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Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Press Releases - Women’s roles revisited…..Dr. Kris Rampersad
Press Releases - Women’s roles revisited…..Dr. Kris Rampersad
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Political parties should discuss women issues during campaign
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
Jamaica praised for role in making of first woman PM
JAMAICA MAKE ME PM'
The only woman among 15 regional leaders, Persad-Bissessar on Sunday celebrated her ties with the host country of the 31st Caricom Heads of Government Meeting, saying Jamaica, where she lived for 14 years, influenced her career in politics. She also found love in this country, but did not say who had won her heart.
“Jamaica was once my home for some 14 years. I studied here, fell in love here, taught here and attended my first political meeting right here in Jamaica. So in a sense one can say that Jamaica helped prepare me in becoming Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago. I guess if my political opponents knew this would occur they would have done everything in their power to ensure I stayed right here,” Persad-Bissessar said in her debut address to Caricom leaders at the Half Moon Hotel at Montego Bay.
“May I add that I also spent a few years in Barbados as well, in fact, my son is Barbadian born. And I believe such experiences help to sharpen an understanding of that unique Caribbean identity and perspective,” Persad-Bissessar said, who is married to Dr Gregory Bissessar.
She learnt many life lessons from her years in Jamaica and Barbados which contributed to her ascendancy as a leader in Trinidad and Tobago.
“During those early periods of my life I never dreamt I would be one day addressing such an esteemed group of Caribbean leaders at all, much less as Prime Minister of my nation.
But I guess one can never underestimate the education of a Caribbean experience, especially that of a woman who encounters it,” she said.
Although she leads a new government in Trinidad and Tobago, Persad-Bissessar assured this country remains committed to supporting its Caricom neighbours, pausing to extend her sympathy to President of Haiti Rene Preval over the devastating earthquake which killed thousands in the impoverished nation on January 12.
“The fortitude, dignity and resilience demonstrated by the people of our sister isle state of Haiti in the wake of this terrible event have won profound respect,” she said, renewing a pledge to continue to provide aid to Haiti.
Persad-Bissessar said Caricom remains a symbol “for an improved quality of life for all in the region”, and made an appeal for leaders to “reduce poverty throughout the community so that all our people can enjoy a higher standard of living”.
She held up several early initiatives of her government as examples, such as the $100 million Life Fund, proposing a similar Caricom Life Fund to help provide better care for sick children. President of Guyana Bharrat Jagdeo welcomed this proposal yesterday saying his country is now pursuing similar initiatives. Jagdeo also said greater effort must be made to protect women who are single heads of households in the region.
Jagdeo himself came in for praise from Persad-Bissessar, who commended him for receiving the Champion of the Earth award from the United Nations for Guyana’s low carbon emission programme.
As Guyana has done, Trinidad and Tobago too is adopting measures to protect the environment, such as the Clean Up and Beautify initiative which the Government launched on June 27, Persad-Bissessar told the leaders.
Stating it was the “largest collaborative effort between government and the private sector ever introduced”, Persad-Bissessar also disclosed plans to introduce tough anti-littering legislation, and again held such programmes up as examples that could be implemented across the Caribbean.
“I long for the day when I can learn of a pan-Caribbean approach within a specific initiative in dealing with environmental issues,” she said, further stating that the resources of the Petroleum Fund should be allocated to promote sustainable development of the region, as well as education. It can also be used to support a Caricom Life Fund, she suggested.
Noting her role as lead Caricom Prime Minister with responsibility for matters relating to Crime and Security, Persad-Bissessar again called for cooperation among states to “strengthen the peace and security of the region”.
“In the Caribbean, guaranteeing public safety cannot be confined to military and police action. The dimensions of criminal activity are increasingly associated with human trafficking, repatriation of deportees, money laundering, the trade of illicit drugs and firearms and other forms of organised crime and terrorism.
“Trinidad and Tobago remains committed to bolstering the security of the region as it is one of the cornerstones which must be strengthened to ensure that the foundation for the collective prosperity of our region remains solid,” she said.
Commending Persad-Bissessar, Prime Minister of Jamaica Bruce Golding said Caricom is fortunate to have her as one of its leaders as the regional body faces a defining moment in its history.
“I want to congratulate her on her historic achievement. My colleague Heads and I look forward to the wisdom which she will bring to our deliberations. Trinidad and Tobago has always played a significant role in Caricom and we have every confidence that it will continue to do so under her leadership.”
Golding thanked Persad-Bissessar for accepting his invitation to remain in Jamaica after the Caricom meeting ends tomorrow for a two-day working visit.
“We have so many things to discuss,” he stated. Persad-Bissessar is expected to discuss the Caribbean Airlines-Air Jamaica arrangement when she meets Golding.
for more go to: https://krisrampersad.com/
Thursday, July 1, 2010
Trinidad's PM breaks the cultural mould
Following her election victory, continuing to break the glass ceiling
Trinidad's PM breaks the cultural mould
By Nazma Muller
Trinidad
Ms Persad-Bissessar is a devout Hindu
Barely 24 hours after she was sworn in as the first woman prime minister of Trinidad and Tobago, Kamla Persad-Bissessar donned a life jacket and waded into the flood waters to tour areas affected by torrential rains sweeping across the Caribbean.
A devout Hindu, she swore on the Bhagavad Gita - the Hindu holy book - to do her duty to her people.
Even as congratulations poured in from around the world, she remained focused on "dealing with the people's business".
It was the most important task at hand, she told her 1.3m citizens during the live televised address of her historic swearing-in ceremony.
A descendant of Indian indentured labourers who came to Trinidad to work the sugar plantations from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar between 1845 and 1917, Ms Persad-Bissessar grew up with traditional Indian values and strong religious ties.
'No novice'
The landslide victory of the coalition led by her United National Congress (UNC) party in last month's election has brought a sense of euphoria and feeling of hope to this incredibly wealthy republic.
Trinidad and Tobago has sailed smoothly through the global recession, cushioned by a sea of oil and natural gas.
Ms Persad-Bissessar ran a high-profile election campaign
The squandering of billions of dollars by the former government and alleged corruption helped bring this 58-year-old grandmother-of-two into power.
She unseated former PM Patrick Manning whose People's National Movement (PNM) party had governed the country for 42 of the 48 years since its independence from the UK.
An attorney by profession, Ms Persad-Bissessar is no novice to politics having been the MP for her area Siparia, a rural town in the south of the island, since 1995.
In the last 15 years she has weathered many political storms, even as she broke gender barriers.
Former Prime Minister Basdeo Panday (1995-2001) appointed her attorney general and education minister during the UNC's first stint in office, and she even acted as PM.
But in 2007, in the lead-up to a general election, when it was clear that she was the best person to lead the party, Mr Panday refused to resign.
Ms Persad-Bissessar, who is married to a doctor and has a son, swallowed the humiliation, even giving a famous speech to the theme of Bob Marley's No Woman No Cry, in which she declared her undying support for her political guru.
But all that changed last December.
As then Prime Minister Manning became increasingly unpopular, Ms Persad-Bissessar saw a golden opportunity for the opposition forces to unite to topple the ruling People's National Movement.
'Smear campaign'
But as she launched her bid to take over the UNC, Mr Panday unleashed an attack on her reputation, suggesting that she was an alcoholic.
Ms Persad-Bissessar called the accusation "total falsehood".
Ms Persad-Bissessar is of Indian origin
"It is a smear campaign of lies, half-truths and innuendoes. Smear campaigns do not win elections. Sticks and stones may break my bones but words cannot hurt me."
Indeed, they did not.
On 24 January, Ms Persad-Bissessar became leader of the UNC with a landslide victory.
When Mr Panday refused to step down as leader of the opposition, she dealt with that too - persuading his loyal MPs to cross over to her side.
After she was appointed leader of the opposition, she hired the strategist who worked on Barack Obama's presidential campaign to assist her.
After a blistering, hugely expensive campaign that used high-tech, slick advertisement in all the media, including the internet, Ms Persad-Bissessar and her coalition emerged victorious.
And on 24 May she became prime minister.
Ms Persad-Bissessar has shown admirable political savvy in the last few weeks, openly courting the media and reacting swiftly to public opinion.
In her 30 May Indian Arrival Day speech she touched on "soft" issues such as race, gender and class inequality.
"As a child in the rural district of Penal I remember sharing meals from the same pot with neighbours of different racial, ethnic, social and economic backgrounds," she said.
"We all managed. If one had, then all had. Because then we were intuitively and instinctively our brother's keepers.
On her terms
"Time and circumstances have allowed many factors, including the divisiveness of some politicians, to keep us apart. But to go forward, we must go back.
"We need to rekindle those values, those strengths as a nation and as a people… And we must do so as one people with one goal."
Ms Persad-Bissessar unseated former PM Patrick Manning
She is intensely aware of the chance she has to make and change history on these islands.
She has already shown that she will be a prime minister on her own terms.
She declined the opportunity to meet US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton because parliament had not yet been convened.
She graced the catwalk at Trinidad and Tobago's annual fashion week at the end of May.
And she also made an appearance with local chutney musicians at a show.
Ms Persad-Bissessar, who graduated top of her class from law school, also confronted the delicate issue of gender tensions.
"Looking towards the future, one of the most important issues the national community must face is the widening gap between the liberated, modern, independent women and our traditional men who are being left behind," she said.
"Women are outperforming men in almost every sphere of life in our society and the women of east Indian ancestry are no exception to this rule. They have broken the cultural mould," she said.
No-one as much as her.
From
BBC News - Trinidad's PM breaks the cultural mould
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