(PRESS RELEASE)
Over the weekend approximately 60 young women from around Antigua and Barbuda were immersed in an afternoon of art, theatre, and dance at the Directorate of Gender Affairs’ Young Women’s Social Action Forum: Leaving Her Footprints.
Sixty-one participants attended Saturday’s session which was held in honour of International Women’s Day (IWD) on March 8. The forum featured a series of sessions geared towards raising awareness of issues facing women in Antigua Barbuda in a variety of fields, particularly women’s participation in leadership, facilitated by Senator the Honourable Alincia Williams-Grant; gender and environmental justice, led by Nneka Nicholas; and the STEM fields (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math), which was facilitated by Kaeiron Saunders.
The participants were also guided through creating their own platforms for activism using social media tools or by starting their own organised movements. The Directorate of Gender Affairs also engaged participants on gender-based violence, intersectionality, and media and culture.
The highlight of the day, however, was the activism through art sessions which allowed the participants to choose between using dance, visual art, or theatre as a medium to advocate for social change.
Rhonda Williams, owner of the local art gallery, Little Black Box, led the art session. Her session allowed the attendees to create individual pieces reflecting their perception of gender equality and the issues facing women in Antigua and Barbuda today.
“I find that art,” she says, “speaks louder than just talking.”
Zarah Airall, local playwright, literature lecturer, and theatre instructor facilitated the theatre arts session, while dance instructor Janelle Williams coached the young women through creating their own hip-hop dance routine.
Many participants vocalized their appreciation for the exposure to the arts as a powerful
medium to raise awareness about pressing issues concerning young women.
The aim of the event, which was held at the Sir Vivian Richards Cricket Stadium, was to assess the reality of the women’s movement in Antigua and Barbuda in order to find opportunities for and threats to advancing the rights of women; to explore strategies for organising greater solidarity and collective power across diverse movements; and to inspire, energize and renew strength and purpose for social change.
DoGA Acting Executive Director, Farmala Jacobs, says the event not only helped to deepen the participants understanding of gender and women’s empowerment but also gave them a voice.
“By the end of the session you could really see them beginning to feel confident about sounding their voices on the issues. There was one young lady who said she didn’t know she could act before today, and now she’s interested in pursuing it for social change,” she said.
“To see the theatre and dance pieces, and to listen to these young women explain their art was an honour and privilege. They really showed not just a personal understanding of the issues but a desire to see change and to make that change happen.”
This year, the Directorate of Gender Affairs joined with the international community in celebrating IWD under the theme “Press for Progress.” Events around the world centred on sustaining the momentum of the women’s movement and continuing to advocate for an end to all forms of harassment and discrimination towards women, and to achieving gender equality and equity.
It was through this lens that the Directorate conceptualised Leaving Her Footprints, an event meant to inspire young female activists at all levels and in every corner in Antigua & Barbuda to affect positive change within her community and
to motivate others to do the same.
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