Combating women's over-representation among the poor in the Caribbean
Harris, B.
Southern Africa Political and Economic Monthly 7(3-4): 51-56
1994
PMID: 12318567 Document Number: 277485
Ending women's overrepresentation among the poor in the Caribbean is not only a human right, but also a political and economic imperative. Caribbean women are central to agriculture, food production, marketing, and processing; moreover, they are the main providers of health, education, and other services. However, in both the Caribbean household and most wings of the Pan-African movement, women are infantalized and regarded as subordinate. If Pan-Africanism is to benefit from the talents and energies of women, it must make female oppression a major concern. The movement must take the lead in speaking out against harmful, degrading social practices such as female circumcision. Hopeful are two approaches to self-organization spearheaded by the Garvey wing of Pan-Africanism. Sistren, san education and theater collective in Jamaica that was initiated by female street cleaners in 1977, has shown working class women an alternative to oppression. Its socialist-feminist street theater, based on the concept that "the personal is political," is organized around personal testimonies that illustrate the link between private experience and social structures. Red Thread, organized in Guyana in 1985, is affiliated with the Working People's Alliance. In addition to supporting self-determination for women, Red Thread sides with the poor and powerless, is committed to multiracial policies, defends indigenous Amerindians evicted from their land by colonialists, and rejects the corruption and one-man leadership style of traditional political organizations. Poor women have been recruited in a nonpartisan manner through use of embroidery groups and income-generating projects.