Contributing Writers: Azad Ali, Tangerine Clarke,
George Alleyne, Nelson King, Vinette K. Pryce, Bert
Wilkinson, Lloyd Kam Williams
GENERAL INFORMATION (718) 260-2500
Caribbean L 10 ife, March 8–14, 2019 BQ
By Nana Darkoa
Sekyiamah and Ana Ines
Abelenda
ACCRA/MONTEVIDEO,
March 5, 2019 (IPS) — The
theme for International
Women’s Day this year
doesn’t resonate with us.
#BalanceForBetter brings to
mind slow gradual change,
and assumes that if you provide
women and girls with
equal access then the society
will automatically be better.
We know that’s false.
Access to a broken capitalist
system that privileges the
richest one percent over the
rest of the world means that
the most marginalised communities
(including women,
girls, trans and gender non
conforming people) exist in
unjust, precarious and fragile
societies. This coupled
with the increasing privatisation
of what should be
common resources for everyone
(including the basics
of land and water), as well
as the corporate takeover of
many public services endangers
the lives and wellbeing
of poor people.
In a recent submission
to the United Nations Secretary
General, the African
Women’s Development Network
for Communications
(FEMNET) and the Association
for Women’s Rights in
Development (AWID) stated:
“Neoliberal economic policies
promoted around the
globe by a growing majority
of governments with
the support and pressure of
international financial institutions
(including through
conditional loans), have
intensified the commodification
of life through privatization
of basic public services
and natural resources.”
This corporate takeover
of services meant to benefit
everyone, of the health and
education sectors in particular,
primarily affect women
and girls. In a 2017 report,
the United Nations Special
Rapporteur on the Right to
Education, stated:
“Women and girls are frequently
excluded from education.
Families often favour
boys when investing in education.”
The rights of girls to quality
education, particularly
those from the most underprivileged
communities, are
negatively affected when
public schools are privatised.
Research by feminist and
women’s rights organisations
has demonstrated the
ways in which gender biases
affects the choices parents
make when they need to
pay for education, and have
to choose which children to
send to school.
It’s in this light that one
must view with great concern
the increasing trend of
handing over the education
sector to the private sector.
The government of
Ghana for example, recently
announced that it was seeking
to privatise the management
of some basic schools
on a private basis. This
decision is being disputed
by a number of Teacher
Unions including the Teachers
& Educational Workers
Union of Ghana, the Coalition
of Concerned Teachers
the National Association of
Graduate Teachers, and the
Ghana National Association
of Teachers.
The General Secretary of
the Ghana National Association
of Teachers described
the move “… as subtle and
eventual privatization, commercialization
and commodification
of public education
in Ghana.” This trend
of Government reaching out
to the private sector to manage
the education sector has
also been witnessed in other
parts of West Africa including
Liberia.
There is no doubt that
significant investments in
the education sectors are
required. Sadly, governments
in the Global South are looking
for these resources in
the wrong places. The landmark
report by the High
Level Panel on Illicit Financial
Flows from Africa (also
known as the Mbeki report)
indicated that Africa is losing
more than US$50 billion
per year in Illicit Financial
Flows (IFFs).
As highlighted in a report
by AWID, IFFs have a severe
impact on the development
of the continent. These
resources that are lost to
the continent should rather
be harnessed and invested
By Scott Roberts
It may come as a shock to
some that New York — in many
ways one of the most progressive
states in the country — is
extremely regressive when it
comes to criminal justice.
But this year, for the just the
third time in 50 years, Democrats
are the majority in the
New York State Senate. The
legislature has a unique opportunity
to advance real criminal
justice reform.
Sadly, recent signs of stalled
efforts and excuses point to
Democrats losing this once-ina
generation shot at improving
our criminal justice system.
New Yorkers can’t wait any
longer; criminal justice reform
must happen now. Our legislators
need to take action.
In order to improve New
York’s criminal justice record,
we must embrace four major
reforms: bail reform, discovery
reform, expungement, and
ending solitary confinement.
Our state relies on a system
of cash bail that is inherently
unjust and wreaks havoc on
Black and brown communities
by forcing individuals who have
not been convicted to stay in
jail because they can’t front
the cash.
We must eliminate cash bail.
Just as critical as eliminating
cash bail is ensuring it isn’t
replaced by a system that would
hold even more people in jail
pre-trial. We support The Bail
Elimination Act, which ends
cash bail and creates provisions
for pretrial detention.
We must reform the discovery
process by compelling prosecutors
to give defense attorneys
the information they need
with time to mount a solid
defense of their client. The Discovery
for Justice Reform Act
would roll back New York’s outdated
“Blindfold Law” and allow
defendants to have all relevant
information before accepting
or declining a plea deal, which
currently is not available.
We must legalize marijuana
as Governor Cuomo has promised,
but we can’t stop there.
Legalization must be coupled
with records expungement for
marijuana offenses, and must
address the collateral consequences
that stem from marijuana
criminalization, such as
immigration, housing, child
welfare and employment denial.
And finally, we must end
the horrific practice of solitary
confinement in New York prisons
and jails. Our lawmakers
have the power to pursue more
humane, effective alternatives
by passing Senate Bill 1623.
If these pieces are included
in the governor’s budget, we
are looking towards our legislators
to hold the governor
accountable for enacting true,
lasting reform.
We must not squander this
opportunity for reform that
brings Black New Yorkers and
communities of color closer
to real justice. After all, it is
communities of color that are
most affected by our unjust
criminal justice system. These
are urgent needs that must
be accomplished this legislative
session.
OP-EDS
Women and girls
are frequently
excluded from
education. Families
often favour boys
when investing in
education.
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Continued on Page 12
Continued on Page 12
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International Women’s
Day needs to return to
its radical roots
Hold the line
for justice
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