Welcome to another episode of Kreyolicious Music…Kreyolicious Playlist…in which…in which I do a countdown of Haitian music songs that fit a particular theme! Let’s take a look at 10 Most Empowering Songs In Haitian Creole Sung By Women!

1. Artist/Band: Ada
Song: Defile
Why It’s Message Is Empowering: This song makes it clear that women of all colors and shapes are deserving of praise and appreciation. Defile…the Creole word for strut…Strut whether you’re taken for a kannannan (dim-wit), whether you’re being told you’re not enough. Don’t stop dreaming, Ada advises, and you’re so ready to put that counsel into practice when that tight melody, drenched in African drums and instruments reaches your ears.

CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THIS ARTIST!

2.Artist/Band: Princess Eud
Song: Hey
Why its Message Is Empowering: Setting boundaries with others, and positioning yourself as a woman deserving respect and good treatment. In the song, the message is clear: a woman should not act in such a way as to let a man that she can be played with emotionally or in other way for that matter.

CLICK HERE TO BUY THIS ARTIST’S MUSIC!

3. Artist/Band: Emeline Michel
Song: Banm Pase
Why its Message Is Empowering: “Ti piti pa toujou rete pitimi/Little doesn’t always remain little,” she sings at one point. Go forward, or get out of my way, she sings. This song is uplifting? It’s about telling deadweights (in their many forms) to clear the way. If they are hindering your growth or your progress—to the side (or out of the way altogether) they go!

CLICK HERE TO BUY THIS ARTIST’S MUSIC!

4. Artist/Band: Tifane
Song: Bel Moun
Why It’s Message Is Empowering: This record emphasizes the need for females to acknowledge the beauty of other females. It encourages women to honor one another, and verbalize each other’s strength. Very beautiful track.

CLICK HERE TO BUY MUSIC BY THIS ARTIST!

5. Artist/Band: Talie
Song: Bel Tifi :
Why It’s Message Is Empowering: Making unfavorable body comparisons is something we all have done. Oh, if only my butt was as huge as hers. If only my thighs weren’t this way. This is where “Bel Tifi”comes in. This song preaches self-love and acceptance, and body appreciation. It’sthe type of song that should be on all of our radars.

CLICK HERE TO CHECK OUT TALIE’S MUSIC!

6. Artist/Band: Rutshelle
Song: Je Suis :
Why It’s Message Is Empowering: Acknowledging one’s shortcomings and flaws, and yet at the same time knowing one’s strengths and resorting to them when the time calls for it. This song’s about self-affirmation, having steel-like confidence in oneself, and realizing that one must keep it moving regardless of what life brings forth.

CLICK HERE TO BUY RUTSHELLE’S MUSIC!

7. Artist/Band: Saskya Sky
Song: Pretty Girl Whip :
Why It’s Message Is Empowering: This is a run fun track…about being assertive on the dance floor, and when interacting and dealing with the opposite sex.

CLICK HERE TO BUY MUSIC BY SASKYA SKY!

8. Artist/Band: Naida Lynn
Song: Ready to Fly :
Why It’s Message Is Empowering: “I’m ready for something bigger than fame and gold,” Naida sings somewhere in the middle of the song. I think there’s nothing better than aspiring for greater things…things that don’t rot, and that never lose their uplifting and up-building aspect.

CLICK HERE TO BUY NAIDA LYNN’S MUSIC!

9.Artist/Band: Riske
Song: Zanmi :
Why It’s Message Is Empowering: It celebrates female friendship and the sisterhood, but at the same time doesn’t gloss over the problems in the sisterhood, such as the two-facedness are also addressed. Moreover, it demonstrates the importance of setting boundaries early on as a friendship is building.

CLICK HERE TO BUY RISKE MUSIC!

10. Artist/Band: Les Productions Yole Dérose
Song: Nou Gen Fos :
Why It’s Message Is Empowering: Standing tall, no matter what, is the message of this song. The fact that this song has several vocalists sharing the spotlight more than puts weight to the song’s message.

CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE MUSIC FROM THIS ARTIST!

So there you are! Lots of Haitian music tracks that have empowering messages! Is there a song that you know of
(that’s in Creole) that you find particularly empowering? Let me know!

It’s your girl Kreyolicious signing off.

CLICK HERE TO CHECK OUT MY OTHER PLAYLISTS!

Christina Julme says she founded her brand BèlNègès at a time when websites targeting young Haitian women in Haiti were nonexistent. Since the launch of the website three years ago, Julme has transformed her online hub into a household name among web and social media users in Port-au-Prince, and Haiti’s other cities. The content is mostly in Creole, and draws not only young women in Haiti, but Creole speakers around the globe. With articles with provoking titles like “Marriage Can’t Be The Biggest Dream You Have For Yourself”, “Don’t Sell It, You Won’t Get A Good Price For It”, “Stop Doing It For Other People”, Julme and her team have succeeded in making over minds and hearts in Haiti. She has held retreat-conferences that cover topics like self-esteem, entrepreneurship, and holistic health, and regularly teams up with social workers, mental health counselors to add weight to her message.

Kreyolicious: What are some of the things you’ve been up to since our last conversation?
For now, the team is working to bring the BN site (www.belneges.org) live. Since last year, Haiti’s Minister of Social Affairs officially recognized BèlNègès as an organization. It’s been our motivation to present our work and vision to all those on internet. We hope that the website is going to be ready before the end of the year. All of our loyal readers from the blog don’t need to worry, because we’ll still have the blog, and it’ll be an integral part of our blog. We’ll make the announcement when we officially launch.

Above: Christina Julme having some me-time during a BèlNègès event in Port-au-Prince.
Kreyolicious: Where is the BèlNègès movement at this point?
BN has changed on paper, but it hasn’t changed in terms of conception. But it did makeover the minds of those who have followed our project and movement. We’ve gone from being known for our work in the natural hair movement to being an organization that works with young girls and women to change their lives.

In the past two years, we’ve reached more than a thousand girls and young women off-line, and thousands through social media. Today, BN is an organization that’s here to stay. A lot of work still needs to be done with and for the girls and young women in Haiti. We’ve even reached women living in other places. Our goal is still the same: to redefine young Haitian women, while promoting beauty on the inside, and the outside.

Kreyolicious: Having a website is cool, but there can be challenges. What steps do you take to keep yourself motivated?
BèlNègès.com has been launched since 2013. It’s been more than a year since we’ve been working with other young writers who share our background and contribute articles. We work like a team, which means that we collaborate with those who have different capabilities, so that we can walk the road together. It’ll be the same when the blog transitions into a full-pledged website.

Above: A BèlNègès retreat orchestrated by Christina Julme, a movement for Millennials in Haiti held at a horse ranch in Kenscoff, a town near Port-au-Prince.

Kreyolicious: Do you feel that everything you set out to achieve with the BèlNègès brand has been achieved?
BèlNègès is a project that we launched, that’s already grown beyond us. And that’s the beauty in the work that we’re doing. As we grow as women, our perspectives, our values evolve, as does the values and perspectives of those who are growing with us. This makes us realize that we don’t stay in the same place mentally and physically. We haven’t achieved an iota of all the projects we have in mind. We just hope that when this generation is gone, we at least have established a base so that the next generation of girls and young women can take over. Because for someone to redefine who they are, and to improve their lives accordingly isn’t something that can be done in a hurry…or that can be done overnight.

Kreyolicious: You’ve written about skin bleaching in Haiti among young girls and women.
Since we [at BèlNègès] cater to a Haitian audience, we feel a responsibility to address topics that reflect our reality. This is why we publish articles in the language that most identify with, and in the language that’s going to prove a debate…especially among young women. Our motto and objective after all is beauty on the inside and the outside. This topic is just a glimpse of future content plans. We just want to remind people not to hesitate to share their thoughts and comments—even if they might have a different point of view. This way, we can have more worthwhile debates that can lead to the changes we’d like to see.

Above: BèlNègès retreat participants having an exchange.

Kreyolicious: Do you think social media has helped young women in Haiti see that there’s beauty in every body shape and size or do you think it’s reinforced the opposite?
We can’t lie to ourselves about this topic, because the truth is right in front of us. Since we’re living in an underprivileged environment, there’s are little means to bring positive messages that can reach out to the female masses. If we consider the issue of internet access, I have to admit that access is still a luxury for most. Also, those who can afford a personal computer, or a Smartphone are few. And then there’s the issue of illiteracy. But when we look more closely, we realize that while few may have access to it, it’s still a great tool. And it remains our most powerful tool, until we’re able to reach out to our audience through other mediums [TV]. [Meanwhile, social media is the main, and fastest tool that BèlNègès uses to reach out to young women. Even if we can’t reach out to all the women in Haiti, all our BèlNègès followers know they have their own hub on the internet.

Above: A BèlNègès tote bag, among the many other offerings from Christina Julme

Kreyolicious: Are there a lot of female website owners in Haiti?
For now, I don’t think there’s that many. I hope that will change soon. But I’m always open to collaboration with those who have the same vision as we do. This way, we can have our mission reach where our voices and our hands can’t.

CLICK HERE TO VISIT BELNEGES AND TRY OUT YOUR CREOLE…ER…KREYOL!

Welcome to the newest installment of the Haiti History 101 sub-series 100 Haitian Women of History, alias 100 Historical Haitian Women…alias 100 Women of Haitian History, presented by your girl Kreyolicious! Today’s episode features…Beauty queen Claudinette Fouchard.

Watch the video below to learn more about her!

Let me know your thoughts on this video on novelist Marie Vieux Chauvet. And if there’s a woman of Haitian History you’d like to see covered, let me know!

CLICK HERE to check out previous episodes! And be sure to check out other episodes to come.

Ahem, while you’re at it, CLICK HERE to watch other videos on KREYOLICIOUS TV.

Haitian women are the lifeblood of Haitian society and Claudine Michel, Dr. Gina Athena Ulysse and co-directors Mark Schuller and Renée Bergan wanted the whole world to know this through the project Poto Mitan. The award-winning and widely screened documentary, narrated by the award-winning author Edwidge Danticat, recounts the lives of five women in Haiti and through these five women, one learns how vital women are to every sector of society in Haiti.

Haitian women are the street entrepreneurs who are up before dawn to sell their goods at sidewalk-side supermarkets. They’re stitching and assembling in factories in the smaller cities in Haiti for billion dollar companies overseas, hence the Pillars of the Global economy subtitle. Poto Mitan is a tribute to these women.

Poto Mitan has been screened at countless documentary festivals, including in Ethiopia, Trinidad and Tobago, Austria, and major U.S. cities like Seattle and New Orleans. It has earned, among other honors, an Indie Spec Best Documentary Award from the Boston International Film Festival. At the 2009 Santa Barbara International Film Festival, it was a nominee for the Social Justice Award. The documentary is now available on DVD.

Born in Haiti, Dr. Ulysse is an Associate Professor of Anthropology and African-American Studies at Wesleyan University in Connecticut. She is also the Director for that the college’s Center for African-American Studies. She is a sought after commentator. She is also the author of Downtown Ladies: Informal Commercial Importers, A Haitian Anthropologist and Self-Making in Jamaica.

Schuller co-wrote Tectonic Shifts: Haiti Since the Earthquake (with Pablo Morales), and along with Dr. Paul Farmer co-wrote the book Killing with Kindness: Haiti, International Aid, and NGOs.

Michel heads the Black Studies Department at the University of California in Santa Barbara, and was born in Haiti. A cultural anthropologist, she is the editor of the Journal of Haitian Studies and the president of the Haitian Studies Association. Michel is also the co-author of several books including Black Studies: Current Issues, Enduring Questions. She was not available to answer questions, but is a great supporter of the project.

Q & A

Tell us about yourself.
SCHULLER: I’m an activist anthropologist who works on social justice issues in Haiti and elsewhere. Before becoming a grad student, I was a community organizer, in the Twin Cities. I spent the most time with the St. Paul Tenants Union, organizing people to defend their housing against forced eviction, etc. I began working in and on Haiti when I was a graduate student, beginning in 2000. Now that I’m a professor my role in Haiti is changing a bit – I am training students at the State University of Haiti where I’ve taught since 2004 to do their own fieldwork. Being a blan – a foreigner – in Haiti poses particular challenges, particularly after the earthquake and an ongoing UN occupation.

Above: Dr. Gina Athena Ulysse, anthropologist, author, commentator and Poto Mitan co-associate producer.

Do you feel that writing and doing research for your book Downtown Ladies: Informal Commercial Importers, ULYSSE: A Haitian Anthropologist and Self-Making in Jamaica prepared you for the work on Poto Mitan?
Working class women all over the world are more or less treated the same way. That’s just a fundamental aspect of gender inequity and in the global capitalist system. And that is exactly what my book Downtown Ladies is about
how women in Jamaica are navigating structures that are impeding the

Did your involvement with Haiti begin by reading an article or a book about the country?
SCHULLER: My involvement in Haiti began in 1994, when I was the co-coordinator for our campus chapter of Amnesty International. This was one of the most violent chapters in Haiti’s recent history following a bloody coup d’etat against Haiti’s first democratically elected government. I was taking a class in “world history” and my professor who works on Latin America just didn’t mention the Haitian Revolution. And growing up in Chicago, I was told it was founded by a “black French.” So Haiti and its contribution to the US and freedom around the world was systematically erased. I had to be actively involved as a solidarity activist to learn these things. Paul Farmer’s Uses of Haiti had just been published.

How did Edwidge Danticat get involved with the project?
SCHULLER: Both of our Associate Producers, Gina Ulysse and Claudine Michel, had put out feelers. And she was invited to a fundraiser in Miami in 2007, where she read from her recently published Brother, I’m Dying. She gave us a contribution then, and she pledged to do what she can to help. My co-director, Renée Bergan, had been telling me that we needed a break in between the hard-hitting scenes of poverty and inequality. We both wanted to frame these within Haiti’s rich cultural traditions and wanted to have a krik, krak. One day, we were waiting for one of our camera assistants, and his wife was braiding her daughter’s hair just then, so Renée filmed it. It seemed a perfect metaphor to weave the women’s stories together, and to weave the audience into the story. It was serendipitous that Edwidge – who is extremely generous with her time and talent – ended her collection, Krik? Krak!, on a piece with a mother braiding her daughter’s hair. We asked Edwidge if we could use this and adapt it and she was thrilled.

How did you settle on just five women—Marie-Jeanne, Solange, Frisline, Thérèse, and Hélène?
SCHULLER: First of all, it should be noted that these are not their real names; we wanted to help protect their identities. Back up a little bit: these women were part of a grassroots group supported by a women’s NGO, who wanted me to make a film about them. I said that I would write a book, but they said that it wasn’t good enough. They know the power of media to move people; as you know the Haitian expressions tande ak wè se de and sa je pa wè, kè pa tounen. So why these five women? We initially interviewed eleven women from this collective and noticed six, seven who were the most comfortable with the camera. When we got back to the U.S. we began to outline what the story is. We shifted our focus to a woman by woman approach, where each woman highlighted a particular element of Haitian life: Marie-Jeanne was education, Solange violence, and so on. So from this six, seven we chose five based on what story they would highlight.

Did they have any initial hesitation about having their lives chronicled?
SCHULLER: Not at all. It was their idea. We met with them four times before we began filming, to discuss the risks and the logistics—that I wasn’t even fully aware of—of making a film.

Do you think Haitian women are given enough credit for what they contribute to Haiti?
ULYSSE: No, they do not. But then neither do most women all over the world. That is just the sexist, male-dominated world we occupy, which I would in some circles—in Haitian communities—is more like the middle ages. I have absolutely no patience for it and am in awe in seeing what women in Haiti—of different class positions, locations color and so on—must negotiate on a daily basis. I am very much a dyas when it comes to this issue and know that it is dyas privilege that allows me to not have to deal with it.

After the 2010 earthquake some additional footage was added to the documentary to inform the fans of the documentary about the whereabouts of these women. Is Potan Mitan the start of an entire series? It could go on forever.
SCHULLER: Respectfully, no. I personally meet with them whenever I’m back in Haiti. But the purpose of the film was met: helping them share their stories with people who buy the clothes they sew, citizens of countries like the U.S. who have a heavy influence in Haiti’s affairs.

What are some of the things you learned from being part of the Poto Mitan documentary team?
ULYSSE: We, especially those of us in the diaspora, do not need to speak for Haitians in Haiti. We have to make sure we help the ones who are so limited get access to the mike. Haitian women can and do speak for themselves they understand their conditions and are doing what they know in order to redress them.

What are some challenges that came with producing the documentary?
SCHULLER: The filming was done after the worst of the violence, but it was still dicey. I visited a woman’s house to set up a shoot and because of my presence, neighborhood thugs roughed her up. We’ve been in touch many times since, and she’s okay. We also drove 12 hours to meet with the Dominican owners of the free trade zone, only to be told that they weren’t available. So we handed a camera to one of the union leaders, who said he would be able to film, no problem. But he was pressured by the managers all the same.

Which of the women featured in the documentary inspired you the most?
ULYSSE: Each woman represents a different generation, situation and set of issues. That’s why I like the film and supported it to the extent that I have. It give you something that is quite rare for us, because Haiti is too often explicated in singular terms. As I have mentioned elsewhere, we have always been plural. There is a single story for women in Haiti but a number of stories. Years ago I met this woman who said, “Chak moun gen ti istwa Ayiti pa yo”, and she is absolutely right. Everyone has their own version of Haitian history or story of Haiti. In other words they all inspired different things in me and made me proud to see them come together the way they did to confront these enduring problems.

Haitian women are rightfully called Poto Mitan, the epicenter of Haitian economy, and as your documentary points out, the crux of global economy as well. So how come they’re so little valued by some?
SCHULLER: In short, what Black feminists call “intersectionality” – the multiple forms of oppression based on distinct but overlapping identities, such as of race, class, gender, sexuality, age, and parental status – and “structural violence” – the long term inequalities built in systems of colonialism and slavery. As Faye Harrison argued, structural violence is gendered. Neoliberal globalization increases burdens on women in several ways. Women are often targeted for low-wage work, in part because of patriarchal norms and the ideology that sees women as more submissive, because women’s traditional caregiving role precludes organizing trade unions, or because of recitations of older gender ideologies of “nimble fingers.” Transnational feminists argued that despite implicit male biases, the social welfare state provided a modicum of legal protection and social services that benefited women and other marginalized populations. The shift towards a neoliberal model eroded these protections, especially through structural adjustment programs. The privatization of public services, placing greater burden for social reproduction onto individual families, is more greatly felt by women because of traditional roles.

What have you observed about the way viewers have reacted to the documentary?
ULYSSE: Well having screened the film in several different venues—mostly universities and colleges and or at conferences— it has been fascinating to see the range of response. From the folks who get instantly involved in the politics and want to find out what they can do to the ones who are more concerned with issues of aesthetics and what it means that this film was done by white people. I like reactions and think they are good because at least it means viewers are not being passive they are actually engaging with the work.

Have the five women featured in the documentary have had the chance to screen it?
SCHULLER: Yes, two of them who lived in camps had a screening in their camps. They both reported a turnout of hundreds of people, and the screening triggered a conversation that lasted for hours. Other grassroots groups have used it as well in their consciousness raising efforts. It strikes a raw nerve, portraying a day-to-day lived experience but the women connect these realities with a very articulate, intersectional analysis as to why low-income people, particularly women, find themselves in marginal situation.

What advice do you have for those who want to create a documentary in Haiti or elsewhere?
SCHULLER: I would start with the question of why you want to make the film? Is the impulse coming from the subjects of the films themselves or is it coming from somewhere else? Really it’s important to consider what our roles are, and what the camera amplifies. If you’re a filmmaker from another country, even in the Diaspora, there are systems of inequality behind the camera. In addition, people in a foreign audience will have a lens that will reinterpret based on their own realities and worldview, so it’s important to be aware that what is being portrayed maybe radically reinterpreted.

We know that your involvement with Haiti goes beyond Poto Mitan.
SCHULLER: Wouch! I’ve been teaching research methods at the State University of Haiti and working with these students to complete research on the internally displaced persons—IDP—camps. I’ve written dozens of Huffington Post articles and a couple of reports, and took the research – with my Haitian students at CUNY – to Washington, both Congress and the State Department. I’ve been collaborating with grassroots groups in Haiti on the research, on reporting findings, giving talks at events, etc. I am working with colleagues at the State University to revise the research methods text I’ve written, and will focus on supporting the research capacity. In 2011 I worked with dozens of colleagues – half in Haiti – activists and journalists as well as scholars – to put together a collection of analyses, Tectonic Shifts: Haiti since the Earthquake. It was published in advance of the second anniversary of the earthquake. We got support from FOKAL to translate it into Kreyòl and it will – sidyevle – be ready to launch in October, for the International Creole Day.

Above: Claudine Michel, one of the Associate producers of the documentary, and the director of the Black Studies Department at University of California, Santa Barbara.

What were your impressions of Haiti the first time you visited?
SCHULLER: I had difficulty sleeping, even though I was tired. Haiti’s problems, to the extent that they were discussed at the conference, were portrayed as discrete: Haiti needs a change in the social contract, and it is coming. Being there, alone save for two large boxes full of kitchen supplies, research materials, and a couple of nice outfits, it felt anything but simple. I remained overwhelmed for quite a while. Two months before I went to Haiti, a free trade zone was created along the Haiti and Dominican Republic border in Wanament. One month before, Amiot Metayer had been assassinated, triggering a violent response from his group of hitmen. A political crisis, talked about for four years, began in earnest. People began counting the dead. NGOs, especially those friendly to Aristide’s opposition, began to close, with their staff and board members in mawonaj, in hiding. My contact at a women’s NGO stayed at a few of her friends’ houses during this period. Needless to say, it was difficult to meet with NGOs to plan my research.

What do you wish some non-Haitians knew about Haiti?
SCHULLER: First, the role the Haitian Revolution played in ending slavery worldwide. It was the first time slaves gained their own freedom – on their terms. And it triggered the abolition of the slave trade three years later. We in the US owe our ‘manifest destiny’ to the successful slave revolt in Haiti, as France abandoned its stake in a third of the US landmass, virtually giving it to the US after losing Haiti.

Second, the poverty and vulnerability to disasters that the media portrays is in no small part because of the way that the US and other foreign powers have done to punish Haiti for this act of independence. In 1825 Haiti had to pay France in order to recognize Haitian independence, to compensate French plantation owners for their loss of “property” – including slaves. The US occupation begun in 1915 set the stage for Duvalier. Finally, policies championed by the US – ‘neoliberalism’ – opening Haiti for the “free market” systematically destroyed Haiti’s economy. All of these impact Haitian women’s lives and create the problems that are visible.
Finally, despite all this, Haitian people are extraordinarily good at supporting one another, at collective survival, and at building a life. Haitian culture is rich with proverbs, language, music, poetry, food, etc. Haiti has so much to offer the world, if only people would be willing to listen.

Do you hope to be involved with a project like Poto Mitan in the future?
ULYSSE: Not necessarily. I will continue to support different projects that require more hands on deck as they arise and when they are in alignment with I believe in.

Photos: Ulysse from the Wesleyan Newsletter; Michel photo by Aaron Salcido

Haitian women journalists? Haiti’s women are calling the shots in the world of media. In several cases, they work for established entities. In other instances, they’ve created their own platforms. But who are these women? Here are 10 Haiti-based women of media you should know about…and in no particular order…

1. Liliane Pierre-Paul

The book Media Report to Women states that Pierre-Paul begun her career as a correspondent for Radio Inter, a radio station popular in Haiti in the 1980s. According to this same source, in the early 1990s, she was the recipient of the IWMF Courage in Journalism Award for her journalism abilities and accomplishments during Haiti’s unstable times.

Pierre-Paul has gone through trials and tribulations over her craft. According to John Libbey who wrote the special report Freedom of the Press Throughout the World in 1993 Pierre-Paul was arrested at Malpasse, a city near the Dominican border while on her way to a conference for Latin American journalists by soldiers. According to Report on the Situation of Human Rights in Haiti, she was accused of terrorism just for attending the conference. Writing in the Miami Herald, Robert McFadden reported that in February of 2016, Pierre-Paul was the subject of a controversial song by outgoing Haitipresident Michel Martelly.

Known as one of the First Ladies of Haitian Media, Pierre-Paul is the founder and director of Radio Kiskeya, one of Haiti’s leading and most authoritative radio stations.

[Photo of Liliane Pierre-Paul via MagHaiti]

2. Nancy Roc

Roc uses her large media following to bring attention to issues in Haiti. She also manages a self-named website that aggregates news about Haiti and other parts of the world. She’s a Communication Specialist, and an expert on International Relations and Humanitarian Affairs and Women’s Rights. Ms. Roc is the author of several books, including the French language tome Les grands dossiers de Métropolis (The Metropolis Files), a volume of her news commentary. A respected and esteemed journalist, Ms. Roc has worked with Radio Metropole, one of Haiti’s oldest existing radio stations. She is a graduate of the University of Arizona and the University of Quebec Montreal.

Roc’s career as a communicator has taken her to Ghana, Burundi and Canada.

CLICK HERE to visit Nancy Roc’s website! CLICK HERE to keep up with her tweets on Twitter.

3. Tim-Valda Jean

A seasoned journalist, Valda hosts a radio show entitled “Tim and Friends”, recorded in Port-au-Prince on the radio station 88.1 Visa FM. On the show, she interviews Haiti’s celebrities, experts discussing national issues (such as Haitian migration to Chile and other parts of South America), and local concerns. The media maven is also affiliated with Ayiti Sondaj, Haiti’s answer to the Gallup Poll and JD Power and Associates surveys. The company gathers opinions from the island’s population about everything from color and shade prejudice to thoughts on contemporary social issues.

Jean has a solid blog on WordPress where she discusses culture, entertainment and social issues. She graduated from Haiti’s State University with a degree in Psychology.

CLICK HERE to visit her website (French).

4. Marie-Raphaelle Pierre

News Director at Radio Ibo, a radio station based in Port-au-Prince, Pierre initially launched her career in broadcasting media at Radio Haiti Inter. According to Le Nouvelliste, Pierre first thought of radio broadcasting as a potential field when one of her English class teachers at a high school in Port-au-Prince told her she had a voice made for radio. In the late 1990s, she worked alongside Jean-Leopold Dominique and Michelle Montas, the couple who are the subject of Jonathan Demme’s film The Agronomist. She later worked at another radio station called Radio Solidarite, before assuming newsroom director duties at Radio Ibo.

According to Multimedia Haiti, Pierre holds a leadership role in the Association of Haitian Journalists (known by its French name Association des journalistes haïtiens).

5. Winnie Hugot Gabriel

Hugot Gabriel is a lawyer by trade, and has had an illustrious career as a print journalist. She once served as the President of Haiti’s chapter of Toastmasters International. Nominated for the prestigious Prix Decouvrir Haiti for her accomplishments as a journalist, Perrin hosted a law and ethics talk show on the television network Tele Kiskeya. She’s also a contributor of the publication Ticket Magazine, Haiti’s version of People and Entertainment Weekly magazine

Hugot Gabriel graduated from Haiti’s National School of Law, and studied international law at the University of Nantes France.

[Photo Credit: Stephane]

Well, Haiti sure has a lot of women journalists! Be sure to check out their work and their profiles via the links provided! Be on the lookout for Part II which will cover 6-12.

This has been another episode of Straight Outta Haiti, in which..in which your fave chick Kreyolicious highlights talents emerging directly from the island! Today’s episode just happens to be about Haitian women journalists. CLICK HERE to read other episodes in this series.

on April 3, 1986, shortly after the end of the Duvalier regime, more than 30,000 women from diverse backgrounds took to the streets of Port-au-Prince to demand to be included in Haiti’s return to democracy. The 1986 march, organized by more than a dozen grassroots groups, called attention to sexual and gender-based violence, women’s financial exclusion, lack of access to health and education, among other issues. The event was well-received and marked the renewal of Haiti’s women’s movement; eventually contributing to the creation of the Ministry of Women’s Affairs and Women’s Rights. (Source:Perpetua Chery via @WoyMagazine)
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Le 3 avril 1986, peu après la fin du régime de Duvalier, plus de 30 000 femmes de divers classes sociales sont descendues dans les rues de Port-au-Prince pour demander d’être incluses dans le retour de la démocratie en Haïti. La marche, organisée par plus d’une douzaine de groupes populaires, a attiré l’attention sur la violence sexuelle, le sexisme, l’exclusion financière des femmes, l’accès à la santé et à l’éducation, etc. L’événement a relancé le mouvement des femmes d’Haïti; a contribué à la création du Ministère de la condition de la femme et des droits de la femme.
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3 avril 1986, on ti tan apre fen rejim Divalye a, plis pase 30,000 fanm ki soti nan divès klas sosyal te pran lari nan Pòtoprens pou mande pou yo te enkli nan retou demokrasi an Ayiti. Màsh nan mwa Mas 1986 la, ki te òganize pa plis pase yon douzèn gwoup popilè, te vle pou yo mét plis atansyon nan zafè vyolans seksyèl, zafè sèksis, zafè esklizyon finansye fanm yo, mank de aksè nan sante ak edikasyon, ak lòt pwoblèm. Evènman an te make renouvèlman mouvman fanm ayisyen an; evantyèlman li kontribiye nan kreyasyon Ministè kondisyon ak Dwa fanm.
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#haiti #hayti #ayiti #women #rights #movement #mouvement #duvalier #protest #grassroots #populaire #femmes #1986 #education #droits #health #exclusion #march #social #sexism

On April 3, 1986, more than 30,000 women took to the streets of Port-au-Prince in a peaceful protest organized by over 15 different groups. “It was a revolt against exclusion. The country was being remade and we didn’t want it to be remade without us”. (conversation with Myriam Merlet, Enfofanm, March 17, 1999). The April 3 anniversary is recalled each year and has been proposed as a national women’s day since 1996.
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Le 3 avril 1986, plus de 30 000 femmes sont descendues dans les rues de Port-au-Prince lors d’une manifestation pacifique organisée par plus d’une quinzaine de groupes différents. «C’était une révolte contre l’exclusion. Le pays était en train d’être refait et nous ne voulions pas le faire sans nous ». (conversation avec Myriam Merlet, Enfofanm, 17 mars 1999). L’anniversaire du 3 avril est rappelé chaque année et est proposé comme journée nationale de la femme depuis 1996.
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3 avril 1986, plis pase 30,000 fanm te pran lari nan Pòtoprens nan yon pwotestasyon pasifik òganize pa plis pase 15 gwoup diferan. “Se te yon revòlt kont eksklizyon. Peyi a te refè, faim yo pa t ‘vle li te refè san yo ”. (konvèsasyon avèk Myriam Merlet, Enfofanm, 17 Mas 1999). Anivèsè 3 avril la raple chak ane e li te pwopoze kòm yon jou nasyonal pou fanm ayisyèn depi 1996.
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#haiti #hayti #femmes #women #protest #april3 #3april #3avril #1986 #1996 #daniellemagloire #blackwomen #haitianwomen #abuse #istwa #istwa1804 #fanm #espwa #fanmfo #fanmvanyan #enfofanm #exclusion #conversation #feminisme #feministe #discrimination #society #violence #violence #vyolans #revendication