Wednesday, September 24, 2014
By KHRISNA VIRGIL
Tribune Staff Reporter
kvirgil@tribunemedia.net
FREE National Movement Deputy Leader Loretta Butler Turner yesterday said gender should not be considered in the debate regarding who will emerge as leader of the country following the next general election.
Speaking on “Let’s Talk Live” on Guardian talk radio yesterday, Mrs Butler-Turned said Bahamians were more focused on a capable candidate as opposed to their gender as the electorate becomes less politically tied.
She said: “Some people will say never (to female leadership). I have heard that. I think that we should move gender from the equation. I think that what the Bahamian people want now is not this nuanced paradigm shift that people talk about (or) a new direction and all of that. I think what people are looking for is the best and the most capable. Those that are going to move away from the politics.
“Bahamians are becoming less and less tied to political organisations because of the many promises and expectations they have been led to believe by politicians. That is so passe in my opinion. I hear it from young voters, I hear it from middle aged voters, I hear it from many, many people. They want a country that is going to be less polarised politically. They want a country where people are valued for who they are and opposed to who they know.
“You hear me talking many times about the cronyism and the nepotism of friends, family and lovers. We have a huge cadre of young professionals that cannot get a break in this country because they are not connected to whomever and that needs to be eradicated.”
While she admitted that there has been a slight shift to gradually allow more women on the forefront lines of society, Mrs Butler-Turner said a better effort must be be made to allow The Bahamas to transition away from traditional patriarchy.
“We have got to move away from the stereotypical patriarchal society. We have got to stop letting people put us into a niche where they define us. I personally have never allowed people to define who I am. I am going to define who I am. Not everyone is going to like me, not everybody is going to love me, but I accept who I am and those who I know will respect me for who I am as well,” she said.
Comments
Well_mudda_take_sic says...
There are very few men in the Bahamas who would support a big time gussie-mae type gal like LBT becoming PM or leader of the opposition for that matter. As unfair as this fact may seem to some, it's just the plain simple reality of the situation!
Posted 24 September 2014, 11:31 p.m. Suggest removal
sansoucireader says...
The thing is, if this was a 'big man' no one would even mention his size.
Posted 25 September 2014, 5:53 a.m. Suggest removal
gangof4 says...
Like her grand-father, Sir Milo Butler!
Regardless of political persuasion, some of the most revered political states-persons over the last 50 years have been female: Indira Gandhi, Golda Meir, Margaret Thatcher and currently one of the most powerful people on earth, Angela Merkel. There's also the possibility that the next President of the U.S. will be female!
It's really sad - reality or not - that in the 21st Century, some of us Bahamians still debate the qualities of a political leader based on sexual organs....particularly considering the fact that most households are headed by females!! Makes not one iota of sense........
Posted 25 September 2014, 8:27 a.m. Suggest removal
Regardless says...
The reason so many Bahamian households are headed by females is due to the thousands of infants born out of wedlock every year. Find a proper argument please!
Posted 25 September 2014, 11:23 a.m. Suggest removal
Tommy77 says...
Well said. <img src="http://s04.flagcounter.com/mini/kfoW/bg…" style="display:none">
Posted 25 September 2014, 12:46 p.m. Suggest removal
asiseeit says...
I would vote for a female PM, can't be any worse than what we have now. Females run this country as it is and contribute to the country, I would dare say, more than the lousy Bahamian male. LBT could count on a thinking mans (not many of them in this country) vote.
Posted 25 September 2014, 9:55 a.m. Suggest removal
Regardless says...
The governor of NJ at least makes an effort to get in shape with his national ambitions. Who wants a walking heart attack at the helm of the ship!!
Posted 25 September 2014, 11:20 a.m. Suggest removal
Reality_Check says...
Some of her friends will tell you she has a very serious eating disorder that she simply won't acknowledge and get proper treatment for. In her case it's less about inherited Milo Butler genes and much more about the uncontrolled intake of thousands of unnecessary calories each day that her body's metabolic processes cannot cope with and therefore simply convert to tub loads of fatty tissue. Family and friends have apparently failed in their efforts to have meaningful intervention sessions with her. A doctor friend said if she continues to gain weight at the rate she has done over the last three years, she will have at most another three years before she is beset by very serious health issues that inevitably come with gross obesity.
Posted 26 September 2014, 10:41 a.m. Suggest removal
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