THE EDITOR, Sir:
PLEASE ALLOW ME to add my congratulations to Mrs.Portia Simpson Miller on her recent victory. As a person who was very involved with politics years ago, alongside a female candidate and M.P. from the other side of the house, I am inspired to hope that as Prime Minister, Mrs. Simpson Miller will be able to bring a new perspective to Jamaican politics.
Many macho Jamaican men will find this a difficult pill to swallow with their narrow-mindedness, but let me hasten to remind them that the Jamaican woman is the backbone of the country and I say this without fear of contradiction. Recent statistics will reveal that in most Jamaican households, women are the main breadwinners, mothers, fathers, teachers, disciplinarians, confidants, and role models.
UPWARDLY MOBILE PERSONS
All one has to do is look around and realise that currently women are the most upwardly mobile persons in the Jamaica of today. I am not sure if statistics I heard the other day are correct, but I heard that recent enrolment statistics at the two universities show figures of over 70 per cent being female.
So to all you macho men out there, you have been ruled by women without even realising it. That is how good they are at what they do. Let's face it - the men really have not done such a good job at governance, so let's try a woman. Realise however that no matter who wears the crown, they will never
succeed unless they have the full support of their colleagues and the
population at large.
Looking from the outside, the P.N.P. seems to be a more cohesive political organisation so I hope that they will give Mrs. Simpson Miller their full support. Prior to this election I would have given the opposition J.L.P. a better than 50/50 chance at the polls at the next general elections, but I will tell them that if they are to have even a ghost of a chance, they must put their house in order. As an outsider, there seems to be too much selfishly-motivated power struggles inside the party.
The dynamics of Jamaican politics has changed overnight and one can only hope that Mrs. Simpson Miller will be able to live up to the expectations of us all. Just as a matter of interest, a lot of Jamaicans and I would like to know what percentage of delegates who were responsible for the victory were female.
I am, etc.,
WAYNE CHIN
waynedchin@yahoo.com
Cayman Islands
Via Go-Jamaica
