The Tribune

By LEANDRA ROLLE

Tribune Chief Reporter

lrolle@tribunemedia.net

FREE National Movement (FNM) Senator Michela Barnett-Ellis has condemned comments by former Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) MP Leslie Miller, calling his description of her as a “little young girl” with the audacity to run against former Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis both misogynistic and disrespectful to all Bahamian women.

Mr Miller apologised yesterday for the remarks after receiving backlash, saying he did not intend to be offensive.

Mrs Barnett-Ellis, the FNM’s candidate for Killarney, said Mr Miller’s comments were not only an insult to her but to all Bahamian women who have worked hard, earned their place, and stepped forward to serve.

Her response came after Mr Miller, in an interview with The Tribune, voiced support for Dr Minnis’ bid to run again in Killarney, while criticising the FNM's decision to cut ties with the former prime minister.

The former Tall Pines MP said he told Prime Minister Philip “Brave” Davis that the PLP should not run a candidate directly against Dr Minnis, but should instead contest the new seat if Killarney is divided.

He said: “I don’t think it’s fair to his constituents, and then the little young girl who running against him, the audacity of her to go there and talk about she want to run the place,” he said. “I mean for Christ sake, show some respect. The man, he was the PM ya know."

Meanwhile, Mrs Barnett-Ellis defended her record, stressing that she is a 43-year-old mother and public servant with nearly two decades of legal experience.

She added: “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 FNM Senator claimed the PLP wants people to believe that women cannot lead, questioning whether the party would use similar language against its own women Members of Parliament.

She noted her party has made a deliberate choice to bring forward a new generation of leaders "that includes more women than ever before". 

Mrs Barnett-Ellis added that Bahamian women are not “little girls,” but leaders, professionals, mothers, and nation-builders who deserve respect.

“To every woman and every girl watching this, know this: your contributions matter, your voice matters, and your leadership matters. This moment is proof of why the fight for respect and equality in politics must continue. And this is exactly why I am running to represent Killarney,” she said.

“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.”