The Intersection of Gender, Culture and Education: Jamaica: The Next 50 Years!

“Waste no more time arguing what a good man should be. Be One”- Marcus Aurelius The discourse surrounding issues of gender and development is often imbalanced resulting in the concerns of men and boys being kicked to the curb. The traditional cultural philosophy of men being self-sufficient and in control of their emotions tend to nurture this disparity in our society, a practice which should be deterred at all cost if we are to effect the change in how men and boys see themselves and value their existence. It is important that as men we are given the space and time necessary to share our concerns, stories and achievements.   It is also critical that as men we help to raise the awareness of issues surrounding men’s rights in addition to engaging women in a meaningful way in order for societies to have harmonious gender relations and sustainable development. It bares thought that men should be afforded the means to challenge their emotional energies other than through sports. On Novemb

“There’s much more we can be doing in Parliament, we could be giving more power back to people at local government level, through local referendums”. Theresa May The Jamaican electorate has never taken local government very seriously. However, despite this fact, the country will go to the polls on Monday, November 28 to vote for parish and municipal councils.   Sadly, many of us do not know our local representatives since to a large extent they have not made themselves available to the people. Additionally, it appears that many of our local representatives are unaware of their job functions. Furthermore, many of the parish councils lack accountability and transparency and this has erode the confidence of the electorate. Issues such as unclean drains, the transformation of many residential communities due to commercialization are leading to the erosion of numerous communities as well as to the quality of live we enjoy. There is also the issues of side walk garages and timely collection

“A change is brought about because ordinary people do extraordinary things”- Barack Obama. Successive governments over the years have failed miserably in many areas of governance, particularly in the aspect of social justice. Social justice is defined by Toowoomba Catholic Education, 2006 as “promoting a just society by challenging injustice and valuing diversity. It exits when all people share a common humanity and therefore have a right to equitable treatment, support for their human rights, and a fair allocation of community resources”.   Injustice comes in various forms and guise which makes it difficult to recognize and address at times.   The unplanned re-structuring of many residential communities due to commercialization is one of many forms of social injustices which require urgent attention. The Jamaican society like all societies has layers of stratification. The society is divided along social classes’ and sadly, we have turned a blind eye to those of influence and wealth