January 25th, 2017 -- Enthusiastic women resident and visiting Nevis on the weekend advocated for the protection of women’s rights by staging a march in Charlestown.
They stood in solidarity with over 5 million women who marched in the world cities and towns and made their voices heard.
Telca Wallis, a local participant wanted to be counted among women in the world who stood up for their rights: “I am a woman and women all over the world are standing for their rights and I had to be counted. We have many strides to go in terms of equality and empowerment of women. Being here today is my testament to the fact that I am ready to go wherever other women in the world are going.”
When Carol Witlauer a visitor to Nevis came up with the idea of a march at an informal conversation with girlfriends, little did she know her suggestion would receive such overwhelming response.
Women turned up at 9.00 a.m and marched in Charlestown carrying placards and chanting messages to let the world know that violation of women’s rights led to various social ills that impact negatively on women. “The objective is to join women around the world standing up for women’s rights,” the coordinator of the march said.
“Today, we are united with women all over the world in a peaceful demonstration for our rights as women as human beings. Today, people are uniting in towns, cities and towns around the world to march in solidarity with women in vulnerable communities affected by hate, intolerance and acts of violence being perpetrated,” she said.
The march would also send a message to the world that would help end violence and gender equality. Women also marched to safeguard, gains made in the protection of immigrants rights, environmental justice, non-partisanship, inclusion, free press, equal pay, respect, building of bridges and not walls.
Susan Dicklar spoke of the need to sustain the enthusiasm witnessed on the weekend: “This march is important because we have made some progress which is not complete and which has not included all people. It is important to keep talking about women’s rights and talking about human rights as women’s rights progressing our agenda of equality.”
Hope Trott, has not lost the zeal she had in fighting for the protection of human rights. “Women have to stand up for their rights. We do not want our rights violated. We need equality. We need jobs,” she said. She participated in Martin Luther King’s civil rights marches in 1953.
Earlier in her speech Witlauer appealed to the women in Nevis to sustain the enthusiasm. She reminded the women about Martin Luther King’s famous statement: “Our lives begin to end the day we become silent.”
The march attracted the Minster of Foreign Affairs, St. Kitts and Nevis, Hon. Mark Brantley who also holds the Tourism, health and Culture portfolios in the Nevis Island Administration(NIA) and the Minister of Social Development, Hazel Brandy Williams.
Brantley holds the conviction that women in Nevis have very strong positions but said he would like to see an increase of women in public life. The women in Nevis, he said, have very strong positions in their homes. “We need to show every support for our women.”
He was optimistic that the march would send a message that women’s rights are important. The Nevis Island Administration(NIA), he said, would continue to fight against domestic violence, human trafficking and any form of abuse against women. “For me, this is a very good march as women are standing up for themselves.”
Ruth Powell’s observation is that although women have been successful in very many ways on the island, there are some problems that still need to be addressed such as domestic violence and the risk factors that cause crime.
Some local women had earlier perceived the march as anti-Trump protest but Whitlauer clarified that the women in Nevis demonstrated their solidarity with women in the world who feel women’s rights are being violated. Cheryl Markosky is of the view that strides made in the world to ensure human rights are protected may be lost by the many negative changes taking place in world.
Williams, the only woman minister in Nevis is determined that changes in the world do not derail the progress made on the island. “This march is important because for sometime now, we have been talking about women’s rights, equality, equity, we have not had a drive to start something but today, this march is the start of women power trying to achieve equality, getting more women involved with women issues” she said.
She regretted that her office was not able to galvanise as many women as she wanted because of the abruptness in which the march was organized. She is hopeful that in March a similar activity will be organized for International Women’s Day.
The women made a deal with the Nevis Social Development Minister that they would participate in the International Women’s Day activities organized by the Ministry of Social Development.
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