Dit bericht is afkomstig van CODE RED for gender justice.
Since we
first published our Top 10 Sexist and
Heterosexist moments in Caribbean politics there has been no
end to the misogyny, rape shaming, rape jokes, homophobia
and support for patriarchal privilege by both women and men in positions of
state power.
Sexism refers to prejudice,
stereotyping or discrimination, usually against women, on the basis of sex.
Heterosexism refers to the assumed primacy,
supremacy and normalization of heterosexuality and the resulting attitudes,
bias and discrimination.
Hetero/sexism is often used to represent the
extent to which heterosexism simultaneously encodes binary gender, unequal
relations of gender, naturalised notions of male superiority and female
inferiority as well as homophobia. It calls attention to the interconnections
between and among a binary and unequal understanding of gender,
heteronormativity, misogyny and homo- and transphobia.
Number 1
St. Vincent and the
Grenadines communications official working in the Prime Minister’s office
shames a rape survivor on live radio, reveals her date of birth, new
legal name and passport number and suggests she is a liar. Such an egregious
abuse of state power seemingly in retaliation for her testimony, at the
opposition’s women’s conference, of a lifetime of physical and sexual abuse,
chronic homelessness and a failed application for asylum in Canada. Her
testimony is available here.
Numbers 2 and 3
via Freedom by any means:
Minster of
Human Services and Social Security, Jennifer Webster recently told the women of
Guyana that they needed to ‘forgive and forget’ Attorney General Anil
Nandlall for his derogatory language towards a young female reporter. Nandlall was heard on
tape calling the journalist a ‘thing’ and trying to convince another man to
procure her for his uncle to have sex with (what the young woman might have
thought or wanted was never considered by the Attorney General). Although there
were multiple and sustained calls for his resignation, Nandlall received no
sanction from his superiors in government and continues to hold the top post in
the judiciary of Guyana. In her most recent defense of Mr. Nandlall, Minister
Webster stated that- “In life, many of us do things,” and “If you are a
Christian, you have to forgive and forget.
Number 4
Portia Simpson Miller’s doublespeak:
"Nobody never hears the
Government of Jamaica beating up gays; not one. Let me tell you something; you
want to disturb, you can disturb, but this woman come here with the blood of
Nanny of the Maroons and the spirit of Marcus Mosiah Garvey, and this woman is
not afraid of no man, nowhere, anywhere, and I will speak the truth everywhere."
Emboldened by the PM’s words the Jamaican
Coalition for a Healthy Society, using similar homophobic doublespeak, has
issued a statement rejecting “attempts to restrict or
stigmatise social discrimination against unwholesome behaviours. We reject
efforts to encourage or legitimise behaviours that are high risk for HIV/AIDS
and other STDs. Behaviours that are socially dysfunctional and have a
demonstrably high statistical association with diseases cannot be endorsed.”
Number 5
Trinidad and Tobago parliamentarian Vernella
Toppin-Alleyne seeks to shame opposition
leader Dr. Keith Rowley by calling him a product of rape who is now arrogant
and aggressive as a result.
Let’s hope we make it to December without cause to complete this
list! Leave us a comment if there are any other incidents we neglected to
mention.
De originele tekst vindt u hier:
https://redforgender.wordpress.com/2015/04/06/top-10-heterosexist-moments-in-caribbean-politics-redux-2015-edition/
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