The tragedy of unempowered women

THE CURRENT socio-political crises in Jamaica have been starkly brought home to all citizens of the nation state by the tragic events that have defined the life chances of the women in Tivoli Gardens.

During the process of the security forces attempting to ensure the legal framework in line with their directive to serve an extradition order on a powerful and benevolent male member of their community, the women of Tivoli paraded on the streets, decked out in white tops, and declared to the world that they are warriors who are prepared to die in defence of the most prized of all their sons.

Many unforgettable sound bites emanated from this historical march by inner-city Jamaican women.

The most famous of these will remain embedded in our memories: 'Jesus died for us and we will die for Dudus' and 'Mi have six pickney and Dudus help mi to send every one a dem to school'.

In short, these women, in one passionate moment in time, declared their total dependence and lack of autonomy in a community in which one patriarchal figure and his disciples were allowed to control the psyches and the life chances of every woman in a geographical region.

Stark Realities

When the famous march ended, the women of Tivoli returned to their community to face the stark realities of the state's determination to root out the entrenched, regularly discussed and well publicised high levels of criminality and oppression in their locale.

Faced with a state of emergency and the wholesale involvement of the defiance of their sons, brothers, boyfriends and occasional husbands who were prepared to kill or maim the agents of the state, these women quickly lost their bravado and became the poor, unfortunate and fearful victims that they had become over a long period of socialisation under all the patriarchs who have designed and controlled their community.

These women of Tivoli and other inner-city communities are on the extreme end of the female dependency syndrome or the continuum of oppression under the patriarchal system that has formed the solid bedrock of the Jamaican social, political, economic and religious institutions.

Indeed, these women at this moment of their pain, grief and desperation, might be seen as the most pathetic of our sisters.

However, in case those of us on the other side of the train tracks are tempted to gloat and to slap our chests in smug self- righteousness, let us be reminded that even with our high levels of academic credentials, our elegant burglar barred edifices and our almost six-figure monthly salaries, the society is fully aware of the realities of our lives. It is no secret that some of us in both the private and public sectors have been known to be controlled by the three-piece-suit boss. We all know about many who make the social pages because they are sponsored and escorted by the male power brokers of the society. I stand to be corrected but I do believe that if we are honest with our woman self, we will understand the tragedy of the women who have come to believe that they have no choice but to depend on men for their livelihood, their security and the ultimate definition of their personhood.

If those of us who are more privileged have knowingly or unwittingly demonstrated, by our words and actions, our socialised state of impotence under the patriarch, then we should understand the tragic circumstances of the poor, uneducated and totally demoralised women of the inner cities and the rural hillsides.

These women are the ultimate victims of the sickest and the saddest of the patriarchal legacy.

The sickness of the Jamaican brand of patriarchy is firmly rooted in the plantation mentality that used every woman as a pawn in the patriarch's dangerous game.

It is well documented that he impregnated our black slave mothers in their dungeons and huts, and in this scenario created generations of breeders whose role was to produce a mulatto caste which, over time, would morph into some of the worst oppressors of women and poor black men. Both women in general and poor black men in particular have found ways to deal with their uncontrolled historical rage. Over time, the sisters have learnt to either "grin and bear it or deliberately fake it" while shaking their pompoms as they rally to the causes designed by men.

On the other hand, little black boys, in creating their own version of the masculine, internalised their mother's pain and grief and, in the process of righting the historical wrongs, they have become the 'badass boys on the corner'.

The women who are their mothers, wives, girlfriends, sisters, aunties, grandmothers and whores have turned a blind eye to the danger that these young men have posed to their communities and to their country. Like lambs to the slaughter, women continue the breeder tradition and refuse to hold the biological fathers of their children accountable. Instead, they seek out the benevolent dictators, the sugar daddies and the pimps who have the resources to distribute the bread and honey in this earthly arena.

According to the 'talking heads', there are anecdotal accounts and some research findings that demonstrate the low points experienced by the unempowered women of the inner cities.

It is common knowledge that large numbers of such women have to close their eyes, grind their leftover teeth and ask God for the courage to endure the sexual ravages of their little girls, who must be delivered on a silver platter when the patriarch needs "fresh virginal meat to stoke his imagined sexual appetite".

In this horrific scenario of dehumanised and disempowered womanhood, we are told that some women are also forced to transport drugs across international borders in all their available orifices.

These are the women whose vaginas and anuses can best be described as the 'lubricated conduits' of all the patriarch's desires.

Time to rebuild

The Jamaican society is now challenged to rebuild Tivoli. There are many patriarchs waiting in the shadows to make money out of the country's greatest tragedy. They have ready skills and established track records. In a short time frame, with financial assistance from the international funding agencies they will, among the other mundane tasks, accomplish the following:

• The improvement of roads and lanes

• The replacement of adequate water, sewer and lighting systems

• The provision of liveable and attractive spaces

• The establishment of sidewalks and, perhaps, a modest version of Emancipation Park

• Adequate green spaces, flower beds and attractive spots of shrubbery

• Neat picket fences, community centres, and well-equipped primary and basic schools.

And much more!

These are the easy tasks.

The most difficult will be the achievement of the millennium goal to which the Government has committed itself - GENDER EQUALITY AND THE EMPOWERMENT OF WOMEN.

LET'S START WITH THE EMPOWERMENT OF THE WOMEN OF TIVOLI GARDENS.

Glenda Simms, PhD, is consultant and gender expert.