hrough out history women have played an important role in shaping the societal norms and trends we see today. Whether it be in sports, education, fashion religion, etc. Today we are going to focus on the five women who played an important role in shaping the political landscape of our beautiful twin-island republic of Trinidad and Tobago
women's
Role In Politics in T&T
T
DIANA MAHABIR-WYATT
Diana Mahabir-Wyatt has been an activist for Human Rights since childhood. She has advocated for equality for girls in primary and secondary school, marched against racism and war in university. She was an independent Member of the Senate of Trinidad & Tobago for nine years mainly dealing with Industrial Relations and Social Development Legislation. She is a strange combination of serene and affectionate support and steely determination, perhaps shaped by an early childhood growing up in Canada amid refugees from war zones and concentration camps. Her advocacy for the victims of domestic violence and child abuse are well known. Less well-known are her stories for children and her addiction to studies on comparative religion and philosophy. After teaching for a couple of years at UWI St. Augustine she dove into the Human Rights field of Industrial Relations, heading the ECA and the Caribbean Employers Confederation while providing for the defense and support of victims of domestic violence and child abuse. Along the way she founded the T&T Coalition Against Domestic Violence, the Shelter for Battered Women and Children, Childline, Stop Elderly Abuse Now and Peace Love and Understanding in Schools while earning her living by running a Human Relations Consultancy. She was awarded a PhD (honoris causa) by UWI and a national medal gold for community services to women in 2014 by the government of T&T. She currently heads the Caribbean Center for Human Rights.
ISABEL URSULA TESHEA
Mrs. Isabel Ursula Teshea's name is associated with many
"firsts" in Trinidad and Tobago; the first woman elected to the House of Representatives, the first woman minister, the first woman to serve as an ambassador for this country.
SHE WAS BORN Isabel Ursula Cadogan, the daughter of Thomas and Maude, in Princes Town on July 24, 1911. She was educated at Princes Town Government School and went to the University of Puerto Rico much later to attend special courses in Community Education.
An early member of the People's National Movement (PNM), Teshea organised many women's groups, in particular, the PNM Women's League, of which she became Chairman in 1956. She also became Lady Vice-Chairman of the PNM in 1956 and retained both posts for a number of years.
In 1961, she became Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Local Government and Community Development. She was Minister of Health and Housing from 1963 to 1967 and Minister of Housing from 1967 to 1970.
In 1970 Teshea was appointed ambassador to Ethiopia and from 1974 High Commissioner to Guyana, a post she held until her retirement in 1977.
In 1981, she was the recipient of the Trinity Cross for public service, an award that was made posthumously since she died earlier that year. She was 69.
Taken from: The 90 Most Prominent Women in Trinidad and Tobago - Imprint Caribbean Limited