The women in Italy found their voices, now for Guyana

Feb 16, 2011 Features / Columnists, Stella Says

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One hundred thousand women (and by some counts, more) protested in the streets of various cities in Italy over the past weekend to demonstrate their frustration and distaste for Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi. The man has been the subject of sex scandals for years and this last one has pushed the women of his country over the edge – thus the protests.
“We want a country in which it’s possible for women to live in dignity,” said one woman according to a February 13 New York Times report. Yet another woman said, “Berlusconi has insulted women, and even worse, he’s given political positions to his whores,” referring to television showgirls who have become politicians in the center-right coalition.
Berlusconi’s wife is done with the Prime Minister, too. After 19 years of marriage and three children, former actress Veronica Lario hired an attorney to begin separation and divorce proceedings in 2009. “The impudence and shamelessness of power offends the credibility of all (women), damages women in general, and especially those who have always struggled to defend their rights,” Lario said in a statement in May 2009.
She also lashed out at Berlusconi’s reported attendance at an 18-year-old woman’s birthday party in Naples, saying she was surprised “because he never came to the 18th of any of his children, even though he was invited.” Lario also forced a public apology from Berlusconi in 2007 when he publicly told a showgirl, “If I weren’t married I would marry you immediately.”
Berlusconi’s public indiscretions include (but are not limited to) photos published by La Pais, a Spanish newspaper, depicting naked women mingling at his villa, appointing a television starlet to his cabinet and most recently a sex scandal alleging that he paid a 17-year-old girl for sex and used his connections to get her released from jail. These and many more transgressions have caused the women of his country extreme discomfiture.
The women of Italy are frustrated, embarrassed and ready to take a stand for their dignity. Good for them! A leader who clearly does not respect the feminine gender is no leader whatsoever. I am proud of these women – and the men who joined them – for taking a stand against this misogynistic leader.
Here in Guyana, there are public leaders who have treated women just as bad and worse. Just since December there have been leaders in the medical field, the fashion industry and the church who have been taken to court for assaulting their wives. Sadly, each case has been dismissed when the wives refused to press charges.
And we all know how the mistreatment of women goes all the way to the very top echelons of society in Guyana.
My one wish is that the women of Guyana would find the courage to take a stand for their rights and dignity like the women of Italy did last weekend. It saddens me greatly when I see these domestic violence cases dismissed because the women refuse to testify against their abusers. These women – who are leaders in their own right – set a poor example for others in the same situation who then believe that if the strongest ones in society cannot fight for justice, how will others ever be able to do so?
I am not being cavalier about the very real fears of these female leaders. I have spoken with enough women to know the abuse they face is terrifying. However, there must be a time when, like the women in Italy, the women of Guyana say enough is enough.
There must be a time when women follow through with the charges against their abusers and hold them responsible for their actions. Otherwise, the abuse will continue – not just for that one woman – but also for all women who are coupled with abusers.
If leaders of the community insist on abusing women, then it is vital for these women to hold those leaders accountable for the sake of the community, if not for their own sake.
I cannot think of a better time for victims of domestic violence to begin to follow through with charges raised against their abusers than this very minute. There are advocates ready and willing to help victims and to stand right next to them every step of the way through the process.
The Ministry of Human Services hopes to have ten ‘White Zones’ established by the end of 2011. These are places where victims can go to find safety and the help they need. Help and Shelter as well as Red Thread are established organisations that will also help victims. Moreover, there are often women within various communities who are more than willing to help a victim escape an abuser.
In each of the high profile cases I have mentioned against community leaders being charged for abusing their wives, I would have gladly stood beside each of these women if they chosen to hold their abuser accountable, because the more of us who stand together against leaders like this – the quicker we will see an end to violence against women.
I would love to see the type of protests exhibited in Italy last week against a misogynistic leader come to Guyana. It would give me such joy to hear Guyanese women say, “We want a country in which it’s possible for women to live in dignity.” It would be heaven to see that type of passion against the humiliation and dishonour meted out to Guyanese women on a constant basis.
I believe with everything in me that I will see that day in my lifetime.
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