Travail des Femmes

At the Marriott Port-au-Prince Haiti, I stood in front of a ballroom of people, with my interpreter (a stand in for one of Marge Simpson’s sisters). I discovered that when you have to speak through an interpreter you can’t be nervous, because there are too many things to think about: Is this the place to pause? Did she get that slight change from “they” to “she”? Should I stare at the audience while the interpreter gives my speech? Did she emphasis “winnable” the same way I did? Who does she think she is? This is my presentation! As I said, perhaps, a few too many places the mind can drift.

The audience was large and generally courteous. The topic of the day was the launch of the National Gender and Elections. I went through the different sections: legal framework, election management, civil society, political parties, violence against women and the media. I ended with this:

Finally, let me say that I was here four years ago and spent time in the displacement camps around Port-au-Prince with women who were working to end gender-based violence at the most basic, household level in tents and extremely difficult living conditions. These women amazed and inspired me, because against all odds, including the earthquake, displacement, and disease, they were committed to tackling the complex issue of GBV for the sake of equality and justice. I hope you can give me just one moment more to make a bit of a plea: the continued vigilance and support from those of you in this room is critical to the success of the National Gender and Elections Strategy. Continue to press policymakers working to implement the plan. Continue to press local civil society and their male allies and continue to cultivate and nurture public support for gender equality so that the women and men working at the community level know that their work is not in vain. On the contrary. The national, and even international spotlight, shines brightly in Haiti. You should feel proud to have created a beacon for all of Haiti and the world to embrace.

Marge’s sister helped me bring it home to her credit and people applauded with mild enthusiasm.

But after I spoke, members of the national election commission started taking questions from the audience and all hell broke loose. The theme was what it always is: women need more financial support to run credible campaigns. It turns out that Haiti has 140+ political parties and 64 candidates running for President (including a few women). More than a few of these candidates, as well as candidates for other offices were in the room. And they wanted public financing. Now.

In fairness, the election is less than a month away and there is apparently no sign of the money.

I came away thinking firstly: do not mess with Haitians, especially the women. But I also think we’ve got to do more by women candidates. Public finances do not an elected official make. It’s about the game of politics. It’s about the private sector. It’s about connections. Yet, we teach our women leaders in trainings to run a straight campaign, be good and fair to everyone. Etc. etc. This is politics and women need to play the game, no? I’m not saying train them to lie, steal and cheat. (At least I don’t think I am) But the handout strategy seems to me to waste time. Don’t lament, work the room!

I’m sure that if I stood and shared these sentiments right now, I’d be knocked on my ass in a nanosecond. So I’ll refrain…for now.