Welcome to Belize Dame Billie Miller

When you are a woman with a passion for your country and an interest in political life, the first persons you normally turn to for support, guidance and advice are other women in your country, the region and the world, who themselves through political representation or advocacy have made their mark, and who you feel connected to. For me, Dame Billie Miller is one such person.  She has been a trailblazer not only in her country, but also in the Caribbean and the world. Therefore, as a woman and Chairman of the People’s United Party, I take great pleasure in welcoming her to Belize on behalf of all the women of the PUP and Belize.

As I look at this picture, I reminisce of sitting at a United Nations Population Fund Meeting of Parliamentarians in Surinam, which I attended in November 2008.  She was the guest speaker and shared her experiences with us as a Barbadian, a politician, a social activist, and as a woman. I remember leaving Surinam with a single message from her…know why you are in it and do not lose sight of your cause…….because that is the only way you will stay the course.

Dame Billie Miller is to Barbados what Madam Liz is to Belize albeit ten years later, as she has the distinction of being the first woman to sit in the cabinet of Barbados 1976-1981. Madam Liz’s tenure was 1966-69. This single feature says to me how pioneering the People’s United Party is in terms of women’s participation in leadership and decision making in the Caribbean.

Dame Miller has served as a member of both houses of Parliament, Leader of Opposition Business in the Senate, Deputy Leader of the Opposition, Minister of Tourism and Foreign Affairs and Deputy Prime Minister of Barbados, representing the Barbados Labour Party. She has been instrumental in shaping and influencing revolutionary policy and legislation supporting families and planned parenthood and has worked closely with the Inter-American Development Bank and Caribbean organizations on issues relating to women, population and development.

Dame Billie Miller is considered one of the Caribbean’s premier political trailblazers and transformational leaders, and will be a guest speaker at the National Women’s Commission public forum for Women’s Month on Wednesday March 24, 2010 @ 7:00 pm at the Bliss Center.  I urge all our PUP women to attend this lecture. Like Madam Liz, Dame Billie Miller is truly an inspiration to us all.

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