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

“Mental illness is nothing to be ashamed of, but stigma and bias shame us all.”- Bill Clinton The society has been in a state of shock since Saturday when news emerged of the brutal murders of a five year old boy and his grandmother by her machete-wielding son who was said to be of unsound mind. Mental illness is a complex health and societal issue. Mental wellness oftentimes is not spoken about. It is viewed as being separate and apart from one’s overall state of well-being. Mental wellness requires the support of the family and the wider community. In most instances the mentally challenged find it difficult to take their medication. This is where the support of family is crucial in ensuring that those who struggle with this issue take their medication as directed. Sadly, many families do not wish to be associated with the mentally challenged resulting in many of those individuals living on the streets and fending for themselves. We tend to forget that those who are mentally chal

“Motherhood: All love begins and ends there.”- Robert Browning    What do I know about motherhood? Jamaica like most of the islands in the Caribbean is a matrifocal and matrilineal society. Women are visible and their voices make a difference. Motherhood is celebrated as much as the barren woman is talked about and ridiculed. Women have been the backbone of the society. Our women folk continue to play multiple functions, from the historical roles of caregiver and nurturer to that of a scientist. Can you imagine a world, indeed a Jamaica without the significant role women play?   Life would not be the same. Words such as dull and boredom comes readily to mind. What words come to your mind? Would there be life at all? What if suddenly all women took the stance of pro-choice instead of pro-life? What if abortion became legalized and was made available upon request?   What if motherhood was no longer celebrated?   Imagine a world without Mother’s Day! I suspect for each mother, mothering

On Friday, March 8, 2019 there was a screening of the film Four Days in May: Kingston, 2010 at the Neville Hall Lecture Theatre held at the University of the West Indies, Mona Campus. The film, Four Days in May: Kingston 2010 is an experimental 40 minutes documentary about the State of Emergency declared in West Kingston by the government of former Jamaican Prime Minister Bruce Golding.   Prior to the incursion by the security forces into West Kingston the United States of America had requested that  Christopher Coke be extradited. The “Tivoli Incursion” as the military operation is referred to in Jamaica resulted in the deaths of more than seventy civilians. However, this number is disputed by those in West Kingston who lived through and lost family and friends during the military invasion. Four Days of May” Kingston 2010 is a collaborative effort between anthropologist and film maker Deborah A. Thomas, composer Junior Wedderburn and psychologist Deanne M. Bell. The film speaks to the