Feminism in Haiti
Krishna Kumar Tamang, PhD
Unlike Nepalese saying going to Gorkha the capital of king Ram Shah seeking justice in the 17th century driven by widely accepted conception, most of us would probably opt for US, India or European countries if ever to quote for examples of democratic norms being practised in true sense. The fact on the contrary remains a bit different of a country namely Haiti neither in media nor in gossip rather satiate in progress of neighbouring giant like the US. Certainly the matters of rights and liberty of women in those countries are unabated. However, over the centuries economic, political, and social problems have transformed Haiti into the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere. Despite in this regard the Caribbean country Haiti either does not lag behind. The social customs, bio geographic features and fauna and flora of the country are worth mentioning.
For
being situated in the Caribbean Sea the tropical country has climate of average
26 to 28 ˚C
with no winter over there nurturing mango, banana throughout the year with
coconut trees atop hills is good enough to surprise people from country like
Nepal. Citron family plants not only in abundance but also pine, wild grown in
cold climate, rearing in tropical land make one real amazing. Nevertheless due
to unstable peace process and governing bodies little has been done to conserve
Haiti's flora and fauna, and no national or regional parks have been
established. Deforestation accelerated during the 20th century as
population increased, and the forests that once covered the country have been
reduced to a tiny proportion of the total land area. With the retreat of
natural vegetation, wildlife has lost its habitat and shelter. Wild boars,
guinea fowls, and wild ducks are no longer present. Thus citing of social
stratum one cannot exclude historical background and cultural traditions linked
to religious customs of the land as well. Present day Haitian culture reflects
an admixture of French, African, Spanish, and native Indian influences along
dependence in democracy. Not farther in history beyond the French domination in
mid 16th century when most of them got Christianity and living
behaviour with French dialect. Interestingly while they got rid of French rule
in 1804 so did they remove white strap from French national flag for their own
with a logo. In course of time, emancipation of slavery in the US in 1863 consequently
saw some of their emergence in Haiti.
People
of the paternal superiority society when encounter the contrast Haitian geo-cultural customs of sole maternal governance no wonder get astonished and
involuntarily try to figure out how it would have if happened in their land the
social inequalities and discrimination to some extent undoubtedly could have
been averted. This is advocacy for none but only I opine appreciation.
Not necessarily in
baptizing a new born baby’s paternity is required but the mother’s identity is
laudable enough and exemplary. Often in countries like ours topics of feminism
get motions, so do the nudity and fashion shows hot discussions of female folk
supposedly derogating activities. The context of Haitian practice undoubtedly
is ever a topic of understanding and practicability for all. The study of
sociology suggests man is born free but in societal chains everywhere.
Baseless ideology of
ethics and pomp debar not Haitians from making love. Merely not taken by
emotions the Haitian society looks it normal for youths to make love. Neither
do they consider it obligatory to have marital knots tied for having made
loves. It is the female to give her consent that is final to accept the
proposal of marriage. In other words female has the foremost key role in making
decisions. Celluloid movies in large number depict of South Asian societies
where males exploiting females sexually enact love but deny marriage leaving
the latter subject to defame in society for pre marital conceiving or even
denouncing love as made for sake of fun. And Haiti is indifferent for females
having babies within or without marriage. Divorce is making a correction of the
past and to avoid it better not to haste in marriage no matter what five
children fill the house but after building confidence only. Hence Haitian
stories tend to be somehow different from ours.
Being myself a Nepalese
I am proud of our unique culture of joint family; however still there is a lot
to learn from Haiti and Haitians if ever to truly respect a mother and have
widely practised democracy in family itself.
February 06,
2015
The author had served as Technical Advisor in United Nations Mission in Haiti
(MINUSTAH) Port-au-Prince in 2005.
Published in: Nepali version
On Issue of International Women’s Day
2015
Rajadhanai Nepali National Daily Newspaper
Year 14, Issue 268, Kathmandu 08 March 2015
