1 day ago
1
Prime Minister John Briceño held a powerful heart-to-heart session this morning with close to four dozen young girls in Belize City. The country leader offered direct advice on personal safety, self-worth, and empowerment during a motivational forum organized by the Office of the Special Envoy as part of activities marking the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence. Students from several high schools participated in the event, which also featured remarks from the Minister of Human Development, who outlined the support services available to victims of gender-based violence and highlighted early warning signs in unhealthy relationships. In his first message to the group, Prime Minister Briceño spoke firmly about the importance of personal safety, urging young women never to accept abuse or remain in dangerous situations.
John Briceño, Prime Minister of Belize: “It is important for us to be able to be a part of this 16th Days of Activism Against Gender Based Violence and I always tell every man, no man hits a woman. I’ve always said there’s nothing that Rosanna could have do to me that would make me want to hit her, I would walk away. Not that she does it so let me make that clear. But no. If for a woman the first time a man tries to hit you, walk away. Don’t stay there because if he hits you today and he gets away with it he will do it another time and the next day he will come and yell you “I’m sorry my love, I didn’t mean to do it.” He will want to do it again. Never ever allow a man to put his hands on you. You make sure that you’re respected by your friends, your family and your husband or your partner. No man is worth it that would want to harm you, want to hurt you.”
The Prime Minister then turned to encouragement and self-empowerment, drawing from his own life experiences to stress the importance of education, ambition, and confidence as the foundation for independence and long-term success.
John Briceño, Prime Minister of Belize: “Whether you come from a poor family or a rich family, riches you could lose but once you have that education, you can’t lose it. Nobody can take it away from you. Many times I tell “You have a boyfriend ?” She would say “Yes.” But I say you have to make sure you take care of you first. Let me give you a quick story about the issue about education. My mother came from a very poor family. Very poor family. But when she finished standard six way back then she came from a traditional, my grandfather only spoke Maya, he couldn’t talk Spanish, and she was very bright. She was eleven years old when she finished and the Pallottine Sisters wanted to bring her to Belize City to bring her to high school. And of course a traditional Maya man would not allow his daughter to leave Orange Walk especially back then. And so she had to stay so she stayed in school, she did standard six for about three years and then ended up helping the teachers to help teach the students so she became a pupil teacher. And eventually she became a teacher. So she had a profession and once she then after a while she met my father and they got married, very in love with my father. But then pretty soon the marriage was not working in her mind and she one day decided, there were three of us, me Jamie and my other younger brother that died “Polito” we were kids. I was probably about five years old and Jamie was four and “Polito” about two going on three. She was a good Catholic by the way, didn’t believe in contraceptives. And she one day just grabbed the three of us and waked out that marriage. And said she is not going to stay and tolerate being treated the way…..not physically, other kind of abuses. And she walked away. But she could have walked away simply because she had something to do so she went back to her house with three of us and went back to teach. And she never did stop learning because after that I remember I was probably in Standard Five I think when she went to teachers college. And even after that she even went to study in England, teaching. The point I’m trying to bring across to you that once you have an education you are empowered and you can stand up for yourself and you don’t have to tolerate nobody. Especially a man that is trying to give you a bad life. There is so much, I’m sorry it might sound cliche that I just talked about this same thing and not using fancy words but the truth of the matter is I see so many women in bad marriages and they can’t leave. They can’t leave because they don’t have an education, they don’t have a skill to be able to go out there and find a job to be able to take care of their children.”
Organizers say the session provided a safe, open platform for honest dialogue, reflection, and mentorship, all aligned with the Government of Belize’s ongoing commitment to youth empowerment, violence prevention, and building healthier communities through the 16 Days of Activism campaign. Love News understands that a similar motivational session is scheduled for approximately 50 young men tomorrow, extending the outreach to promote positive values, respect, and responsible decision-making among Belize’s young people
English (US) ·