Some “made it happen,” with their own businesses, others by blazing trails for other women in fields like law, medicine or athletics. Whichever way they did it, they deserve recognition, said Judith Charles, one of the committee members for the Virgin Islands’ awards and exhibition in observation of International Women’s Day March 5.
Put on by the Office of Gender Affairs, the exhibit features mixed media art pieces and short biographies of 23 VI women, plus a painting of an Igbo woman named Moquo who came to the VI on an illegal slaving ship, and later testified before a parliamentary commission about the abuses that took place under the apprenticeship system.
“She was an early pioneer in the fight for women’s rights,” said Petrona Davies, Health and Social Development permanent secretary. “We honour the legacy of Moquo and other pioneers in the struggle by continuing to fight against all forms of gender discrimination and oppression.”
The exhibit will be up at the museum through the end of March.
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