Making moves – The women we admired in 2018

THIS past year has been an eventful one for Jamaican women. Surely the year had its challenges, but these women didn’t let that stop them from making moves. This week we reflect on some of our most influential women who rocked 2018 with purpose, strength, resilience and grace.

Juliet Cuthbert Flynn

This Member of Parliament’s resolution seeking to repeal the sections of the Offences Against the Person Act which make abortion illegal is about to take on new life in the House of Representatives’ Human Resource and Social Development Committee (HRSDC).

The HRSDC has advertised on the Gordon House website that it is inviting views and comments from the public on Cuthbert Flynn’s Private Member’s Motion supporting the recommendations of a 2007 Abortion Policy Group, which suggested that the House take steps to repeal sections 72 and 73 of the Offences Against the Person Act, which make abortion illegal, and substitute it with a civil law, “The Termination of Pregnancy Act”.

“The Parliament has a duty to take a stand. I have a duty to take a stand, not on either side of the debate, but a stand about protecting the lives of women,” Cuthbert Flynn told the House as she opened the debate on her motion on October 9.

Her move has been criticised by many, and supported by many others, but we respect Cuthbert Flynn for taking a bold step in fulfilling her role as a representative and lawmaker to open the floor for a debate on the matter.

Debbie Bissoon

This media practitioner and mother launched the Moms Can Relate podcast and video series as platforms where mothers can share their unique journeys into motherhood, and support each other through the challenges and triumphs that come along the way. She also hosted ‘Moms and Mimosas’, an event for moms to unwind and relax towards the end of the year. This move was an admirable one, because though mothers play such an integral role in families, they sometimes don’t have much emotional support and rarely get the time off to just enjoy themselves.

Novelette Grant, OD

The retired deputy commissioner was awarded the Order of Distinction on Heroes’ Day for her decades of service to the Jamaican people through the Jamaica Constabulary Force. In her numerous roles for over 30 years, including being appointed as Acting Commissioner of Police, Grant specialised in community and family policing, and is still very passionate about issues of gender-based and intimate partner violence. Her ‘Enough is enough’ campaign aims to educate Jamaicans about domestic violence and how it perpetuates other forms of crime.

Etana

Reggae singer Etana brought it home for the girls in Jamaican music when her Reggae Forever album was nominated for the Best Reggae Album Grammy award. She became the first woman to be nominated in the category for 21 years, and the fourth woman to have ever been nominated for such. She is preceded by Judy Mowatt in 1986, Rita Marley in 1992, and Sister Carol in 1997. A woman is yet to win the award.

The Reggae GirlzShelly-Ann Fraser PryceOlivia ‘Babsy’ GrangeCarol Watson WilliamsPamela Monroe Ellis Shelly-Ann WeeksKhadine ‘Miss Kitty’ Hylton

Our national senior women’s football team, the Reggae Girlz, this year qualified for the Fifa World Cup for the first time, after beating Panama in a nail-biting penalty shootout in October. The Girlz created history by becoming the first Caribbean team to qualify for the women’s tournament, to be held in France next year. The tournament was also held in France in 1998, the only time the Reggae Boyz qualified.

After giving birth to her first child last year, the ‘Pocket Rocket’ returned to the track to redefine the concept of ‘snapback’. She won the women’s 100-metre finals at the London Diamond League meet in under 11 seconds, showing everyone that she still has it. Later in the year, a statue of Fraser Pryce was erected at Independence Park, honouring her as the number one Jamaican female sprinter of all time.

The Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport has made several moves this year on behalf of the most vulnerable Jamaican women. Her ministry acquired the first State-run shelter for abused women, which will house women who wish to flee violent relationships but have nowhere to go, and help them to get back on their feet. Grange also saw to the re-establishment of a Men’s Desk at the Bureau of Gender Affairs, and launched the ‘No Excuse for Abuse’ (#NEFA) public awareness campaign against gender-based violence.

Social researcher Carol Watson Williams partnered with the Statistical Institute of Jamaica, the Inter-American Development Bank, and the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women to publish the first ever quantitative study on the impact of gender-based violence in Jamaica – The Women’s Health Survey. The survey, which was conducted in 2016 and published this year, revealed that one of every four Jamaican women are victims of gender-based violence, among many other alarming statistics.

Auditor General Pamela Monroe Ellis  was appointed to the position in 2008, and since then has commanded respect, even while she digs into areas that some would prefer remain hidden. Her latest big bust came with the report which she brought before Parliament this year detailing the findings from her department’s investigations into the operations of Petrojam. The report illuminated acts of nepotism, high levels of unaccountable oil losses, disregard for procurement guidelines, unethical and inconsistent hiring practices, and the much discussed approval to use public funds to host two birthday parties, which together cost around $2.6 million.

This author, sexologist and period-shaming activist has taken it upon herself to conduct a study into the availability and affordability of sanitary napkins for schoolgirls across Jamaica, and use her Her Flow foundation to tackle period poverty. Weeks, who focuses heavily on women’s sexual and reproductive health, used her most recently published book, It’s my Body. Period. as a tool for helping to break the stigma associated with menstruation.

Miss Kitty, who has always used her place in the media to inspire women to be independent and confident in their bodies, this year gave us another source of inspiration. Not only did she graduate from the University of the West Indies with a law degree, but she did so with first class honours. She was the valedictorian for the Faculties of Law and Social Sciences. Lalalalalalalala!