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How far have Caribbean women progressed since the colonial times? What has been their contribution to nationalist movements in the region? What is the state of Caribbean feminism and what does the future hold for the movement?
Professor Eudine Barriteau, Director of the Center for Gender and Development Studies at the Cave Hill Campus of the University of the West Indies, shares her thoughts on these issues and much more in the following interview. She is the author and editor of several published texts on issues of gender and the state in the Caribbean region, including The Political Economy of Gender in Twentieth-Century Caribbean (2001) and Confronting Power Theorizing Gender: Interdisciplinary Perspectives in the Caribbean (2003). Barriteau highlights the transitional state of Caribbean women, discusses what she believes to be their ambiguous relationship with their 'mothers' and the overlapping public and private spheres of their lives. Similar observations can be made of Caribbean feminism; its role is of great importance in seeking to fill the gaps left by a predominantly androcentric view of Caribbean history, but it is in a state of flux. But to ensure its survival, Caribbean feminism needs to balance activism, which from all appearances seems to be on the decline, with disciplinary studies, the future of which seems a bit more promising as women's studies assume greater importance in academia. Caribbean feminism, like Caribbean women, is experiencing great changes. The challenge therefore is to strike a balance between the lessons of the past and the conditions of the present to effect a successful transition to the future.
Debra Providence, hereinafter DP:
How would you describe Caribbean women (woman) of the 21st century?
Eudine Barriteau, hereinafter EB:
Living in a complex environment, in transition - because I think a lot of the ways Caribbean women have been identified - a lot of what defines their gender identities has been changing. But it is not a complete change, it's in transitional mode; a lot of women are on the cusp. They are different from their mothers' and their grandmothers' generation as there is some continuity but they are not sure as yet what the new Caribbean woman is. But I believe that there is a difference, that they are reconstructing their gender identities...