Originally published at Petchary's Blog [1], an edited version of this post appears below with permission.
March, the month in which International Women's Day [2] is celebrated, seems the perfect time to pay tribute to three women who stood for justice — for both men and women — in Jamaica and beyond.
It's funny, but even after people have passed on, I can still hear their voice echoing in my head. The voice of attorney and human rights defender Nancy Anderson [3] was soft and insistent, with a lilt that sprouted from her “Jamaicanised” accent, having been born in Michigan and arriving in Jamaica in 1969 as a United States Peace Corps volunteer. She also had a great little chuckle and a wry sense of humour.
Anderson participated in a number of major human rights cases in local and regional jurisdictions. She represented Shanique Myrie [4], who successfully sued the Barbadian government for unlawful detainment, in a high-profile case [4] heard at the Caribbean Court of Justice.
Apart from being a strong voice for justice, she was a wonderful mentor and teacher, inspiring many budding lawyers at the Norman Manley Law School [5]. She was especially concerned with the plight of inmates in our prisons – not a particularly “sexy” cause, but one she embraced deeply — and she never did any grandstanding. Anderson passed away on November 29, 2021.
Another woman whose voice I will never forget is Dr. Glenda Simms [6]. It was a deep, firm voice, sometimes a little gravelly, but it carried far with a ring to it. Though she could seem intimidating to some, this strong woman from rural St. Elizabeth [7] was warm and had empathy in spades.
In 2005, she was one of the first to start talking about human trafficking on the island, and got the police to put a stop to what turned out to be a weekly “market” of young women to work in nightclubs in southwest Jamaica [8]. At the time, very few Jamaicans knew this was happening, or the dangers of this deadly trade for the most vulnerable women. As head of the Bureau of Women’s Affairs [9], she worked closely with Jamaica's first woman prime minister, Portia Simpson-Miller [10]. Her life was one of service, with a capital “S”; she died on New Year’s Eve 2021, at the age of 82.
Evelyn Smart [11], co-founder of the Jamaica Women’s Political Caucus (JWPC) died on March 11, 2022 at the age of 93. I remember her deep commitment to the JWPC and to empowering women to take political office.
She was focused and determined — and her voice was very “school-teacherly” (in a good way). From her, I learned a lot about the status of Jamaican women; she was “likkle” in stature but “tallawah” [12] in spirit.
For me, losing three fiercely dedicated women in such a short space of time only underscores the fact that, whether it is International Women’s Day or not, we should celebrate good women when we meet them; encourage and support them where and whenever we can.
As African-American filmmaker Ava DuVernay [13] said [14], “Ignore the glass ceiling and do your work. If you’re focusing on the glass ceiling, focusing on what you don’t have, focusing on the limitations, then you will be limited.”
I think all three of these women would agree. Somehow, I can hear their voices encouraging the next generation of women to continue bravely along the paths they helped to forge.