Pink Parliament is an initiative by ‘Life in Leggings: Caribbean Alliance Against Gender-based Violence’, an organisation founded by Ronelle King to challenge the pervasive discrimination and abuse faced by women in the region. Around 46% of women in the Caribbean have experienced at least one form of violence [1]. Life in Leggings was founded as an online campaign in 2016 to bring attention to the prevalence of this issue, before it transformed into an advocacy organisation. Pink Parliament developed as an offshoot aimed at inspiring young women to pursue careers in politics and develop their leadership skills in order to advocate for the rights of women and girls in decision-making spaces.
Ronelle travelled to the 2019 One Young World Summit in London. She found working alongside other One Young World Ambassadors extremely useful for providing her with drive and much-needed support. The assistance she received on the more technical aspects of her projects helped build her capacity in those areas, and her membership of the One Young World Community opened the door to collaboration with other young leaders from across the globe. Pink Parliament also provides participants with a network of young female leaders, educating them on the necessity of female political representation.
The project’s goal is to equip young women with the knowledge and capacity to one day succeed in political office so as to institutionalise more robust and inclusive decision-making processes in Barbados. Pink Parliament has partnered with the Women and Development Unit of the University of the West Indies, as well as Open Campus, on scholarships, internship opportunities, and content creation. The programme has so far trained 80 girls in Barbados, engaging with the High Commission of Canada for mentorship. Participants have been invited to both houses of parliament, witnessing political procedures and meeting with senior politicians including the Prime Minister.
“Working along with other One Young World Ambassadors has given me drive and much-needed support which is necessary for any young leader. They've provided capacity-building skill development by assisting me with the technical aspects of my projects and advocacies.”
