By Rita Gardiner
For Women’s History Month I would like to highlight the contributions made by women of the Turks and Caicos Islands who’ve made a great impact, ‘from Persistence to Progress: Advancing Gender Equality /the Social Movement and its Significance.’
With the approval of the Director of Youth, I borrowed her topic on which I sat several days ago for the Youth Department. Since then, persons have been asking us for additional information on the inception of the TCI Women’s Movement.
I’m very much honored to impart some of the history and identify those who were the movers and shakers behind the Movement in empowering women to become more assertive in their quest for Gender Equality and Gender Justice and Empowerment.
There is one thing that is lacking in this country: the fact that we do not keep history on such issues as important as the Advancement of Women, whereby our future generations will know who were the Trailblazers who blazed the trail for them which has enabled them to enjoy a better way of living today, bringing about Gender Equality, Gender Justice and basic Human Rights for all.
I deem this as the most opportune time, 25 years later after the Opening of the Women’s Desk on February 1, 1999. We are now in the month of March where women are celebrated all month long, where the history of women and their achievements are highlighted. I say now is the time to speak to the Movement that brought about Gender Equality, Empowerment and Justice for women.
It was a movement that started all over the world, although Turks and Caicos was one of the last countries to join. In the 70’s, women in the United Kingdom often demonstrated over women’s rights and equal opportunity in the work force and education.
When they opened their Women’s Desk, it worked like a charm, women took to the streets and burned their bras. Women in our neighboring Bahamas, fought tooth and nail to be recognized and for the right to vote.
The Women’s Suffrage Movement began in 1961 where women fought to vote, held demonstrations almost daily, to finally be given the right to do so in 1962. The Bahamas opened their Women’s Desk in 1981. In the United States women were not even allowed to open a bank account on their own until 1974 when the Equal Credit Opportunity Act was passed. It was then, and only then that women were given the right to open a bank account on their own.
Historically, women in the Turks and Caicos Islands have always been central to production. They worked the sisal, cotton, and farming co-ops, harvesting and planting. When cash crops and salt were less economically viable, more pressure were put on the women to hold the family unit together. Women were entrepreneurs in their own right, selling any and everything to take care of their families.
I speak of my very own grandmother who was known as the Pastalita Lady, her name was synonymous with cooking and baking for every school child knew. “ Ms. Natalie” was known as the lady who kept them going during their lunch breaks. She was resilient, creative, industrious, kind, and a successful businesswoman all her life.
Men were obliged to work the Dutch ships and were away from their families for years at a time. Women kept their families afloat during these tough times, until monies would come to them through the Labour Office. Women were like super glue, they kept family and community life together. Their social life was centered around church and church related events. They were everything to their families: teachers, nurses, and disciplinarians that instilled values and discipline in their children.
Men on the other hand, have historically been our protectors and held the dominant position of leaders in the churches, community affairs and in the political arena. It was taboo for women to take such positions. Back then it was believed that “a woman’s place was in the home” as a housewife or caregiver.
Professional women back in the day were teachers and nurses. I applaud such women. There was one midwife in Grand Turk known as Mrs. Mary Wood. The first woman to be principal of a school was Helena Jones Robinson in the late 70’s.
Here in the Turks and Caicos Islands the Movement for the Empowerment of women really began in 1994, when all the Caribbean and Latin American countries were called to prepare a Report on the Status of Women in the preparation for the 4th World Conference on Women in Beijing, China in September 1995.
The Minister of Health, Youth and Sports, Hon. Arebella Smith was the Minister responsible for the movement. She sanctioned a group of women and non-government organizations (NGOs) to form a committee with the aim to prepare a report on the status of women in the Turks and Caicos Islands. That committee became known as WID, ‘Women in Development.’ The Members were:
• Mrs. Leila Robinson (deceased)
• Ms. Mahala Wynns
• Mrs. Myrtle Mills
• Mrs. Cheryl-Ann Jones
• Mrs. Sandra Garland
• Ms. Dianne Higgs
• Miss Jane Williams (deceased)
• Ms. Elizabeth Fletcher
Information was obtained from primary sources which included 6 workshops conducted in the various islands, discussions, interviews and two national consultations. Secondary sources included government ministries and institutions, statutory boards, research reports and bilateral institutions.
The public perspective was sought by way of having public meetings in each island, conducting questionnaires and interviews.
In 1994, Myrtle Mills, the President Elect of WID, sought the technical assistance of the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB), who were very sympathetic to the plight of the women of the Turks and Caicos Islands and got involved by sending Denise Taylor, a Caricom Consultant on Women’s Issues from Barbados to assist with the consultation and the report that would be prepared to send to the United Nations.
The late Mrs. Leila Robinson, was tasked with the job of accompanying the Regional Consultant to all the family islands, interviewing women on their concerns and collecting the data as the local Women’s Researcher.
From the information collected it was recognized that the main issues were that of women’s human rights which were seriously being violated and women’s reproductive health and rights, there was no institution or agency in place which could sympathize and help with issues such as domestic violence and child abuse. Women in common law marriages had no rights when their spouse passed or the relationship ended, they were often left alone with no one to turn to.
Education was another serious issue. Usually it was a status thing, or one had to be extremely good to pass the Common Entrance Test to High School. If unsuccessful, women would have to seek mediocre jobs. During the 50’s and 60’s many persons were not fortunate enough to enter High School.
The biggest recipients of this were women as young men were allowed to seek employment on cargo ships or at the Pan Am or Naval Base facilities. Teenage mothers were not allowed to return to school after becoming pregnant; in most instances’ teachers would also lose their jobs if pregnant out of wedlock.
All these issues were in the final report. It was then that those in authority took the work of Women in Development serious. International agencies began asking questions. It was around this time, in 1994, that Hon. Hilly Ewing signed the Women’s Convention known as CEDAW or the Convention on all Forms of Discrimination Against Women.
It was imperative that Turks and Caicos attended this conference. Hon. Mahala Wynns and Hon. Cheryl Astwood-Tull who was at the time a member of Parliament, and the Parliamentary Advocate for the National Machinery were selected to attend the Beijing Conference.
On returning home they emphasized how the Conference was an eye-opener and remarked how women from all over the world were suffering from abuse, discrimination and unequal opportunities in the workplace, gender-based violence and the Girl Child were priority areas.
They both felt that the time had come for the government to establish a Women’s Desk that could facilitate the education and awareness of women and to give them support and encouragement in a historically male dominated society which is still prevalent in some countries in the Caribbean.
The findings from Turks and Caicos Report revealed many interesting issues, cited were the following:
• Of the number of registered business (sole traders) only 14% were women compared to 46% men and 40% joint ownership.
• Violence against women existed in every sphere of society but was never reported because of:
* fear of embarrassment
* Lack of trust
* Lack of confidentiality and a lack of understanding of their rights.
• The police, on the other hand, were reluctant to intervene in domestic violence disputes because women were reluctant to press charges and when they did would often be withdrawn.
• Rape, incest and sexual assault cases were rarely reported because of fear and embarrassment
• Insufficient use of the media in promoting women’s issues
• Lack of sufficient mechanisms at all levels to promote the advancement of women.
The Women in Development worked tremendously hard and with their research findings in hand, they began to advocate for the establishment of the first Women’s Desk. This was critical to advancing the status of women in the Turks and Caicos Islands.
On the 1st February, 1999 the Women’s Desk was established and fell under the portfolio of the Ministry of Health with Hon. Clarance Selver as the Minister responsible. Hon. Rita Gardiner was selected as the first Coordinator after a grueling interview process with a number of women.
She was sent to Jamaica on an attachment with one of the leading Caribbean Women’s Activist, Director of the Jamaican Gender Desk, Dr. Glenda Symms and Advisor to the then Prime Minister of Jamaica on Gender issues, the Hon. Portia Simpson Miller.
Hon. Gardiner was responsible for laying the foundation of the TCI’s Women’s Movement and building the institution from a mere Desk to a Gender Unit, travelling all over the world attending many high-level meetings, including the United Nations General Assembly (the world’s largest conference on women).
Following the Beijing Conference, where the United Nations tasked women to return to their countries and put institutions in place whereby women’s issues could be articulated, Hon. Gardiner set her focus on the critical priority areas as set out in the Beijing Platform for Action: education was top on her agenda. She gives credit to Hon. Clarence Selver who was extremely supportive and sensitive to women’s issues.
CEDAW was the legal framework for commitments undertaken at the sessions of the Regional Conference on Women in Latin America and the Caribbean and our primary responsibility for implementation and accountability in respect of these agreements.
Recognizing the important contribution of the Non-Government Organization, Women in Development fought for the national machinery whose aim was to promote gender equity and equality. The 12 Critical areas tor Women’s Empowerment were:
1. Women in Education
2. Women in Health
3. Women in the Environment
4. Women in Politics
5. Women in the Media
6. Women in the Economy
7. Women in Business
8. Violence Against Women
9. The Girl Child
10. Women in Power and Decision Making
11. Poverty Eradication
The coordinator believed once women were educated, they would be empowered enough to achieve their goals. Teenage mothers were given priority and thus she began a fight that was extremely challenging. They were encouraged to return to school and continue their education through a Pilot Program known as the Continuous Education Program for Teenage Mothers.
Hon. Gardiner travelled the country in search of teenage mothers, brought them to Grand Turk where they enrolled in the program, in collaboration with Mrs. Lilybeth Allen with financial assistance from CDB. Women were given opportunities to obtain skills training whereby they could earn a living for themselves and their children, such as Cosmetology, Sewing and Embroidery which was a very lucrative business in the tourism industry.
The Women in Development was a main source of inspiration to the Women’s Desk. Moving so quickly and being so successful, we benefited tremendously from the service of these former members:
Hon. Lillian Boyce, Minister of Gender Affairs
Hon. Karen Delancy, Minister of Gender Affairs
Mrs. Norma Goodridge, President
Mrs. Delthia Russell-Misick, President
Mrs. Patricia Saunders- Missick, President
Mrs. Rosabelle Adams, President
Mrs. Mavis Williams, President
Mrs. Barbara Butterfield -Jarvis, Secretary
Mrs. Susan Capron, Member
Mrs. Tina Fenimore, President
Mrs. Lucielle Wilson, Executive Member
Ms. Edith Cox, Vice President
Ms. Clarise Been, Asst Secretary
Mrs. Nerfer Malcolm, Public Relations Officer
Hon. Karen Malcolm, Asst Treasurer
Mrs. Adella Williams, Social Rep
Mrs. Barbara Malcolm, Social Rep
Looking back on those formative years, believe me when I say that this was not an easy road; we were met with many obstacles, challenges, but kept focused and kept on with our “persisting to progress”. I knew that empowering our girls through education was one of the articles in the CEDAW Convention that TCI had endorsed.
If we were to achieve Gender Equality which is a basic human right of profound importance and a fundamental principle of governments to women of any country, we needed government to ensure that women were not discriminated against because of having a child. Furthermore, without education the individual would fall in the hands of social services, thus creating a financial for the government.
Two years after the program commenced, 30 young women graduated from the school. Some moved on to the Community College whilst others were able to acquire meaningful occupation. Other women attended the program just to acquire skills training whereby they could own their own businesses such as dressmaking and cosmetology.
Realizing that we could not achieve our objectives and goals alone, especially with the budget that was allocated to the Women’s Desk, the Coordinator aligned herself with national and international organizations, especially the Women In Development, The Women In Action, The Domestic Violence Foundation and The 100 Black Men of the Turks and Caicos Islands. These organizations were instrumental in assisting with programs and projects.
The Domestic Violence Foundation was a force in raising funds and worked towards assisting with the Legislation:
The Members included:
· Hon. Rita Gardiner, Founder and Ex officio Member
· Hon. Doreen Quelch-Misick, President
· Hon. Rhondalee Braithwaite-Knowles, Founding Member
· Ms. Donna Chapman, Founder
· Mr. Mark McCauley, Member
· Asst. Superintendent of Police Irene Butterfield, Member
In 2000, The Women’s Desk joined with the Caribbean Association of Feminist Research in Action (CAFRA) in a Trainer of Trainer Pilot Program to educate front line workers in dealing with victims of Domestic Violence as this was another focus area of the Women’s Desk: education and awareness of domestic violence and its negative impact on families, communities and the workplace.
· Five persons were selected to attend the training in Jamaica to return and train persons who worked with victims of Domestic Violence:
· ASP Irene Butterfield
· Sargeant Amos Agarro, representing RTCPF
· Ms. Almartha Thomas, Social Development Department
Upon their return, a series of training sessions with various stakeholders were held on Sensitization of Domestic Violence and its negative impact on families and communities.
An active campaign on domestic violence and other forms of gender-based violence was held throughout the islands. We tackled this evil with vigor from the grassroots level to adulthood, organizing marches against violence on women of all nationalities.
People were encouraged to come forward and the police were sensitized on how to treat victims of domestic violence. The DVF and the WID advocated for a crisis center, and in 2004 the Government awarded the NGOs with a plot of land under the leadership of Tina Fenimore (deceased) President of WID and Hon. Doreen Quelch Misick, President of the DVF. It was named the “Hill of Hope” by President Fenimore.
In 2004, the Women’s Desk was changed to the Gender Desk and the Coordinator’s title was elevated to Director. Additional staff was brought in:
· Mrs, Barbara Handfield, Deputy Director
· Mrs. Clarabelle Garland, Asst. Deputy Director
· Mrs. Sharon Taylor, Administrative Officer
· Ms. Rose Outten, Assistant Admin Officer
In 2003, the department joined in an island-wide consultation on Family Law and Domestic Violence Review with the OECS countries.
This resulted in 6 Bills drafted for passage through the House of Assembly: Education and Training; Women’s Reproductive Health and Rights and the Feminization of HIV/Aids. This took place under the stewardship of Hon. Karen Delancy, who really advocated for legislation for the protection of women.
Of equal importance was the Family Law and Domestic Violence Reform. The Coordinator, The Minister and Hon. Braithwaite Knowles travelled to Grenada for a special meeting on this Review. Hon, Knowles worked diligently on the Review which was used as a model for the rest of the Caribbean.
The Government of the OECS Member States and the Turks and Caicos Islands are advancing the initiative, which is being implemented in all states, including the TCI.
Several agencies joined the project to ensure that the outcome will result in a modernized judicial and legislative system that has the capacity to resolve family related matters in a more holistic manner, thus ensuring increased equity and greater access to justice for all, to the benefit of all families within the OECS and the Turks and Caicos Islands.
The following areas were identified for consultation in the Turks and Caicos Islands and adapted into law, some areas are still in progress:
1. Marriage and Divorce; Common Law Marriage; Spousal Support; Child Support; Guardianship, Custody and Access; Protection of Children; Domestic Violence as related to the issues in relationships. Although there were many others, these were the main focus for us here in the Turks and Caicos Islands. Most of these laws are already enacted, whilst others are still in progress.
2. Juvenile Justice – there was an urgent need to develop and adopt policies and programs for youth after being involved in the court system. Of great importance are youth dealing with mental health issues. and finding suitable institutions for their care and protection.
In 2004, Hon. Lillian Boyce became Minister of Gender Affairs. During this time the fight for Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment continued to be a hot button issue in the Caribbean and Latin America. In 2005, the Minister and I attended the General Assembly at the United Nations in New York.
It was heartwarming to see how far we had come recalling that just 10 years prior Turks and Caicos had joined the rest of the world in making our commitment for Women’s Empowerment and just six years since the Women’s Desk was established.
We were amazed how many women were still gathering in small groups advocating and canvassing for their issues to be placed on the Agenda to be discussed. As we were an Overseas Territory we were not allowed to speak freely because we were there under the invitation of the United Kingdom. However, we were able to share our concerns with our fellow members from the Overseas Territories.
In 2006, in a Meeting in Ecuador, of the Presiding Officers of the Regional Conference on Women in Latin America and the Caribbean, Hon. Lillian Boyce was elected as the first Caribbean Woman to hold the position of President. Usually, these positions were held by women from Latin America.
This position propelled the Minister to host Caribbean and American women in the largest Women’s Conference in Turks and Caicos Islands. Women from all over the Caribbean gathered in Providenciales for a Regional Conference on Women of the Caribbean and the Way Forward on Achieving Gender Equality.
Are we changing the game? I dare say “Yes, we are”! Women bring a unique element to the way we socialize; however, we must encourage other women who think they are not ready for such high-level positions. There have been tremendous gains over the last 3 decades to which we have all contributed and special emphasis continues to be placed on Education, Health, Poverty Eradication, Violence against Women, Politics and the Girl Child.
We are now seeing that women with such positions must work long hours, sometimes children are left alone, unsupervised after school, thereby running the risk of falling prey to social ills. I applaud the government for the new initiative recently instituted by the Ministry of Education with the After Care and Day Care programs. This will go a long way in combating crime and other social problems.
But those of us who are faring slightly better than others must not lose sight of the grim circumstances that many other women and girls still face, such as gender-based violence, abuse of every kind and trafficking of women. Because we don’t hear it all the time doesn’t mean that it’s not happening. We must address these issues with every opportunity that is afforded us.
Women continue to be a legitimate focus of attention, not because women are in a special category but because they still face systemic disadvantages in the world today.
In closing, I wish to turn to another aspect of our challenge in the fight for Advancing Gender Equality, the Social Movement and its significance to which we are all aspiring. I refer to the statement always portrayed, that the advancement of women means the marginalization of men.
I hear this all the time, that women are taking over, thus men feel inferior to what’s going on around them and many have just given up in the very important roles they also have to play.
Indeed, there can only be honest progressive development with honest partnership between the two genders and equality of men and women is not an ideal, it is a realistic goal and both genders must “persevere together in order to achieve that progress that we seek”.
I applaud my successor, Mrs. Carolyn Dickenson, for continuing the work to bring about Gender Equality: Madam Director you are doing an excellent job, continue to do well.