Hyacinth I. Boothe, Contributor

March 8, marked the 32nd celebration of International Women's Day in Jamaica, and as an 'older head', please allow me to salute all the women and girls of our island, and on their behalf to salute our men.

God has blessed us with an amazing country, and amazing ancestors. We rejoice that there are still amongst us some amazing persons in every walk of life - yet, all is not well in the "State of Denmark".

In a television interview sometime ago, John Issa, patriarch of the Issa dynasty, said that something was wrong with Jamaica, and that whatever had gone wrong, was done, not by acts of God, not by animals, but by human beings. Therefore, he said, seeing that human beings had destroyed Jamaica, human beings must restore Jamaica. What about it women? May it not be the case, that, inspite of ruffled feathers, God is indeed calling, not only our Prime Minister, but all Jamaican women to rise up and give to this nation the leadership that it needs "at such a time like this"?

Some of us are coming a far way along our feminine journey, and in our youth had our dreams of what we would have liked our society to become. But somehow our dreams are shattered. There are fundamental and foundational issues in the nation that are crying out for attention, now.

There are worlds within our Jamaican setting that need to be penetrated by the gospel, now: the worlds of business and politics; the music and entertainment industry; the media (electronic and print); our schools which seem to be becoming battle-fields; the world of poverty as we find it concentrated in our inner cities, and which gives rise to social dislocations; the world of material prosperity as we find it in our sub-urban uptown, hill-top ghettos; the worlds of the street-corner and massage parlours; and that would occupied by so many of our people, who finding themselves in a society in which their skin-colour, and racial characteristics are perceived to be a deterrent, take flight to the 'browning' syndrome experience - an anomaly which the BBC found to be significant enough to broadcast to the world!

New mind-set

Our airwaves are full of advice as to the solution to our problems. Many seem to think that it is primarily economic. Yes, we need jobs, houses, schools for our children - and early childhood education is crucial, it is an imperative. But let us remember that there are rich people amongst us who live miserable lives, and that some of the greatest crooks are the educated ones. Jamaica needs a new mind-set, a new orientation, a new motivation, a new frame of reference.

Judith Sargent Murray, an 18th-century woman, writing at the beginning of the Women's Liberation Movement, said, "I expect to see our young women forming a new era in female history". I want to lift up this vision for our young women today, and in so doing I shall focus on three areas that I consider to be of vital importance as we forge a new path forward in this new millennium.

Human Sexuality

Our sexuality is in need of redemption. It has been dragged into the gutter where our girls and women are often willing collaborators in activities that abuse, degrade and pollute that which is meant to be holy. I urge all concerned and conscious women to let us embark upon a mission to the girls and women, boys and men of our communities, reminding them that human sexuality is entrusted to us by God, to be used to the honour and glory of God, and in the furtherance of the human race.

Motherhood

There is a hunger in our society for nurturing. Every time someone calls out to me in the street, 'Mummy' or 'Granny', I hear the cry for a mother. Who sings lullabies to our babies? Who kisses their tears away when they cry? Who tells our children bedside stories? To whom do they run when they feel afraid? Who teaches them right from wrong? In our society today children are becoming mothers. They know nothing about childrearing. We need an army of mothers in Israel who will devise ways and means of reaching and rescuing our children. The future depends upon it. Women must come together across professions and classes, whether in the capacity of grandmother, aunt, cousin, friend or neighbour. Let not future generations say that their ancestor - mothers failed them.

Prophecy

We are often told that the Bible says that women should not preach. Seldom are we told that in the Bible God called women to prophecy. Nor is the peculiar to the Bible. Some of our ancestor-mothers were priests and prophets in their African homeland, brought their gifts with them to this land, and to this day women in revival religion continue to perform priestly duties and to prophesy. To prophesy is to be aware of the state of the nation and to warn of the consequences of unrepentant sins. God in our time has been freeing women from the bondage of centuries of subjugation, oppression, and enforced silence. God is now calling on women to prophesy to this nation. We must speak forth the words of God to the nation. Our speaking forth must be from the pulpits of our churches, but must not remain there. We must proclaim God's word through every available medium, as we seek to reach our mountain tops and our valleys, our street-corners and prisons, urging our people to turn to the Lord, beseeching our God to heal the land.

Rev Dr. Hyacinth I. Boothe is a lecturer at the United Theological College of the West Indies.