THE EDITOR: Madame,
Like their ancestral mother, Nanny of the Maroons, Jamaican women are courageous, resilient, and possess a fighting spirit. This combination indicates the fire in their blood to resist any oppressive narrative aimed at redefining their dignity and pitting them against each other. Among many other historical events, this past week needs to be etched in the annals of Jamaican history as one demonstrating that they are indeed daughters of Nanny.
The week started with a YouTube narrative of attorney-at-law Isat Buchanan, who failed to utilise his brain and the ethics of his profession to guide his response to a national debate on the retirement age of the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP). His misogynistic framed narrative mirrored an age-old racist strategy of the British colonial oppressors of “divide and rule” by referring to the DPP as “beast” and her assistant as “beauty.”
Adding to the myriad of counter-narratives, our women proactively reshaped the Buchannan’s misogynistic narrative by standing together as a team in varying sporting disciplines. First, the Reggae Girlz sent a clear message about their fortitude and courage by ousting the women’s World Cup powerhouse of football, the Brazilians. Second, the message of the Sunshine Girls was equally compelling when they defeated the defending champions and the number two team in Netball, New Zealand. Third, prior to this week, the women’s volleyball team became champions at the Caribbean Zonal Volleyball Association (CAZOVA), ending the years of dominance of Trinidad and Tobago in that sport.
The thread holding together these narratives is that our women’s teams, as non-favourites, dethroned the favourites to emerge winners. Like Nanny of the Maroons, their testimonies speak to teamwork, strategy, resilience, focus and confidence to defeat the proverbial Goliath and counter a modern-day colonial ideology.
From my perspective, the achievement of these teams is a compelling message to men who attempt to divide women: women will resist this narrative and stand together as a team. In this vein of argument, I urge the DPP and her assistant to resist any attempt to divide and rule them, maintain professionalism by agreeing to disagree, and refrain from washing the proverbial dirty linen in public.
The accomplishment of these women’s teams is a clear-cut Emancipation and Independence message to all Jamaicans that united we stand, divided we fall. Moreover, we are reminded of the fundamental ethics in professional and personal relationships, which is to respect each other, even when we disagree.
Fr. Donald Chambers, JP.
Beloved Reflections 