UNC Women Condemns mannequin of PM

The Women’s Arm of the United National Congress (UNC) wishes to strongly condemn the actions of Ancel Roget, who unveiled a mannequin during his failed anti-government march on Friday, depicting Prime Minister Kamla Persad Bissessar.

Whilst we recognise that in a democracy, citizens are entitled to demonstrate via protest action, we cannot and must never allow disrespect of any woman of this land, especially one holding office of the Prime Minister.

As women, we were pained to see that mannequin being dragged through the streets of Port of Spain, especially when women have for such a long time struggled for equality of treatment and fought to take our rightful place side by side with our men.

Trinidad and Tobago has seen for the first time ever a female Prime Minister, and therefore we must ask the question to Mr Roget, ‘would the mannequin have been made if the Prime Minister were a man?’, or is this an attack on a woman?

The UNC has always been a party to stand for equality of treatment and the promotion of women’s rights, and we certainly remain proud that we are the only major Political Party in this country to date to be led by a woman, and the only Political Party to have produced a female Prime Minister.

We therefore call on Mr Roget to apologise to the Prime Minister and to every woman of this country for this act of disrespect against a woman, as we believe that an attack on one woman is an attack on all women. We have surely come too far as a society to allow this kind of gender-biased behaviour to continue.

Stacy Roopnarine
Chairman, UNC Women’s Arm
7 December 2014