Paula Lindo – Our histories, stories, present, future.

In celebration of International Women’s Day (IWD) 2016, UWE Speak, the spoken word/open mic student forum at UWI St. Augustine, held an event titled “Making HerStory” on March 9.

The performances were powerful affirmations about what it means to be a woman, and also told of the struggles women go through on a daily basis.

Arielle John’s first poem compared the Moon to generations of island women, who rose and fell and existed and were affected by the presence of men, as the Moon is affected by the Sun. Her second poem had her asking the Virgin Mary to intercede with her Son to take away the “curse” of menstruation, since, as a woman, she must have undergone that same pain.

Deneka Thomas’ first poem, “The Day I was Born,” spoke of her relationship with her mother and how she didn’t need her “black hole” father. Her second poem was about how women, who are often victims, are portrayed as villains, so that whatever happens to them must be their own fault, as “she must be hiding something dangerous under all that feminine beauty.”

Crystal Ghisyawan was the next poet to take the stage, asking “What does Emancipation mean to me?” She concluded that Emancipation is bravery and rebirth and the freedom to love who you please. Her second poem “Finding Love” spoke of the delight found in her relationship with her female lover, who she called crazy, but she was the one who left because she was afraid to devote her life to their love.

Rayette Rawlins’ first poem, “Seen and Not Heard” was about the women she has met, who weren’t afraid to be proud of themselves, love themselves and challenge the status quo. Her second offering, “Loosing Out Canerows” described her rage at a boyfriend who asked if her hair could ever be “neat.” “I will not tame my hair for your psuedo-Western gaze. How dare you criticize any iota of my blackness?”

Retired journalist Fabian Pierre spoke of his life as a creative person and growing up with undiagnosed bipolar disorder. He cautioned the Peer Counsellors about making sure they take care of themselves while they care for others.

Head of Powerful Ladies of T&T, Gillian Wall, talked about this year’s theme for IWD, “Gender Parity” and achieving equity and equality for women. She said in T&T, people are too comfortable with discrimination, and this needs to change.

Special surprise guests were the members of the US performing group, “Girl Be Heard,” who were in T&T for IWD and were invited to participate in the event.

Bleu Santiago did a poem titled “Til Death Do Us Part” in which she said she wanted a mate, someone who would support her in what she did and that’s the only way she would say those vows. Betsy Perez performed “American Blues,” which spoke about the war on black and brown bodies in the USA and T&T. Avery Drussel-Kurtz did a poem dedicated to a girl she walks home after a school in the Bronx, entitled “Little Girl Named After A Stone.” The girl had said she’d never be as pretty as her, and the poem was about how she wished the world could be different for girls who just want to live.

Womantra co-director Khadija Sinanan spoke about violence against women and encouraged the audience to pay attention to what is happening around them and to say something about things they see. Shalini Bahadur of the Socialist Student Conference said there’s a lack of knowledge about the contribution women had made to Caribbean history. She challenged the audience to name five great Caribbean women, which no-one could do.

Sydney Joseph told the audience of a social experiment she conducted that day, where she asked people to write on her skin what a woman’s body is not. She was shocked and in some cases pleasantly surprised by some of the responses she got, and didn’t get. Chanel Glasgow and Anka Audain, accompanied by Mikhail Gibbings sang an original song titled, “All I want is Your Love,” because they said, being a woman is all about love. Shanice Webb spoke about removing gender inequality by empowering women and girls in politics and the job market, and in the home.

The final performer of the night was Leslie-Ann Wanliss, whose poem was written in honour of artist D’bi.young Anitafrika, who was recently stranded in T&T due to trouble with immigration. She said it’s not countries who are traveling through the immigration lines, it’s people with families and stories of their own. “If you think only police don’t care about black bodies, think again.”

At the conclusion of the program, founding member of UWE Speak, Amilcar Sanatan, stated this year marks the 10th anniversary of UWE Speak, and this would be celebrated at each performance during the year.