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Woman power! More women entering politics despite challenges they face
Published: Sunday | November 6, 2011 1 Comment
Published: Sunday | November 6, 2011 1 Comment
Gary Spaulding, Senior Staff Reporter
AS THE two major political parties and some third ones scramble to find candidates in the run-up to election day, there are indications that some 15 women will be among the estimated 140 candidates to be nominated.
However, the historically poor representation of women on the political platform and in the higher ranks of their parties does not indicate that they are not hard-core party workers.
Former parliamentarian Heather Robinson thinks that the real contribution of women far outweighs that of their male counterparts who are more visible, and also that women's organisational skills have helped to propel men to the top.
"There is no doubt that at the volunteer/worker level, women far outnumber men, while at the elected level, women are an insignificant part of our democratic process.
"It takes a strong woman to contemplate representational politics and then an even stronger one to place her name on a ballot," she said.
a tough job
First-time crusader at the general-election level in Central Kingston, the Jamaica Labour Party's (JLP) Rosalee Hamilton agrees.
"It is a very tough job," declared Hamilton, who has been a councillor in the Kingston and St Andrew Corporation (KSAC). "It is also tough for women to finance an election campaign in Jamaica's political climate."
She said women in general tend to be more family-oriented and it (political involvement) breaks family relationships because of time constraints.
However, Hamilton, who has developed a reputation as a staunch party worker long before she began to eye the challenging Central Kingston seat, agrees that women are better organisers as they tend to be more sympathetic to people's plights.
Although she has never sought to contest a seat or a division, another party worker, Dianne Smith, who is a member of the PNP and its Central Executive, maintains that more women are still needed in the political process.
"I continue to be active in my capacity, but I think women's input in politics is critical. It is dominated by too many men who still harbour the notion that we should not be led by a woman, and that is utter rubbish," she declared.
For the upcoming elections, a number of first-timer females are lining up for the contest. Among them is Dr Patrece Charles-Freeman, the daughter of veteran politician, Pearnel Charles, who could create history if both of them occupy seats in the Parliamentary chamber.
Then there is Senator Marlene Malahoo-Forte eyeing the tough Central Manchester seat. Some of the other women who will be contesting seats on the JLP tickets are Councillor Beverly Prince, Councillor Camile Buchanan, Dr Sandra Nesbeth, Paula Kerr-Jarrett, Saphire Longmore and Sharon Hay-Webster.
The numbers seem to be smaller in the Portia Simpson Miller-led PNP. Among the contenders are MPs Natalie Neita Headley and Lisa Hanna. There are also Sharon Folkes-Abrahams and Denise Daley.
Simpson Miller has already bucked what, until February 2006, appeared to have been an entrenched trend in the political culture when she defeated three men to emerge president of the PNP and prime minister of Jamaica.
There are names such as Rose Leon and Mavis Gilmour who had made their mark in politics in the 1950s and '60s. Syringa Marshall-Burnett, a nurse by profession, became the first president of the Senate of Jamaica in 1995.
Burnett was to be followed by Violet Neilson, who was appointed speaker of the House of Represen-tatives between 1997 and 2002.
The current speaker is a female: Marissa Dalrymple-Philibert.
names gone down in history
Contemporary politicians such as Olivia 'Babsy' Grange and Shahine Robinson, two senior ministers in the Bruce Golding administration, and Lisa Hanna, who has been close to Simpson Miller, have etched their names in the annals of Jamaican political history.
Not unlike Simpson Miller, Enid Bennett of the JLP, though unassuming, has been a leader among women as she had never lost an election between 1967 and 1993, in St Catherine, which has been realigned during her reign.
There were some bold women from the beginning.
Take, for example, Mary Morris Knibb, a little-known independent candidate who ran in eastern St Andrew in 1944 against the likes of Norman Washington Manley, who lost to the JLP's Edward Fagan. Knibb polled only 269 votes.
Then there are women like the PNP's perennial campaigner Edith Dalton James, who came close a few times, but never made it to Gordon House as a member of the nation's Parliament.
gary.spaulding@gleanerjm.com
AS THE two major political parties and some third ones scramble to find candidates in the run-up to election day, there are indications that some 15 women will be among the estimated 140 candidates to be nominated.
However, the historically poor representation of women on the political platform and in the higher ranks of their parties does not indicate that they are not hard-core party workers.
Former parliamentarian Heather Robinson thinks that the real contribution of women far outweighs that of their male counterparts who are more visible, and also that women's organisational skills have helped to propel men to the top.
"There is no doubt that at the volunteer/worker level, women far outnumber men, while at the elected level, women are an insignificant part of our democratic process.
"It takes a strong woman to contemplate representational politics and then an even stronger one to place her name on a ballot," she said.
a tough job
First-time crusader at the general-election level in Central Kingston, the Jamaica Labour Party's (JLP) Rosalee Hamilton agrees.
"It is a very tough job," declared Hamilton, who has been a councillor in the Kingston and St Andrew Corporation (KSAC). "It is also tough for women to finance an election campaign in Jamaica's political climate."
She said women in general tend to be more family-oriented and it (political involvement) breaks family relationships because of time constraints.
However, Hamilton, who has developed a reputation as a staunch party worker long before she began to eye the challenging Central Kingston seat, agrees that women are better organisers as they tend to be more sympathetic to people's plights.
Although she has never sought to contest a seat or a division, another party worker, Dianne Smith, who is a member of the PNP and its Central Executive, maintains that more women are still needed in the political process.
"I continue to be active in my capacity, but I think women's input in politics is critical. It is dominated by too many men who still harbour the notion that we should not be led by a woman, and that is utter rubbish," she declared.
For the upcoming elections, a number of first-timer females are lining up for the contest. Among them is Dr Patrece Charles-Freeman, the daughter of veteran politician, Pearnel Charles, who could create history if both of them occupy seats in the Parliamentary chamber.
Then there is Senator Marlene Malahoo-Forte eyeing the tough Central Manchester seat. Some of the other women who will be contesting seats on the JLP tickets are Councillor Beverly Prince, Councillor Camile Buchanan, Dr Sandra Nesbeth, Paula Kerr-Jarrett, Saphire Longmore and Sharon Hay-Webster.
The numbers seem to be smaller in the Portia Simpson Miller-led PNP. Among the contenders are MPs Natalie Neita Headley and Lisa Hanna. There are also Sharon Folkes-Abrahams and Denise Daley.
Simpson Miller has already bucked what, until February 2006, appeared to have been an entrenched trend in the political culture when she defeated three men to emerge president of the PNP and prime minister of Jamaica.
There are names such as Rose Leon and Mavis Gilmour who had made their mark in politics in the 1950s and '60s. Syringa Marshall-Burnett, a nurse by profession, became the first president of the Senate of Jamaica in 1995.
Burnett was to be followed by Violet Neilson, who was appointed speaker of the House of Represen-tatives between 1997 and 2002.
The current speaker is a female: Marissa Dalrymple-Philibert.
names gone down in history
Contemporary politicians such as Olivia 'Babsy' Grange and Shahine Robinson, two senior ministers in the Bruce Golding administration, and Lisa Hanna, who has been close to Simpson Miller, have etched their names in the annals of Jamaican political history.
Not unlike Simpson Miller, Enid Bennett of the JLP, though unassuming, has been a leader among women as she had never lost an election between 1967 and 1993, in St Catherine, which has been realigned during her reign.
There were some bold women from the beginning.
Take, for example, Mary Morris Knibb, a little-known independent candidate who ran in eastern St Andrew in 1944 against the likes of Norman Washington Manley, who lost to the JLP's Edward Fagan. Knibb polled only 269 votes.
Then there are women like the PNP's perennial campaigner Edith Dalton James, who came close a few times, but never made it to Gordon House as a member of the nation's Parliament.