Back away, Mr Wray

THE EDITOR, Sir:

Writing from the per-spective of a man who considers himself progressive, I found the article 'Are women natural leaders' to be very, very disturbing. Mr Wray, taking an apparent stand against quotas in Parliament, which are intended to promote gender equality, not only claimed that he disapproved of the quota system, but went further to claim that women are apparently not equals, based unspecified "evidence".

Although there are legitimate grievances which men may currently have, such as the high unemployment rate and breakdown of the family in recent times (the latter of which is arguable), none of these grievances have anything even remotely to do with the very positive fact that women are advancing in society. His arguments that women are somehow not "natural leaders" and that "nature's evidence strongly suggest that she never intended the genders to be on equal footing" are reactionary at best. In fact, these arguments seem to be that of a threatened patriarch.

concept of gender equality

First, I must say that women are quite capable of disproving his poor arguments on their own, and certainly do not need me to do that. Nevertheless, I will have my say.

The claim that "the concept of gender equality is the greatest threat to family life" is the first questionable one. First, if one looks at the past in Jamaica, the vast majority of children were born out of wedlock. Professor M.G. Smith indicates that the "standard" of the nuclear family was never in line with the actual facts. This is not to say that the nuclear family is necessarily an ideal at all, as the greatest family structure that has benefited the African majority in Jamaica is the extended family.

In this way of organising the family, the woman was actually the one in charge of organising the household and activities. She was also at times the breadwinner through her participation in the markets. However, even if we take the assertion that the family has broken down in recent times at face value, is this really due to the advancement of women? Wouldn't the destruction of Jamaican industry, the rampant unemployment that has plagued our youth and communities, and the increased violence and antisocial behaviour that has resulted from a decline in people's ability to provide for themselves in conjunction with the importation and open display of a high lifestyle that can only be afforded by a few be a better target for blame? Wouldn't a progressive discussion about these things be more appropriate than blaming one of the few positive develop-ments in Jamaica over the past decade, i.e., the progress of women?

Nevertheless, this reasoning persists and is at the centre of the consciousness of many Jamaicans, even some women. To understand the reason for this worrying fact, we simply turn to the dominant religion.

successful marriages

According to Mr Wray, "When women accepted their men as their leader and subdue to that leadership as suggested by the Christian Bible, the odds for successful marriages, relation-ships and families were far greater." The use of the Christian Bible should be hardly a surprise here, and to criticise patriarchy, one must criticise the institutions which reinforce it, the Church being paramount among these institutions.

In Jamaica, the Church, unable to truly stand for the poor against government budget, cuts to health and education, police brutality and oppression, has opted to focus on reinforcing 'family values'. The main part of which includes diverting attention away from the aforementioned issues and reinforcing the role of women in the house. This has influenced popular Jamaican discourse, resulting in an oppressed people taking a crab-in-a- barrel mentality and blaming other oppressed people for their problems. The article written by Mr Wray actually in part reflects how religion has lobotomised the Jamaican psyche.

Even those that question Mr Wray's bigoted statements often do not question the institutions and popular beliefs which foment that type of thinking. It is unfortunate that rather than supporting our women for reassuming their rightful roles as the empresses they are, men in Jamaican society fall back on dated, reactionary biblical concepts. If the family has broken down, it is our fault as men for not respecting and supporting our women as we should.

XAVIER MALCOLM

Msc Economics

and International

Financial Economics

Warwick University (UK)