Our Caribbean Woman

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Women 2012 Conference Anguila from www.svgdiaspora.com

Today March the 8Th. is International  Women’s  Day. The Mahogany Coconut Group reaffirms its commitment to the progress of women worldwide. However, we have been forced to comment, on the violence directed against our Caribbean women and women globally.
We urge all governments in the region to strengthen where necessary and implement where possible more laws to defend the rights of our women.
Today we also salute our grandmothers in the Caribbean nation, who have made a sterling contribution to holding entire families and communities together. The grandmothers are getting “younger” age wise but their importance to our region should not be underestimated. They carry that extra special touch that our children need in this fast paced technology driven world. Sometimes a thoughtful word or parable, from a grandmother, helps to guide many a young citizen back to the correct path.
The Caribbean woman’s unique contribution to our development has not always been properly documented or promoted. The Caribbean man is only now slowly but surely accepting that our women are indeed our equals and always have been. For many of our men, it has been a difficult pill to swallow but swallow it we must.
From the sweets (candy) vendor outside the school gate to the corporate office; from the teacher or nurse to the policewoman; from the prime minister’s office to the maid and home maker, our women have shown a remarkable resilience that has made not only our men better but the very functioning of our societies more meaningful.
In many Caribbean nations, women are pursuing higher education in greater numbers than our males. When we drive around the various islands, we see more young men idling on the blocks than young women. We urge our young men to follow the young women into the institutions of learning and be there with them, not as competitors, but as partners in life long learning and becoming more productive and informed citizens.
We urge our women to continue pressing forward realizing that we are all in this great struggle together. We urge our planners and leaders to use gender policy to bring our women and men together as one. Gender wars will only destroy our social and economic fabric.
We salute our Caribbean woman. She has been our greatest asset and so she shall remain.
Here we present a musical tribute by calypsonian Singing Sandra. Please hit the link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J_PgUvEzNGA

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