The Tribune

ON SATURDAY, March 4, Equality Bahamas’ International Women’s Day March and Expo returns to its in-person format after two years of virtual design. As the name suggests, this event commemorates International Women’s Day which is on March 8 every year, and it is designed to bring women and girls together to learn, play, share, and explore together.

Days like International Women’s Day can easily come and go with the requisite greetings and symbolic acts that do very little, if anything, to move us forward.

For that reason, Equality Bahamas has been intentional in imagining and creating a space for the day to be a catalyst for change-making work and an opportunity for people to learn more about women’s rights, gender justice, and practical things like which services and resources are available where.

The International Women’s Day theme is Embrace Equity. At Equality Bahamas, the focus is on bodily autonomy and climate justice.

The organization continues to call for the criminalisation of marital rape in the most explicit terms, amending Section 3 of the Sexual Offences Act by removing “who is not his spouse” from the definition of rape. It also continues to call for comprehensive sexuality education in all schools at all grade levels, understanding that consent needs to be taught at an early age, and children need to know who they can go to if they need to report abuse.

Equality Bahamas has, over the past three years, integrated climate justice into its gender justice work, having seen the impact of Hurricane Dorian - and other hurricanes before it - on women and girls and the need for gender-responsive climate mitigation and adaptation.

International Women’s Day is one of the most opportune times of the year to draw attention to issues like marital rape, gender-unequal citizenship, underrepresentation in frontline politics, and the gender pay gap.

It is not just a day to acknowledge women, or even to celebrate women, but to educate, sensitise, and mobilise people to take action, building political will, on the ground, for gender equality and the advancement of women. To do this, we have to be able to bring people together, make the issues clear, and engage in discussion.

The International Women’s Day March and Expo started as a regional march of solidarity to reclaim the streets. It was organised with activists in at least six Caribbean countries following the viral hashtag #LifeInLeggings which was being used to tell stories of sexual harassment and other forms of sexual violence.

Activists in Barbados started it, and it was not long before stories were being tweeted from other countries in the region, and traditional media started paying attention.

The team at Equality Bahamas was excited by this opportunity to connect with activists and organisations in other countries and demonstrate solidarity, but did not want to march and go home. We wanted to make it possible for people to march with us and share their stories, and for them to be able to access the support services and resources available in The Bahamas.

In many places and across many thematic areas, the cause becomes central to the work non-governmental organisations and activists do. The cause seems to leave the people affected by it behind as it takes centre stage.

We see this, even today, in many causes. When we talk about the climate crisis, we have to talk about climate justice as a rights-based issue, connecting what is happening in the environment to people.

When we talk about migration, we have to talk about the people who leave their homes, what they lose when they choose or are forced to leave, and how their lives are changed by their movement from one place to another.

When we talk about women’s rights, we have to talk about women’s experiences of various forms of violence and how it limits their opportunities, from family life to career.

Caring about an issue and working on it for a long time can easily lead one to forget why it matters - who it impacts - so it is critical that we consistently remind ourselves and each other to put people at the centre of our work.

The International Women’s Day Expo is one way that Equality Bahamas puts women and girls at the centre. Yes, we know the issues. Yes, we are using our technical expertise to advocate for urgent action by the government. Yes, we are connecting women’s rights to other thematic areas like climate and migration. Yes, we use international mechanisms to hold the government accountable.

In addition to that, we engage directly with the people whose lives we want to transform. We ask questions, listen for the answers, and act on the recommendations from the community we serve.

This year, the International Women’s Day Expo features a wider array of organizations than previous years.

We always welcome Bahamas Crisis Centre because it is easily the best-known non-governmental organisation in the women’s rights space, provides critical services to survivors of violence, and was integral to the development of the Strategic Plan to Address Gender-Based Violence.

The Dignified Girl Project, which distributes menstrual hygiene kits, will return to the Expo this year and will let us know about the expansion of its work.

This year, Bahamas National Trust will be with us because climate justice is gender justice, and to achieve them, we need to better understand the natural environment, explore national parks, and make the connections between the environment and our lives and livelihoods.

Access Accelerator and Bahamas Development Bank will both be there, so women and girls interested in starting or scaling up their own businesses can get information on application processes and the forms of support available.

While setting up booths is an easy way to introduce people to organizations and what they do, the Equality Bahamas team wanted to create a more immersive experience.

It is important to us that people are able to try new activities, gain skills, build relationships, and have a good time. In all of our work, we strive to facilitate two-way communication, prioritise engagement, avoid information dumping, and create dynamics where experts, practitioners, and facilitators are approachable, open to learning and being challenged, and make it safe and comfortable for people to participate in activities.

At the Expo, there are multiple sessions taking place at any given time. At least one event is a physically-engaging activity like self-defence, yoga, or dance.

One of the other activities is usually focused on health and wellness, and this year we will have a workshop on managing stress and anxiety, a group therapy session, and massage therapy.

Other activities vary. Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Bahamas Real Estate will facilitate a session on buying a home. Martha Hanna Smith from Bahamas Network of Rural Women Producers will teach us to identify various bush medicines, teach us their uses, and give us taste tests. Sonia Farmer from Poinciana Paper Press will have an all-day drop-in table for people to contribute to this year’s community art project - a book of permission.

Other activities include yoga sessions with Whitney Fowler, Antonio Weech, and Bianca Wagner, contemporary dance with Gabrielle Miller, a climate conversation with Kelli Armstrong, and media literacy with Crystal Darling.

Members of the public are invited to join Equality Bahamas on the International Women’s Day March.

Assemble at Eastern Parade (near St. Matthews Anglican Church) at 9am, bring a sign or choose one of the signs provided, and raise your voice to demand women’s rights in The Bahamas.

The Expo will begin immediately after the march to The Dundas Centre for the Performing Arts on Mackey Street. The event and all activities on site are free.

If you’d like to make a sign, join Equality Bahamas at Poinciana Paper Press at 12 Parkgate Road at any time today between 2pm and 8pm.

Bring your own supplies or use supplies provided to make signs, and bring a t-shirt to print your own design.

For more information, visit Equality Bahamas (@ equality242) on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram.