Don’t underestimate the power of women
Dear Editor,
Many Jamaicans can recall that GCT was placed on feminine napkins, and on some very basic food items in December 2009. The JLP Government had to rescind that policy because it was seen as insensitive, uncaring and in poor taste.
In the Jamaican society, women run things. The majority of Jamaican households are headed by women, single mothers, working-class and struggling to make ends meet. They represent a significant percentage of our nation and are a distinct feature of our cultural and social landscape.
Women, most times, play the greater role in the upbringing of our children and the moulding of young minds, even in those instances where both parents are present. This becomes even more evident during the process of socialisation in schools; where an estimated 90 per cent of our teachers from the basic and primary through to the secondary level are women. In the churches, social and political organisations, as a general rule, women are the key organisers and main supporters.
Did the JLP Government offend or anger our women with its policies and poor public relations? Was this one of the crucial factors in their defeat in the election? The G2K ads attacking Mrs Simpson Miller backfired.
Eighty per cent of students attending colleges and universities are women. Many have become disgruntled, unemployed graduates for whom the promise of ‘jobs, jobs, jobs’ was not a reality. The majority of workers in the civil service, comprising more than 100,000, are also women. There were vexed issues with the nurses, teachers and other civil servants regarding salaries, and uncertainties concerning pension reform and the extent of the expected job losses that would have been part of the bitter medicine signalled by JLP leader Andrew Holness.
The fact of the matter is that our women do wield considerable influence in the society. Try not to anger or disrespect them, because ‘Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned’. No sensible Government or politician who wishes to remain or get into power should ever underestimate the power of our women to influence and make radical, social and political changes.
Daive R Facey
DR.Facey@gmail.com
