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

According to the World Bank, in 2011, seventeen per cent (17%) of the people in the developing world lived at or below $1.25US a day. This means that 1.4 billion people or twenty one per cent (21%) of the world’s population live in extreme poverty. Undoubtedly, the fight against poverty and gender inequality requires multiple approaches involving government and non-governmental organizations (NGO’s). Recently, there has been an increase in the number of countries investing heavily in social protection programmes to address the needs of the most susceptible in their societies. As a result of such investments in conditional cash transfers, cash grants from the government to poor household in exchange for sending their children to school and for regular health check up there has been an improvement in the standard of living for many families. For example, in The Philippines conditional cash transfer has reached 4.4 million families and has made a significant change in the quality of life ...

"Disability is not an obstacle to success”. –Stephen Hawking According to a World Bank Report one billion people, or 15% of the world’s population, experience some form of disability. The report also added that disability prevalence is higher for developing countries. In Jamaica approximately 200,000 Jamaicans live with a disability as stated by the same source. Persons with disabilities, on average as a group, are more likely to experience adverse socioeconomic outcomes than persons without disabilities, such as less education, poorer health outcomes, lower levels of employment, and higher poverty rates. I met a most remarkable young lady last Saturday She was visually impaired but was in high spirits and bubbling with energy and positive vibes. Tamika was born sighted but unfortunately lost sight in both eyes at age 22.   In spite of her disability, she is a positive, industrious mother of 5 and was all too willing to share a bit of her story some of which was rather pers...

“Violence against women and girls is a human rights violation, public health pandemic and serious obstacle to sustainable development. It imposes large-scale costs on families, communities and economies. The world cannot afford to pay this price”. – Ban Ki-moon   Jamaica is part of the international community which each year observes the 16 days of activism against gender-based violence. From November 25 which is commemorated as the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women through to December 10, Human Rights Day, the global community pauses to raise public awareness regarding discrimination steeped in patriarchy and violence against women which has genesis in the unequal power distribution between men and women. According to USAID, g ender-based violence cuts across ethnicity, race, class, religion, education level, and international borders. An estimated one in three women worldwide has been beaten, coerced into sex, or otherwise abused in her lifetime. Di...

HIV/AIDS is a disease with stigma. And we have learned with experience, not just with HIV/AIDS but with other diseases, countries for many reasons are sometimes hesitant to admit they have a problem. – Margaret Chan It has been more than three decades since the HIV virus was first identified by the scientific community, however, despite of the advances in medicine, stigma and discrimination continue to be   major barriers in accessing treatment and services for those affected and impacted. World AIDS Day is observed on December 1 each year. The United Nations endorsed day provides an opportunity to show support for people living with HIV, as well as, to raise awareness of the struggles and prejudice those with the virus face daily. According to UNAIDS more than 35 million people have died from AIDS-related illnesses. It is estimated that more than 36 million people are living with HIV. Sadly, a significant number of people living with HIV remain without antiretroviral therapy...

“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 No...

“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 collec...

“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 an...