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Kim Simplis Barrow: Giving Hope to Belize
Interview & Words Hannah George
Spouse of the Former Prime Minister of Belize, Mother, Activist, Philanthropist, Entrepreneur, Founder of Lifeline, Former Special Envoy for Women & Children shares with us her heartfelt life story, from motherhood, to leadership, and much more.
Tell me about yourself. What was the journey of being the first lady like?
The first thing I can tell you about myself is that I welcome opportunities to talk about the issues that I feel passionate about and advocate on, but I don't like talking about myself. However, I have been asked that question so many times, and so I often do think, who am I? I ask myself the question, why and what is it that I would want people to know about Kim Simplis Barrow? And the response is, I want them to know who she really is. I'm just a girl from the western part of the country, who I would say grew up with relatively poor parents who did their best to ensure that we had our basics. I always knew that I wanted to do good in this world, that I wanted to give back because I feel like I have been lucky in life.
My journey as “First Lady” was a very interesting one, because Belize is part of the Commonwealth system so there isn’t a defined role or even the title of “First Lady” per say for the wife of the head of government. We have a Spouse of the Prime Minister, which is similar to England. However, because I was the first Belizean born Spouse of the Prime Minister of Belize, I knew that I wanted to make a significant impact, especially for young girls. I knew that I wanted to be involved with empowering women and girls and so through this journey I set out to do just that. I had already been involved in supporting children’s rights. I had established the Lifeline Foundation before my husband became the Prime Minister. Through Lifeline, I had started working with giving back to the community, building classrooms, improving the health system in schools by building new bathroom facilities and all these different aspects. When my husband won, I was appointed Special Envoy for Women and Children. I found that through that platform I was really able to push forward my agenda to empower women and girls. I am amazed at how much was accomplished under the Special Envoy’s Office in collaboration with our many partners.
We hosted the first “20,000 Strong Women Empowerment Campaign” rally under the theme “Imagine a Belize without women.” The goal of the campaign was to highlight the contributions of women to Belizean society in a very visual way. The promotional video for the event showed women disappearing from their workspaces: all the tellers at the bank, the female doctors, attorneys, receptionists, homemakers. The phones in business places were not being answered and so many other important tasks were not being completed because there were no women to do them. It was a very impactful video and there was quite an impressive turnout. Women from across the country, across the political spectrum, from across religions, from everywhere, came to this one space where we had amazing female leaders speak to them, to empower and to inspire. It was quite impressive. During my tenure we did three rallies. The last one we did focused on our young girls. All the high schools in the country were targeted and we got young girls who were leaders in their own right, to speak. I think we had a few male speakers as well, because at that point we started focusing our efforts on getting men and boys to be a part of our equality project. The focus was however on empowering and inspiring girls.
A part of my advocacy work included working on the successful passage of commercial sexual exploitation of children and trafficking in persons legislation. We worked on our Criminal Code as well.. A lot of sexual abuse was happening, and I started questioning the courts, why are these men getting away with abuse and sexual assault? The judge was kind enough to respond to me and say, well, you know, we're following the laws. So, if you want more prosecutions and increased penalties, then you need to change the laws. We inherited these antiquated pieces of legislation from the UK and so the provisions in the Criminal Code that addressed sexual abuse had many limitations. It wasn't gender neutral. Only girls could be sexually abused, not boys. Statutory rape, or carnal knowledge as the laws called it, could only be committed by a man. So there was no recognition of female perpetrators of sexual abuse. We had a piece of legislation where the provisions for different types of sexual offenses on a whole were very limited and the sentences were light, so perpetrators could not be properly held to account. Persons with disabilities were referred to in that legislation as “idiots.” It was a horribly prejudicial piece of legislation and it was just sitting there. The problems with the Criminal Code had been discussed for many years and recommendations had been collated and forward to the previous administration by those in the child protection sector, but the information just languished until I began my advocacy. We were able to have the law amended to clearly outline all types of sexual abuse, make the protections gender neutral, increase the penalties and a number of other things, but those were the most significant. It was not just Belize that had this antiquated legislation, but a lot of Commonwealth countries, including India, Mauritius, many of the small Caribbean and Pacific islands, where you will find these antiquated, prejudicial pieces of legislation still on the books. e books. For us, it was important to work on changing that.
Most recently, I worked on two pieces of legislation. One was a cyber-crime legislation, cyber bullying legislation. This was significant because we had started seeing an increase in the non-consensual transmission of private images, what is commonly called “ revenge porn.” And of course, the constant bullying and cyber-attacks online, not just by political parties, but by people in general. We wanted to find a way to protect everyone. I worked with a key legislator in Canada. They have a robust cyber-crime legislation and we kind of adopted that piece of legislation and made it unique to us. So, it's there, thankfully, just before my husband left office that was passed.
The next piece of legislation caused quite a controversy, the Equal Opportunities Bill, which focuses on anti-discrimination, equality and hate crimes. From the very start, I wanted a piece of legislation that would be robust, that would cover everyone and not just the LGBT community, because there are many other groups that suffer discrimination and hate. You have older people; a lot of these older people don't report these incidences of discrimination because they're older and believe no one will listen to them. Persons with disabilities also face a lot of discrimination. Women, we know that whenever a pandemic or a natural disaster happens, the ones that are most affected are women and poor women. Women and children are the ones that are always, always, always, left behind, always at the bottom. We wanted to make this piece of legislation inclusive, but we had a lot of pushback from faith based organisations and conservative groups. The resistance from these groups came during an election year. There were consultations and dialogues with all sectors, but lots of resistance from these groups and so the legislation did not go through prior to the elections. But I'm still working on it and trying to see how we can work on the parts and pieces that are causing the main concerns and try to get it to pass because I think in the end it is a good thing for our people and for Belize.
When you were growing up, was there anyone that you looked up to in particular?
I know it sounds very typical or cliché, but for sure I have to say my mom, because she was such a hard worker. If you knew where she came from...I'm just looking at the dynamics with her family and her growing up; she was the youngest child in the family, but the one out of siblings who worked the hardest. She instilled in us the value of hard work. You have to work hard, you have to study, if you want to get anywhere. She was just in my head all the time. It was just really amazing, because my daughter says the same thing to me, “sometimes you're in my head.” So, I have to say my mom because of all the hard work. You never know how your kids will turn out but thankfully we all turned out well.
What would you say is the best gift that women can give each other?
Just that support and encouragement. We are some way away from women really putting politics, religion and everything else aside and saying, I will support you as a woman, I know you are a Republican or I know you’re this but I will support you as a woman. It's hard for women to support other women, whether it be in business, whether it be politics, whether it be anything you can think of. It’s still so hard for people to put their political differences aside and say, “Hey, well done keep it up, you're doing a great job.” It's almost as if they feel like they're taking something away from themselves, and that's not how it should be.
What would you say is the best gift that women can give each other?
Just that support and encouragement. We are some ways away from women really putting politics, religion and everything else aside and saying, “I will support you as a woman, I know you belong to this political party, I know your affiliations are different from mine, but I will support you as a woman.” It seems hard for some women to support other women, whether it be in business, whether it be politics, whether it be anything you can think of. It’s still so hard for people to put their differences aside and say, “Hey, well done! Keep it up, you're doing a great job.” It's almost as if they feel that acknowledging someone else’s success takes away something from them, and that's not how it should be.
If you could write a note to your younger self, what would you write?
“It will be ok! Accept yourself.” It’s the first step in self-realization and in knowing that you alone are in charge of your happiness and well-being. I wish I could tell that little insecure girl to just be true to yourself and that nothing in life is constant!
What do you think makes a great female leader, especially today?
I think being true to yourself, having integrity and being honest. Being able to bring people together. That is so important, being able to bring people from different backgrounds around a table and being able to listen. It’s tough, to be able to look beyond who the person is or their ideology if they hold different views than you do, but sitting together and having a discussion is important.
But what would you say is your pledge for change in 2021?
In 2021, #IPledge to continue the work of empowering and supporting women and girls. To shine the light and be an inspiration. If 2020 has taught us anything, it is that life is a privilege. It’s so fragile, therefore #IPledge to do everything to make my life and those in my circle fulfilling and happy!
If you could share a tip about motherhood, what would you say?
Stay engaged with your child. I think it's important to always have good communication with your child. Good communication also means that there will be times when you don't agree, and doors will be slammed. It's important to always have a good, open relationship, letting your child always know that you're the child and I'm the mom, but you can always come to me, you can tell me everything, everything you are thinking and I will support you. I will still love you unconditionally. I think that's so important. At least for now, it's working for me.
Did you ever think that you'd end up where you are now?
Never. I was a little shy, insecure girl and my sisters were always more friendly and outgoing. For me, I never dreamed of being in front of the television or having my portrait on the wall or anything like that. However, I've always said to myself, if I'm given the opportunity to use my voice to influence change, I would step up to that plate because I think it is so very important. I've said this before at international conferences. We might not have power, but we have influence and there's so many little girls out there who are looking and they're listening, and they see us as an influence and inspiration for what they want to become and what they want to do. We have to always be reminded of that. For me in particular, it was very important because I was the first black Belizean born first lady, it was even more important for me to influence the kind of change that I wanted to see. I'm happy with what I've done, you always want a little bit more time as of course, because there is always more to be done. But, I found a way to contribute and advocate before I was the Spouse of the Prime Minister of Belize and I continue to find my way now.