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As a woman who has carved a niche in Bahamian history, the country\u2019s first female Member of Parliament (MP), Janet Bostwick, on Tuesday admitted her \u201cdistress\u201d that women are still discriminated against in the constitution.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe must fight.\u00a0 It diminishes the self-esteem of women, putting false superiority in a man.\u00a0 It saddens me. It distresses me,\u201d said Ms. Bostwick passionately, while addressing students, staff and faculty of The Bahamas Technical and Vocational Institute (BTVI).<\/p>\n
Speaking on the topic, \u2018Women in Bahamian History,\u2019 Ms. Bostwick noted that women are still paid less than men for the same job and citizenship is still a major problem.<\/p>\n
\u201cUnder the law, if a Bahamian woman marries a foreigner and has a child outside The Bahamas, that child is non-Bahamian, but if a Bahamian man marries a foreigner, wherever, that child is a Bahamian by birth,\u201d said the former Attorney General during the Student Success Speakers\u2019 Series.<\/p>\n
Additionally, Ms. Bostwick disclosed the discrimination she experienced when she first ran for parliament.\u00a0 \u201cMany people felt a woman\u2019s place is in the home.\u00a0 I was supposed to be in the house – but the House of Assembly,\u201d she said to thunderous applause.<\/p>\n
Noting that she received \u201coutstanding support\u201d from a number of men while campaigning, Ms. Bostwick said women must set their standards high.\u00a0 \u201cDon\u2019t walk in front of a man, but don\u2019t walk behind him,\u201d she stressed.<\/p>\n
While captivating her audience as she spoke of a woman in history known only as Poor Black Kate, to the role of midwives, Mary Ingraham and Mable Walker, Ms. Bostwick acknowledged that women played a pivotal role in the life of The Bahamas.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese were women whose lives have had a great impact. They were quite tenacious and in 1962, that was our liberation. That was Emancipation Day.\u00a0 For the first time in Bahamian history, women could vote,\u201d she emphasized.<\/p>\n
Additionally, Ms. Bostwick made special note of Mary Moseley, former Editor and owner of The Nassau Guardian, who she considered a woman of renown.\u00a0 \u201cThis is huge because then, most women weren\u2019t even educated.\u00a0 She was a great historian for The Bahamas and always reported what happened in parliament,\u201d stated Ms. Bostwick.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe may not have authority, but we have power – power and influence can affect great change,\u201d she stressed.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, students were impressed with Ms. Bostwick\u2019s presentation.\u00a0 Student, Kevin Ducatel, said he received a sound lesson in Bahamian history.\u00a0 \u201cI actually want to go to the library and read more based on what she said. I realize how little I do know about Bahamian history. I\u2019m honoured to have met her,\u201d said the young man who requested that Ms. Bostwick autograph his skateboard.<\/p>\n
Another student, Christopher Barrett considers Ms. Bostwick to be a role model. He stated, \u201cShe embodies what it is to be a strong, black, Bahamian woman.\u00a0 She opened my eyes.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"net-bostwick-women1\"](\"https:\/\/www.bahamasb2b.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/net-bostwick-women1.jpg\")
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Above: LESSON IN BAHAMIAN HISTORY \u2013 Janet Bostwick who served in the House of Assembly for over two decades, delivers a passionate address on \u2018Women in History\u2019 while at The Bahamas Technical and Vocational Institute (BTVI).\u00a0 <\/em><\/span><\/p>\n Top photo: LADY OF DISTINCTION \u2013 The students, faculty and staff of The Bahamas Technical and Vocational Institute (BTVI) was pleased to have the first female Member of Parliament, Janet Bostwick recently speak on the topic, \u2018Women in Bahamian History.\u2019\u00a0 Shown here from left to right are: Zakia Adderley-Winder, Human Resources Manager; Raquel Bethel, Student Affairs Coordinator; Janet Bostwick; Manager and Consultant, Dr. Iva Dahl and, Counselor, Colin Francis.<\/em> <\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" As a woman who has carved a niche in Bahamian history, the country\u2019s first female Member of Parliament (MP), Janet Bostwick, on Tuesday admitted her \u201cdistress\u201d that women are still discriminated against in the constitution.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":17,"featured_media":57154,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":{"facebook_10223285771444175_51037792744":""},"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[120],"class_list":["post-57150","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-lifestyle","tag-women"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bahamasb2b.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57150","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bahamasb2b.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bahamasb2b.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bahamasb2b.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/17"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bahamasb2b.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=57150"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.bahamasb2b.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57150\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bahamasb2b.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/57154"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bahamasb2b.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=57150"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bahamasb2b.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=57150"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bahamasb2b.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=57150"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}