Teneisha Johnson
R.E.S.P.E.C.T! TIME’S UP (Honoring our Women)
As I’ve said before, we will always have an evolving sense of self and I strongly believe we should point towards a world in which a person’s gender is neither an advantage nor an impediment.
No country has achieved full gender equality. In North America and much of Europe, women have made such progress that girls have some reason to believe that anything is possible.
I strongly believe that the Cayman Islands is a jurisdiction that should also consistently promote, encourage and create opportunities for our young ladies to thrive and share the belief that yes, anything is possible!
Ever since the twenty-four Caymanian women from George Town, Grand Cayman lead the charge for equal rights for women by writing to Commissioner Ivor Otterbein Smith on Election Day 1948, declaring,
“That it is our intention to exercise our constitutional right to vote today, August 19th 1948 according to our conscience”.
“We,” the women of the Cayman Islands have and will always push for equal rights and opportunities.
We must! I vow to never stop! It’s all about you!
During the month of March several events will be organized in conjunction with the observance of International Women’s Day here in the Cayman Islands. We will once again show our respect and honor those women in our community making a difference.
Thank God for the privileges granted to us here.
Unfortunately, in too many places, girls and women are still the property of their fathers or husbands.
They are sometimes denied food, medicine, and education which are readily available to men.
They may feel they are cursed and will have to endure a lifetime of neglect, abuse and disrespect.
According to my research, Sierra Leone is one of the worst places in the world to be a girl. Simply being born a girl means a lifetime of barriers and traditions that often value a girl’s body than her mind.
Nearly half of all the girls marry before age eighteen, and many become pregnant much younger. Many are victims of sexual violence and rape often goes unpunished.
However, being a woman should never be seen as a curse!
As “life givers” our role is way too vital to the world’s economy, the future existence of the human race, basically life as we know it!
No disrespect to men, but women deserve just as much respect as men and should be compensated accordingly.
Ian Boyne who is a veteran journalist working with the Jamaica Information Service focused on the big story of 2017: The Women’s Empowerment Revolution: The Anti-Sexual Harassment Edition.
In his article he made mention of some of the most powerful men in America suffering irreparable reputational damage one after the other.
There were women coming forward, bringing up allegations, some from decades ago.
The clock has run out on sexual assault, harassment and inequality in the work place.
TIME’S UP is a unified call for change from women in entertainment for women everywhere.
From movie sets to farm fields to boardrooms alike, they envision nationwide leadership that reflects the world in which we all live.
See link for more details:
https://www.timesupnow.com/#ourmission-anchor
Unfortunately, in Jamaica, sexual harassment is not often taken seriously. It is not uncommon in corporate offices and even public institutions for women to be pressed for sexual favors in return for promotions, and often, simply to keep their jobs.
It’s also not just bosses with power who are harassing, but work colleagues who sometimes say the most explicit things as a joke to women.
I strongly believe this behavior is an infringement on women’s rights and empowerment.
I greatly respect my mother. She continues to teach me how to endure life in all its stages. To respect myself and others and work hard.
She has always been the steady support and sometimes hard task master that was and still is necessary in my growth as a woman of integrity.
There are many types of women, however when people talk about women in science, the first name to come up is Marie Curie (1867-1934).
She was the first woman to win not one but two Nobel Prizes.
Marie Curie won her first Nobel Prize in Physics in 1903 for her research into radioactivity. She then won her second Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1911 for the discovery of radium and polonium.
Apparently, intelligence ran in the family because her daughter Irene Joliot-Curie also won the Nobel Prize for her discovery of artificial radioactivity. Cool!
Other women in history who say beyond themselves are Harriet Tubman and Sojourner Truth.
These were illiterate yet brilliant women.
Harriet Tubman couldn’t read a book, but she could read the stars and knew the way to freedom. She then had the courage to come back and lead other people there.
Sojourner Truth could not stand slavery or any second-class treatment of women, and she was the first slave woman to sue to get back the child who’d been taken from her.
She was born in 1797 and died in 1883. She was a U.S. Abolitionist in her era and met most of the prominent abolitionist of her time and quickly won their respect.
She was born a slave but managed to escape to freedom the same year New York state officially abolished slavery.
More than six feet tall with a deep voice, she possessed a commanding presence, even though she did not have an educated command of the English language.
She became a well-known speaker because of her passion and her ability to express difficult ideas in simple ways, and she could quote extensively from the Bible, which she had memorized.
Both women stood up and fought, regardless of whether or not they thought they could win.
They fought because it was right and just, and because they believed in who they were and what they stood for.
As a woman in the 21st century, what do you believe in and what are you fighting for?
