By Emmanuel Joseph
Human and gender rights activist Felicia Dujon has indicated her interest in running for a seat in Parliament if given the opportunity.
The newly-elected third vice-president of the Democratic Labour Party (DLP) says she considers it her duty to serve the people of Barbados in whatever capacity the party’s re-elected president Dr Ronnie Yearwood asks of her, including running for parliamentary office.
“I think it is a moral and civic duty for me to serve. It’s a desire, yes, because I always wanted to serve because it’s part of my advocacy, my work…. [but] it’s more than a desire. It’s a passion that you have to serve people, people who can’t stand up for themselves. So it’s always been a duty of mine to continue to serve in whatever capacity that I could. Whether it’s through academia, whether it’s through advocacy, I have always been propelled to serve,” the St Lucia-born Dujon told Barbados TODAY.
Stressing the need for more women to participate in elective politics, she contended that “you can’t have a society where the majority of the citizens are women and women are not in the decision-making positions where they ought to be”.
“So I think women should be placed in those positions, not because they are women but because they have a responsibility and a role to contribute to society, that I believe that they should.
“Currently, we have a Parliament with 30 individuals and only eight of them are women. That again shows the imbalances in elective politics, and so we still have a very long way to go when it comes to women in elective politics and how they participate in those various fields,” Dujon contended.
The lecturer in philosophy at the Cave Hill campus of the University of the West Indies suggested that mud-slinging and other negative behaviours in politics had made women reluctant to participate.
However, she believes more women and the youth are beginning to understand the significance of serving through politics.
“I think that the way that politics has been… the mud-slinging, the way that people have criticised, not on the work that they do but primarily based on their gender. Women are easily dismissed because of being female. I think that is changing. I think we are seeing a greater representation of that, and how the younger generation sees politics,” she said.
“Even men are seeing the significance of including women in the decision-making process at the highest offices in government. So I think it is very important that we are seeing a shift, and that shift is very important. We have to continuously encourage women in elective politics, not only because of a particular political party but also allow them to serve and to contribute.
“So as a newly-elected third vice president of the [DLP], I believe it is our responsibility and my responsibility as well, to continue to educate and encourage women into the field of politics,” Dujon added.
emmanueljoseph@barbadostoday.bb
