about their bodies, still striving to
speak up and let loose their fears,
wonders and wishes.
In 2003, Shirin Ebadi (Iran) won the
Nobel Prize for Peace for her efforts
for democracy and human rights
that focused especially on the
struggle for the rights of women
and children. A year later, Wangari
Muta Maathai (Kenya) won for
her contribution to sustainable
development, democracy and
peace.
In 2011, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf
and Leymah Gbowee (both from
Liberia) and Tawakkul Karman
(Yemen) won the prize for their
non-violent struggle for the safety
of women and for women’s rights
to full participation in peace-
building work. In 2014, Malala
Yosafzai (Pakistan) shared the
prized with Kailash Satyarthi (male,
India) for their struggle against the
suppression of children and young
people and for the right of all
children to education.
Last year, Nadia Murad (Iraq)
shared the prize with Denis
Mukwege (male, Democratic
Republic of the Congo) for their
efforts to end the use of sexual
violence as a weapon of war and
armed conflict.
These are all notable achievements
by women the world over, doing
their part to make the world a
safer place to live, work, play, and
dream. Here in Saint Lucia, there
are many sheroes would excel in
various spheres, including Dame
Pearlette Louisy (education and
governance), Levern Spencer
(sports), Dame Lawrence Laurent
(education), to name a few. They
continue to be inspirations for not
only future generations but also
their contemporaries.
“It’s a big step that we have
women of colour representing
the possibility of every woman in
poverty and different ethnicities
having not only the right to speak
but also think about the ability to
captivate and make a wonder of
themselves,” Belausteguigoitia said.
“That is a very empowering thing
for all women.”
Meanwhile, Kentillia Louis, Artistic
Director of She.lc and Managing
Director of YouthSPAC, said she got
a sense of solidarity at the forum:
“We go about our daily lives, but
hardly do we get a chance to sit
down and share our feelings,
frustrations and hopes. So these
forums get people to generate
these types of discussions.”
However, Louis said the work must
not end at just talking about the
problems. She said that while it
might seem that women have
reached their zenith, “we still have
to look at how we see ourselves
and whether we’re comfortable
being women, especially in terms
of gaining employment.”
She added: “We often tend to
that it’s the next generation -- the
girls -- who need the support and
empowerment. However, everyone
needs to be empowered -- men,
women, boys and girls. They need
to know that there are places they
can go to when they need such
assistance. But these things are
not in place.”
www.slyoumag.com | July-August 2019
Women’s issues are everybody’s
issues, Louis said, adding that
whenever women demand certain
rights, men need not become
defensive or feel threatened.
Rather, she said men need to show
empathy.
Women who are vocal and
assertive often leads to them
being characterized as arrogant
and bitchy, while whenever men
demonstrate similar traits they
are deemed to be go-getters.
Louis believes people need to
feel free to be who they truly are,
especially if they are not violating
other people’s rights. She also
underscored why that common
misconception exists.
“In the Caribbean, we come from
a tradition that was supportive of
oppression, keeping us in a position
where we had low self-esteem,”
she explained. “So we accept and
become servants all of our lives. All
of this is part of the problem and
we need to recognize it. Change is
always uncomfortable, but after
you would have experienced the
discomfort, you reach a new level
and see things differently.”
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