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| Minister of Health, Gender and Social Affairs, Hon Jean Harris Photo Provided |
Charlestown Nevis (March 8, 2004) Minister of Health, Gender & Social Affairs in the Nevis Island Administration, the Hon Jean Harris, on Monday said that women’s empowerment was a process by which women gained greater control.
While delivering a televised message to commemorate International Women’s Day, (March 8), she focused on the theme “Empowerment”, saying that women gain greater control over material and intellectual resources, while challenging the ideology of patriarchy and the gender base discrimination against women in all institutions and structures of society.
“It is a process which enables women to discover new possibilities and new options,” expressed Minister Harris. “The empowerment process has many facets and they relate to the level of development that a country experiences.”
The Gender Minister pointed out a number of relevant situations in today’s society. “The capacity to question traditional beliefs and practices, and develop a critical approach to one’s environment; developing a positive self image and recognising one’s strength including valuing one’s existing knowledge and skills,” she said.
“Becoming aware of one’s rights as an equal citizen and a woman; collectively working for change; seeking access to new kinds of information and knowledge relevant to critical issues of one’s life as well as understanding the world beyond our horizons, and learning to confront oppressive practices within and outside the home and changing attitudes and practices with one’s own family.”
Minister Harris told the Nevisian public while focusing on empowerment; to remember that the essence of empowerment was the development of an individual, and the group consciousness of the opportunity and ability to act on issues that are deemed unfair to women.
“It must be realized that empowerment of women is also a liberating process for men from the burdens of tradition and stress. They will be able to express their innate traits of sensitivity. In fact, both sexes can benefit from this process,” said Minister Harris.
In closing, Minister Harris quoted words from Bahai’s Writing, “The world of humanity has two wings, one is women and the other men. Not until both wings are equally developed can the bird fly, should one wing remain weak flight is impossible.”
