Barnett-Ellis to Miller: Women are not little girls. The Bahamas deserves better than this backward rhetoric
The Free National Movement’s newly ratified candidate for Killarney Michela Barnett Ellis, hits back at Former Cabinet Minister Leslie Miller, who referred to her as a “little young girl,” contesting the seat held by Dr Hubert Minnis but was not nominated by the party.
Ellis, in a social media post sought to set Miller straight. “I am a 43-year-old woman, an attorney at law for almost 20 years, and a Senator in the Commonwealth of the Bahamas.
“When misogyny like this is allowed to pass unchecked, it holds our country back. Women are not little girls. We are leaders, professionals, mothers, daughters and nation builders.”
She continued, “For a former Cabinet Minister to belittle me in this way is not only disrespectful to me, it is disrespectful to every Bahamian woman who has worked hard, earned her place, and stepped forward to serve. This is misogyny, plain and simple. And it is exactly this type of tired, small-minded thinking that has held The Bahamas back for far too long.
“The Bahamas deserves better than this backward rhetoric. We deserve leadership that debates ideas on merit, not on gender. That is the standard I will uphold, and that is the change I will fight for,” she said.
Why it matters
Ellis is one of the few women to enter politics in the Bahamas as the FNM says it seeks to narrow the gap in gender disparity in the country.
Miller, an outspoken politician, has expressed misogynistic undertones in the past. In 2014, he said he beat a former girlfriend, though he later stated that the comment was in jest.
As a former Progressive Liberal Party MP for Tall Pines, he believes his party should not contest the seat out of respect for Minnis and neither should Ellis.
Miller’s daughter, Leslia Miller, is a PLP Member of Parliament for Sea Breeze and is similar in age to Ellis.
The big story
Miller acknowledged he is a personal friend of Dr Minnis, a former Prime Minister who wants to hold on to the Killarney seat, vowing to run despite not receiving his party’s nomination for the upcoming general election.
Minnis holds a frosty relationship with the FNM and has been accused of causing division in the party, once contesting the leadership position despite his losses. The party has since asked Minnis to serve in another capacity within the party but he is adamant that he is running and expressed confidence that he will regain the seat.
What Miller said
Miller said, “I don’t think its fair to his constituents, and then that little young girl who running against him, the audacity of her (Ellis) to go there and talk about she wants to run the place. I mean for Christ’s sake, show some respect. You don’t treat him like he just walk from olden corner ya know.”
What others are saying
Many people have stood in defence of Ellis.
Wendy Poitier said, “How disrespectful, distasteful and disgusting can you be, Leslie Miller? Senator Michela Barnett Ellis is a”big grown woman”! You need to apologize! The audacity of YOU!!! Simply beyond the pale !!!
Kathryn Nesbitt said, “These old men always gat something to say.”
And Shannon Evans said, “That is such an insane thing to say out loud and to the press.”
State of play
Ellis has since expressed that she looked forward to Minnis’ support.
