KINGSTON, Jamaica — Nekeisha Burchell, the People’s National Party (PNP) caretaker for St James South, is challenging long-held ideas about what a politician should look like, and more importantly, what leadership should sound and act like.

Reflecting on her political journey, Burchell said that while appearance continues to influence voter perception, especially for women, it is time to move past outdated expectations rooted in patriarchy and aesthetics over ability.

“When I launched my campaign for St James South, the first feedback I received wasn’t about my plan for roads, water, schools, or land titling. It was about my body,” said Burchell.

“Not my record. Not my qualifications. Not the fact that I studied at the University of the West Indies and the London School of Economics. But my hips. My lips. My clothes. My curves. My image,” she continued.

Noting that Jamaican politics remains a “man’s world”, Burchell said women are expected to minimise their femininity to be taken seriously.

“I also know what it feels like to be targeted by people who can’t handle change. When I was first attacked publicly about my body, it wasn’t just random gossip. It was political. They attempted to reduce me to body parts,” she explained.

“But I didn’t ask for an apology. I didn’t respond with outrage. Because I’m not here for validation. Not from men whose best ideas expired two decades ago. These same men are the ones who openly praise or pursue lighter-skinned, slimmer women who wear shorter skirts and tighter jeans than I ever do. So the issue was never modesty. It was audacity. The audacity of a woman who looks like me, talks like me, and stands tall in her full self without shrinking for their comfort,” Burchell said.

The PNP candidate shared that the hyper fixation on her looks, even extended to her inner circle who often encouraged her to mirror the “status quo”.

“Even people close to me, wanting to protect me from the caustic political world, advised me to dress ‘more seriously’. They said things like, ‘you’re going to have to wear more serious clothes’, or ‘tone it down, you know, look more like a politician’. But I reject the idea that leadership must come wrapped in a grey suit, a flat tone and a shrunken self,” Burchell said.

She explained that her reason for entering into representational politics was directly related to the fact that many of the politicians sitting in Gordon House are out of touch with the lived experience of many Jamaicans.

“This campaign is not about body politics. I am not here to launch a body positivity movement. I’m here because the people of St James South deserve a representative who will fix what’s broken,” she said.

“Our roads are falling apart. Our communities need reliable water supply. Our farmers lack access to markets. Our youth need spaces to learn, play and dream. Our women need real access to land titles and business support. And our entire region deserves investment in schools, clinics, proper housing, and the restoration of our rich heritage, including places like Flagstaff and the legacy of National Hero Sam Sharpe,” she continued.

Burchell argued that traits considered feminine have value in the political arena and can truly push Jamaica forward, particularly in the area of economic growth.

“I don’t hide my femininity, because I know what it offers, and it is in this way I am deeply connected to the women I aspire to represent, women who sell wigs, lashes and skin care products. Women who use ZipMail to send their goods across the island. Women who want to register their business but can’t afford the trip to Kingston or find a functional parish office,” Burchell said.

“These women are entrepreneurs, contributors, creators. But they are excluded from the formal economy because of a system that still refuses to evolve. That’s why I entered politics. Not to play pretend in a man’s world, but to change the rules entirely,” she added.