“….for the Christian, every man and woman is a true sanctuary of God, and should be treated with the highest respect and affection.” (Pope Benedict XVI, Nov 7, 2010)
On Thursday, March 8, International Women’s Day (IWD), I delivered an address to students at St Joseph’s Convent, St Joseph on one of the International Women’s Day themes: Connecting Girls, Inspiring Futures. The UN theme for IWD 2012 is: Empower rural women – end hunger and poverty.
Our Church teaches that all human life is sacred and that the dignity of each person is the foundation of a moral vision of society. We must do more to promote the dignity of each person, including girls and women. We need strong role models so that our girls and boys will “aim high”.
Through our baptism, we all have a vocation to live holy, virtuous lives. If we are to live by the tenets of our faith, there are certain qualities we must have if we are to inspire our youths e.g. love of God and neighbour; integrity; honesty; Catholic morals and values, discipline; productivity; respect for self, for others, for our environment – for all God’s creation; a commitment to build the common good, family and community.
Last Sunday, as an honorary member of The Inner Wheel of St Augustine, I attended the Interclub of T&T’s 11th Annual IWD Celebration. What a wonderful occasion. There are 18 Women’s Organisations that come together under the umbrella of the Interclub of T&T. And on Thursday I attended the IWD celebrations organiSed by the Association of Female Executives of T&T. Like many others in our society, those present at these two events are committed to empower our people so that they can realise their potential.
There are many wonderful examples of our girls and young women who are achieving great heights in T&T. You will have read of Candel Cuffie’s historic achievement recently. Congratulations to Candel who topped the world in the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) examinations. Four hundred and twenty-four thousand students from 170 countries wrote the final-year examination and our T&T student achieved first place. Together with her father, Pastor Cuffie, and her family, she is involved in a number of charitable initiatives.
Vera Bhajan, a young woman who was born without arms, is now an attorney-at-law and has been recruited by one of our Government Ministries to deliver motivational speeches to young people involved in crime.
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Many girls and women are unable to pursue their dreams because of poverty and social exclusion in T&T and around the world. Exclusion creates dis-harmony. An inclusive society will help us to create a harmonious society.
In a study conducted last year by the Royal Commonwealth Society, Trinidad and Tobago was voted the third best country in the Commonwealth for girls to be born in, however, as was acknowledged by the then Minister of Gender Affairs, “women still have a way to go in participating in political and decision-making processes.” In 2010, T&T ranked 21 out of 134 countries in the Global Gender-Gap Index ranking. Many of our girls and women in T&T are not comforted by these statistics as they remain on the margins of society.
Sarah Morrison’s report (March 4, 2012) on the UK’s Independent newspaper’s investigation entitled: “Revealed: The best and worst places to be a woman”, is worth reading. Note that for women, the best place for economic participation is The Bahamas. The best place to be a journalist is in the Caribbean, and the best place for high-skilled jobs is in Jamaica. “Iceland has the greatest equality between men and women, taking into account politics, education, employment and health indicators.”
Let us respond to Pope Benedict XVI’s call to promote integral human development. God has placed us in this world for a purpose and has given each of us unique gifts. The challenge for us is to determine what that purpose is and to realise it – to use our gifts from God to build the common good.
I ask each of you during Lent to pray for our girls, in T&T and around the world, whose dreams are being dashed because of, for example – rape, domestic violence, child marriages, genital mutilation, honour killing, forced/bonded labour, dowry abuse, foeticide linked to gender selection, incest, and human trafficking.
People are our greatest asset. There can be no development without the development of our girls and women.
The role of women in our world will be enhanced if we work towards equity and equality for all God’s children.
