First in a three-part series based on excerpts from the presentation delivered at the annual Rose Leon Memorial Lecture on March 2, 2020.

Women in politics and indeed all areas of leadership need to be fierce, positive, pragmatic and creative. We need to stand on the shoulders of the significant work done in the past by women like Mary Seacole, Rose Leon, Beverley Manley, Lucille Mathurin Mair, Jeanette Grant-Woodham, Linnette Vassell, Judith Wedderburn, Portia Simpson Miller and Shirley Pryce.

Recently, I had the honour of being the guest speaker at the annual Rose Leon Memorial Lecture for 2020 hosted by the Jamaica Women’s Political Caucus. On this International Women’s Day, I share some of those insights for action.

The Messages Our Children Hear

As a mother, as a community builder, I am well aware that the conditions in which our children grow are absolutely critical to the country we are trying to shape. The messages we hear matter. When I walk a community and hear music that tears down and denigrates women and our sexual body parts I ask them to change it to positive dancehall. We talk about the power of that same vagina that gave birth to them and how these kinds of songs can impact how children see women and how we as women see ourselves.

Conversations can shift people; it won’t happen overnight but we have to keep it real. The things we hear, see, and experience shape our views. Based on what we see and hear around us almost daily, many see a clear link between the rise in domestic violence and gruesome murders of women. Do we not think that after years of consistent dehumanising and denigration it would not have an impact on how women are perceived?

Our deejays are not responsible for our unconscious state of mind. Music reflects what exists in our communities as people seek to escape the pain and stress of life. However, our musicians are our biggest influencers and if we seek to change Jamaica, we need to actively work with them — not to censure but to raise the consciousness so they truly know their power and wield it positively.

A Revolution in Education

I’m not just talking about math, English, sciences and the arts. A revolutionary approach recognises the need to shape wholesome, strong and effective human beings. This means effectively resourcing our schools to become the main socialising agents, like in Finland. In that country, no matter where the child comes from, the school system builds productive citizens.

In Jamaica, we have to stop pretending about the real situation with parents. Parents cannot teach what they have not learned.

It’s not because most parents don’t want to help their children. Indeed, I see many parents sacrificing to send their children to school. However, the majority of parents can’t help their children with the homework of today as they themselves were not properly educated and have no or limited access to required equipment like printers, tablets and other tools that are required by the new Primary Exit Profile (PEP) curriculum.

Let’s realistically resource our basic schools to high schools to build children with:

• Self-confidence

• Values

• Respect

• Discipline

• Skills for the 21st century

• Ability to show love and affection (as they would be treated with love and kindness).

This means our public schools must operate full-time, 8:00 am – 5:00 pm (come 2:00 pm it covers homework time and supervised play). This means doubling up on the number of teachers and social workers of all types in some areas. In addition, we need to equip the schools to be child-friendly and places of dignity. A working, clean bathroom should be a basic.

The revolution in education is how we ultimately cut off the flow that has led to over 300,000 unattached youth in our country, many of whom are recruits for gangs as they become ‘family’ to them and provide an income so young people can ‘eat a food’.

We can’t continue like this, and I believe women can lead this fundamental charge.

In part two I speak to ‘Where are the women politicians?’

— Imani Duncan-Price is a People’s National Party spokesperson on industry, competitiveness and global logistics, chief of staff for the leader of the Opposition, a World Economic Forum Young Global Leader, Eisenhower fellow and former senator. Email feedback to fullticipation@gmail.com