AS mask mandates are overturned and removed in other parts of the world, we are forced to depend more heavily on others to help manage our own risks related to COVID-19. While we have had to depend on one another, throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, to practice good hygiene and take the necessary precautions, including social distancing and wearing masks, we had the benefit of enforcement. When there is mask mandate, it is the responsibility of governments, businesses, and those in positions of authority to ensure that people comply. Even then, some of us found ourselves in situations that required us to assert ourselves, directly engaging other individuals, asking them to wear their masks or adhere to social distance recommendations. This kind of prompting is not always well-received, and many of us find ourselves weighing the risk of being involved in a verbal altercation with unpredictable strangers against the risk of increased exposure to COVID-19.

Following the ruling of a federal judge in Florida that the mask mandate on public transportation was unlawful, the Biden administration will no longer enforce it. Several airlines immediately announced this news to its passengers, allowing crew and passengers to remove their masks. Videos circulated on social media yesterday with the announcements by Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, and JetBlue. Other airlines, including Delta Airlines, United Airlines, Allegiant Travel Co, Southwest Airlines, Spirit Airlines, and Frontier have also announced that wearing masks is now optional.

It is important to remember that this change, and other changes that may come, does not mean the COVID-19 pandemic is over. People are still contracting and spreading the virus. While the numbers in The Bahamas are much lower than before, there are still people who are getting very sick. Lung COVID is still real. We still need to be concerned about elderly people and those who are immunocompromised.

Calculated risks are being taken all the time, but we need to ensure that we are thinking about the people impacted by our decisions without having any input.

Air travel, without mask mandates, is now a higher risk than it was a few days ago. Whether you want to travel or you must travel, it is important to think about what you can and cannot control. You can, for example, continue to wear a mask. You can ensure that you are wearing a mask of higher quality that fits well rather than a cloth mask. You can keep extra masks in your hand luggage and change it during long haul travel. You cannot make strangers wear masks. You cannot stop them from making rude comments about your decision to wear a mask, but you can choose to wear it anyway, and actively avoid escalating the situation if someone else becomes belligerent. Following your travel, you can test at the appropriate times and isolate yourself until you receive the last results. Importantly, you can make plans to avoid contact with people more vulnerable to COVID-19. That may mean missing Sunday dinner, skipping gatherings, and waiting a little longer to see the new baby. These may not be decisions we would normally make, but we have to remember the situation we are in right now and moderate our behaviour accordingly. Masks and testing will continue to be important parts of our lives as we do our best to stay healthy and protect those around us.

CEDAW Speaker Series: Learning Opportunity for Bahamians

On Saturday, April 23, at 10am, Equality Bahamas is hosting the first in a series of sessions on the Convention for the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW). These sessions, held on a monthly basis, will feature experts from the CEDAW Committee and non-governmental organisations who will present and engage in conversation about the Convention, one Article at a time. In the first session on Saturday, former CEDAW Committee member Patricia Schulz — a Swiss lawyer specialising in international human rights and gender equality and Senior Research Associate at United Nations Research Institute on Social Development — will talk about Articles 1 and 2, generally addressed together in the constructive dialogue with States.

CEDAW is one of the United Nations treaty bodies most frequently mentioned in The Bahamas. It is often referred to as the women’s bill of rights, and it is a critical tool for those working toward gender equality and a world free of gender-based violence. The Bahamas ratified the Convention in 1993, and the State is supposed to report to the Committee every four years. Non-governmental organisations may also submit reports, and these reports are reviewed by the Committee, informing the constructive dialogue. Following the dialogue with the State, the CEDAW Committee sends its Concluding Observations which includes a set of recommendations which the State is expected to act upon in order to meet the commitment made at the time of ratification.

This month’s session, focused on Article 1 and 2, will be interesting for many reasons. First, The Bahamas has reserved on Article 2(a). Second, The Bahamas held a referendum in 2016, in part, to address the issue of sex- and gender-based discrimination in the constitution. Third, the CEDAW Committee has made recommendations for The Bahamas to “ensure, without delay, that a comprehensive review of existing legislation is conducted, that a comprehensive definition of discrimination against women is put forward, in line with the Convention, and that the principle of gender equality is integrated into all national laws.” In addition, the Committee recommended that The Bahamas, “Ensure the effective implementation of the prohibition of discrimination on the basis of sex and gender through appropriate enforcement mechanisms and sanctions.” Schulz, who has served two terms on the CEDAW Committee, will certainly have a great deal to say about the importance of these two Articles, the reason for these recommendations, and the problem with reservations like the one on Article 2(a).

The CEDAW Speaker Series presents a great opportunity for Senators, Members of Parliament, non-governmental organization representatives, and members of the public to not only learn about CEDAW, but gain an understanding of its applications to the Bahamian context and its utility as we work toward gender equality and the advancement of women. Register for this session at tiny.cc/cedaw1.

Recommendations

1. Crooked Hallelujah by Kelli Jo Ford. Starting in the Cherokee Nation in Oklahoma in 1974, this is the story of Justine and her mother until it becomes the story of Justine and her daughter Reney. When Justine’s father left, her mother turned to the Holiness Church which Justine clearly finds bizarre. As mothers, Justine and her mother both want better lives for their daughters. The point of view changes throughout the book which requires focused attention, and it offers a character study of different generations of women in this family, generational trauma, and the kind of suffering that often masquerades as strength. Issues of abuse, alcoholism, colonialism, and poverty are all present, and some may find parts of it difficult to read or disturbing.

2. Caribbean Women for Climate Justice Virtual Conference. This event, in celebration of Earth Day, is being held from Thursday, April 21, to Saturday, April 24. Supported by Open Society Foundation, it is organized by The Breadfruit Collective (Guyana) and The Climate Conscious. The keynote address will be given by Ayesha Constable, Founder of GirlsCAREJamaica, Thursday at 6pm. Register at tinyurl.com/CW4CJ.

3. El Dorado, City of Black Gold by Aliyah Khan. This essay, originally published in PREE, is on guernicamag.com. “When I was a child living in Kitty — an outlying region of Georgetown they say named after some long-dead white Englishwoman, Miss Kitty Something-or-other — I had one recurring nightmare. Every year during the flood and rain I used to see that brown muddy water come over the Sea Wall, over jetty and boulder breaker and shattered shell. Every year we house floor did wash away. So I used to dream I drown. Even small I know: which wall could stop the Atlantic Ocean?”