By Leela Ramdeen, Chair of the Catholic Commission for Social Justice
Tomorrow the world will mark International Women’s Day. The theme this year is: Equal rights, equal opportunities: Progress for all. One of the 10 key themes of Catholic social teaching is Rights and Responsibilities. In a DVD produced by CCSJ, I focus on this theme from a Catholic perspective. Copies are available from CCSJ’s Office.
We all have rights. However, as the US Bishops state in their document: “Faithful Citizenship”, rights should be “understood and exercised in a moral framework rooted in the dignity of the human person…Human dignity is respected and the common good is fostered only if human rights are protected and basic responsibilities are met.
“Every human being has a right to life, the fundamental right that makes all other rights possible, and a right to access to those things required for human decency—food and shelter, education and employment, health care and housing, freedom of religion and family life.
“The right to exercise religious freedom publicly and privately by individuals and institutions along with freedom of conscience need to be constantly defended. In a fundamental way, the right to free expression of religious beliefs protects all other rights. Corresponding to these rights are duties and responsibilities—to one another, to our families, and to the larger society.”
Sadly, we are not living up to our responsibilities to speak out for those whose rights are being trampled upon. We are silent when we know that there is no level playing field for many in our society/world. Too often we are indifferent to their needs. As Pope Benedict XVI said in his 2010 Lenten Message it is “indifference that even today forces hundreds of millions into death through lack of food, water and medicine.”
Authentic integral human development, says the Pope in his encyclical, Charity in Truth, means the development of all dimensions of a person and of each person. We must strive to realise “Progress for all”. This must not be an empty slogan. The term “equal opportunities” will ring hollow if we do not create conditions that will enable individuals to achieve their potential.
What is the use of stating that in T&T there is free education for all, when countless citizens cannot access free education because e.g. some families do not have basic amenities such as water to wash the clothes children need to go to school, or they lack money to pay for children to travel to school, or because children are “minding” children as there are no adults in the home, or because children are homeless and living on the streets trying to eke out a living the best way they can etc. etc.
While I accept that progress has been made and that many women have broken through the proverbial glass ceiling, far too many women and girls remain trapped in a cycle of brutal inequalities and social exclusion.
The Gospel today focusses on the parable of the barren fig tree. God put us here on this earth and He has a plan for each of us. His expectation is that women, girls, men and boys, will “produce” by using their God-given talents; they will realise their potential. If they are not bearing “fruit”, quite often it is because they are being denied the opportunity to do so because of social, economic, structural and other injustices.
In his Lenten message, the Pope reminds us that the Sacrament of Reconciliation and the Eucharist will strengthen us Christians “to contribute to creating just societies, where all receive what is necessary to live according to the dignity proper to the human person and where justice is enlivened by love.”
In his message for International Women’s Day, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon says: “The third Millennium Development Goal – to achieve gender equality and women’s empowerment — is central to all the rest… Whether looking through the lens of poverty, or in times of disaster, we see that women still bear the greatest burden… When women are denied the opportunity to better themselves and their societies, we all lose…Let us work with renewed determination for a future of equal rights, equal opportunities and progress for all.”
And while we are reflecting on the parable, let us ask ourselves: “How productive has my life been so far?”
