese by African Guyanese protesters and rioters. The violence is not only men-to-men. Indian Guyanese women are assaulted, robbed and raped by African Guyanese men, and African Guyanese women play their part in beating and humiliating Indian Guyanese women.
No sisterhood provides empathy, support or protection, and the women’s movement continues to be secondary to the overarching issue of the country’s racial/political divide.
Recent cases of abuse and murder of partners and wives by mostly their male counterparts are rooted in a culture that also accepts — and even idolises — macho behaviour. The chutney hit “Ramsingh Sharma” promotes a male promiscuity that is, as the lyrics reveal, actually encouraged by women. That the song is very popular points out that the message about respect for women is lost in translation in a culture that views machismo behaviour as sexy, rather than sexist.
For this reason, the conversation about women and our place in society must include men and their commitment to the attitudinal changes needed for real progress. There is little point in training women for economic independence, or improving their feelings of self-worth, if they then return to homes where their spouses expect them to be subservient and submissive.
Empowering women requires empowering men to recognise that women are their equals, and should be respected as such. But, are parents – mothers and fathers alike — making the shift to bring up their sons to appreciate that they, too, are nurturers and caregivers? Girls often top the country in academic achievement, yet most of the leading executives in the public and private sectors continue to be men.
Most often, women still put families before careers, and even if they do hold down a job while bringing up a family, the childcare and household aspects of this responsibility still fall heavily on the mother’s shoulders. In a fast-paced world, women who put family first are often left behind on the career ladder, especially since their years of experience in the home are hardly ever recognised as being relevant or important to the workplace.
In developed countries, women have moved on to a post-feminist era and to an environment that is constantly changing to fit new circumstances. Women are world leaders in both the political and corporate spheres and no longer have to prove themselves worthy of these positions.
The 1986 conference in Nairobi, to review the UN’s Decade for Women, is often described as the “birth of global feminism”. At that conference, it was declared that all issues are women’s issues. This has a nice ring to it, and the educated and professional women in developed countries enjoy this luxury since they have access to education and opportunities that are still denied women in most underdeveloped countries, where they are still fighting for recognition as equals and for basic human rights.
Still, it would be a terrible disservice if women’s issues here are so compartmentalised that women cannot see the world and all its possibilities as being open and relevant to them.
In a poor country, it is the women who are the poorest and who are more likely to be denied the opportunities to become educated, employed, and financially independent. This sets the stage for male aggression to thrive, and for the Ramsingh Sharmas to parade their power and prowess.
That the conversation on women’s place in society continues is important; and today, when we honour our mothers, that most sacred province of womanhood, it is timely to remember that the respect due to all women should be inbred enough in the national psyche to ensure that every girl and woman is treated with such respect always.
