The BU family would have noticed the Bloggers Unite button on our sidebar. Thousands of bloggers all over the world today – 15 May 2008 are highlighting human rights abuses. Many bloggers we are sure will expose the dark side of of China, and the long struggle of the Tibetan people, especially the women. After a dinner conversation last night, the matriarch of the BU household decided we should highlight the plight of many women in our own backyard.
Despite the great strides Barbados has made socially and economically post-independence, it is the unanimous view of the BU household that too many women continue to be at the crappy end of what our society has to offer.
- Many of our women have to prostitute themselves to acquire and maintain jobs. This practice is prevalent in the females at the lower end of the ladder.
- We live in a modern Barbados where proud women are asked to stand in the courtyard sun every week day to collect ‘child money’.
- We all know of women who suffer in silence the physical abuse inflicted by cowardly men. Surprisingly we know that this is an occurrence which spans the social gamut.
- We have our highly touted judiciary which has made no provision to to respond to cases filed which involves the family. Invariable the cases tried in ‘Family Court’ are heard by Magistrates and Judges who are clueless because they lack special training. Many of the family cases usually have a women at the centre who has suffered real abuse. Note worthy is the postponement of the Jippy Doyle case which has been stuck in our male controlled Court System for seven long years. In case you have forgotten, Jippy who is represented by the great Sir Richard is accused of having sex with a minor believed to have been 15 years old at the time.
We accept the argument that many women have climbed the ‘ladder’ but we still have a long way to go. Many men from the old school have been socialized to treat that member of the fairer sex with the sensitivity a procreator demands. Maybe it is one reason we abhor homosexuality, it just isn’t natural! Many women in their zeal to right the wrongs of the past have gone from woman to woMAN. In any struggle we will have trials and tribulations but we should remain fixated on the price. Equality for our women!
Let us treat our women right. We treat our women right and there will be peace and happiness on planet Earth.
Barbados Underground 
Let us treat our women right. We treat our women right and there will be peace and happiness on planet Earth.
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Unfortunately, high standards of conduct, need to be the order of the day, in respect of every aspect of life in Bim. Something which we should ALL, bear in mind, at ALL times, and not just today!
I am finding GIFT from Carribean….who knows ????? If someone knowed…please send me address….I need help from GIFT Carribean…. I am hear…if GIFT want to help anybody in the world to live. Please help me when one of you know….. where I can get found from Carribean..or Barbados… Thansk a lot.
This article was going great until it degenerated into an anti-homosexual rant. Why must your homophobic views be stuck into an article about the victimisation of our women. How can you essentially call for human rights, fair treatment for one group of HUMAN BEINGS while expressing such contempt and abhorence for another group of HUMAN BEINGS. You have lost whatever moral ground you started with….very sad!
me we have an opinion and in the same way we feel that women should be treated with dignity, we also abhor the homosexual lifestyle. You call us homophobic because we chose to express our opinion that we don’t like that lifestyle? Anyway you are correct on one count, we can take this to one of the many topics we have started discussion on homosexuality matters.
Intriguingly, this article has some similarity to the lead item in BFP today, which shows The prime Minister hugging a convicted rapist. We don’t get it, do we? I am still of the opinion that, in Barbados, rape is not considered to be that bad of a crime. We are not alone. Even the courts in he UK give women very little sympathy in rape cases.
David
I was given a chance to join the Blog Against Abuse this year too, but when Amnesty step in I walk out, if I as a loved one or friend must accept life for a murderer and not seek the death penalty – then in all conscience I cannot participate
In Barbados we have a situation where women generally don’t trust the system to protect them in the process. The Police, Medical Entities, The Court System etc. As a result they come forward long after the act has been committed, and when they do our small society often makes them feel guilty before the legal process even begins.
Is it not ironic that Sir Richard who has been reported as being sick, and we have no doubt there is some truth isd this was heard on the radio during the just complete general election giving his views. What does this say about our system which encourages this behaviour from a QC. Then again we all know that the court system in Barbados is riddled with men from the FRATERNITY.
Oh what priorities we have!
You left off Roy Morris who was due to appear in court Jan. 10 and no more was heard – is it due to elections or a cover-up?
I searched but could find nothing recent on Roy Morris.
Is it possible for someone to go to the courts and get the public documents on the case? Would there be court transcripts? I still don’t understand how cases are conducted in Barbados.
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Keltruth while they at it ask them to obtain documents and transcripts on the Goodridge case where a black youngster was beaten in a racial attack. That case also fall through the cracks.
??++ I believe i read in the paper some weeks ago or maybe months but this year that the young man in question was given a sum of money from the accused and the matter was concluded.
If you have Tuesday’s Nation (page 10) there is a letter to the editor that speaks to this new form of justice where the accused pays the accuser to avoid jail time. What is this leading to?
“we also abhor the homosexual lifestyle. You call us homophobic because we chose to express our opinion that we don’t like that lifestyle?” But why prey tell does this opinion have to be positioned in an article against the victimisation of women? Hate, victimisation , discrimination and inequality should not be applied to any human being PERIOD!…
I agree with you that our women are not being treated fairly. I agree that our court system and our labour situation are not as fair as they should be to our women.
But fell down with your silly and backward thinking re : homosexuals. And that is my opinion! 🙂
I know this may sound far fetched but her is my take on the abuse issue.
1. women who are abused by men are women who unfortunately have some self concept issues. At some point or rather at no point in their lives did some one say to them they are worth far more than the most precious stone. No one said to them that they are a blessing to anyone they encounter and should be treated as such. Instead they were probably told at an early age u are no good so therefore not good for anything. this not only hold true for girls but for boys as well. so when these girls become women they are still in that mode of belief. If as my husband once said no one in school took a positive interest then we have young ladies who are not self actualized and feel that they are worth less. So when a man that says he loves then abuses them there is no schema that kicks in to say wait, no that is not what i was taught not what i know, unacceptable. Kick him to the curb and move on. Rather they stay and take it because they have seen auntie take it, mummy take it and friends take it. Until we from the womb teach or children that they are worth more than the blood running through our veins then this problem will continue to happen.
2. Men who abuse women are looking for control. Granted some are just bastards but the majority are looking for some area of their lives that they can control. Unfortunately they find the ‘weaker sex’ and exercise control over them.
Again teh same argument holds true from men as mentioned above. No one said it was wrong to hit a woman, or withhold support, whether it was emotional or financial.
It all comes down to training and upbring with a healthy dose of self love thrown in.
Remember the Law of attraction- like attracts like.
Talk bout anything but dont touch the back of de arm bowlers. That is not sin anymore.
The homosexuals too funny man.
However the truths of Romans 1 has not changed.
Wunnah can rant as long as wunnah like.
Caswell Franklin, a good friend from our days at Cawmere wrote a very good letter about this type of behaviour in this weeks Nation.
I thought the Jippy Doyle case was settled. However, based on you saying that it has been “stuck in our male controlled Court System for seven long years”, I am led to believe that there is a major obstruction of justice taking place. Can one conclude that the same can be said of the Roy Morris case?
As I read your earlier comments, the interview which the Nation did with the lead detective in the cane field murders case came to mind. In that interview, the detective stated that they knew who the killer was. That they were about to make an arrest but then held off. Then the alledged killer fled the country.
How many more criminals must be allowed to go free before bajan law makers get tough on crime committed by socalled VIP’s?
Okay i just saw the BFP headline that peltdown highlighted on this blog. I went looking for a picture but didnot find one, i believe the former Prime Minister in 1997 welcomed Clinton to Barbados a man who at the time had a pending accusation of sexual abuse on an employee. In 1998 Arthur welcomed Castro to Barbados a man who has some would say abused an entire country of people by his sanctions and policies.
We as a country need to stop passing red herrings across serious issues. Abuse in this country comes in many forms and should be stopped period.
Look at the emotional abuse that 3700+ 1o and 11 year olds suffered because the Ministers of Education are too busy worry about the next election to consider that just maybe there could be an alternative to this antiquated system. To add insult to injury the inventors of this system has since seen the error and corrected it. A country many times or size yet we cannot seem to see the light and change to a continuous assessment system.
Yes there is abuse in all forms still very much alive in Bimshire.
homosexuals awere here before you, they are here now and they will be here after you are dead and gone CHUPSE!
Anyway I think our culture also promotes insecurity/ low self esteem in some of our women hence the prevalence of the concept ‘he hits me because he loves me’
Anectdotally I have met several bajan women who believes that there MUST be drama in a relationship. These women like to be possesed, they prefer demonstrations of jealousy and possesiveness.
I also think we have to examine the way in which we bring up our male children. The Village ram mentality is promoted, being responsible is not. (and more often than not it is the mothers of these men that encourage them).
A discussion on masculinity and how it is defined is probably warranted here as well BUT I’m not sure BU can appreciate the nuances or the shades of grey that make up humankind! 🙂
Equalityshould be viewed, not only in terms of women’s personal advancement in professional and other work related areas, but also in the social and other interactions between males and females in our society.
I will tread on a few toes here, but honesty over expediency in all things.
Quite a few of our males seem to think it right and proper, to have the main family household, and then a separate arrangement of another house, often with a younger woman installed, whose financial circumstances are strained, as a result dependent on him.
This behaviour should not be condoned, and whilst I am willing to admit that “some” women revel in this arrangement, it can sometimes do a great of harm. I know of a young man from such a domestic arrangement, who refused to speak to his mother on reaching adulthood, because he felt cheated of the respect which he felt he deserved..so very sad.
There are also young women who succumb to the financial charms of older men – who are married – and spend their most fecund years being pretty for him, only to discover in later years they have no family – children- and are left to have an undignified scrap over their lover’s estate, where no provision has been made for them.
Having as many women as possible does not make proper or powerful men; it can sometimes boost fragile egos for a short time, but that is about it. We should not only respect women, and refrain from inflicting emotional and physical abuse on them because of a feel good factor ,but because it is the right and proper thing to do. We should leave that kind of behaviour behind, when we have attained the “mental maturity,” thus freedom to jettison them.
All them men that talking about respecting women and thing is mock men. Most women can take care of themselves. All they want a man for is some good sex and some money to help with the bills. Some women is get greedy and want to have too many men at the same time. I dont mind a horn but good lord they want the money too.
As to the homos I dont have no problem with them as long as keep to there own kind. It is the ones that like to play in the same game as me (I mean check women too) that i got a problem. That is dirtying the water.
I do not know what you believe “mock men” are but having been married to the same woman for forty years, we are very happy indeed.
To suggest Sex is all there is to a relationship is to reduce human beings to a very “base” level, we would be no better than animals, if gratification as we stand or lay and move on, is – love- surely it has to have more meaning than that, if I am wrong on this one, I am delighted to be.
Yardbroom, ATB is not talking about relationships. He is one of those who believe in payment for services rendered. Just read his post again. Typical village ram, I would say.
I wanted to applaud you for taking the time to bring a much needed conversational piece to the table. I am not from Barbados, however in Jamaica the same treatment of women is given.
Women are second class citizens and society accepts the abuse that women (even young girls endure)
I heard yesterday of the plight of a young Guyanese ‘maid’ who works 7 days a week 6am – 8.30pm for $56.00 a day that’s approximately $3.86 an hour! She has a young son to support.
Her employers are German and shout at her all the time, this is mental abuse and insulting to be in the position where you HAVE to accept treatment like that. Respect for others seems to be disappearing rapidly from our lifestyle.
Pat, point taken.
BIG UP a man ike jippy doyle
i was listening to a show when the dj said those words
i could not understand why he would large-up a man like jippy doyle
why would this happen ????
At least the Nation had the decency to remove Roy Morris until the case is heard.
But Jippy Doyle is still a pastor. Why is his congregation – made up mostly of women – still supporting him?
How does he earn his living? What work does he do? How can he afford a high priced lawyer like Johnnie Cheltenham?
Too many people, especially too many poorly educated women seem to believe that some man holds the keys to the kingdom of heaven. It ain’t so. No man can get you into heaven, and no man can keep you out of heaven. Popes, pastors, priests, mullahs, etc. are just men. Born through an act of sexual intercourse just like you. They are no better than you. They cannot get you into heaven. They cannot keep you out of heaven. They cannot send you to hell. They cannot keep you out of hell. You do not have to listen to them. You do not have to let them have sex with you, nor with your daughters. If they feeling heated it is ok to tell them to go into their bathroom alone, to close the door and to jerk off. The are not so special.
Stupseeee!!!!!
In general the average bajan man thinks like ATB because that is what older menin society teach them to think. Look around our society. In general most men grew up in homes where a father figure was absent or not much of a role model. It is generally accepted that men are not necessary to raise children. The average man is comfortable leaving his girlfriend or wife to deal with the children because ‘women are better at raising children’ or ‘women are naturally prone to dealing with children’. The inequalities of society favour men. There is a lot that men do that is wrong with respect to their families but the outcome is not severe. The church has been the major promotor of the ‘submission’ of women. In our ‘christian’ society a woman is not supposed to criticise her husband and she is supposed to humbles herself. She is supposed to suppress her wants and needs and always be available to her family. In our society women are locked in a subtle form of competition for men. The men are never called to account for their behavior—-wives blame the outside woman for their husbands lack of attention. The outside woman thinks that the husband strayed because of something lacking in the wife and neither lets go. Who wins in this situation? The man. Some men play out this drama day by day and no one tells them that they are destroying lives. It is accepted that ‘a man will be a man’. We need a more positive and less limiting definition of what constitutes masculine behavior. It is not coeducation per se that has our boys in crisis it is the limits put on their emotions and their lives in general. A young female is respected when she takes a job at a male oriented workplace and carries her weight. she is seen as superior to other women because she has masculine proficiencies i.e. ‘she does drive like a man’ contrast this to ‘he does drive like a woman’ contrast this to ‘she/he is a skilful driver’. Anything female is of less value it is even in our speech. Can you think of more phrases like these. We in mainstream society are causing the conditions that create the homosexuals we abhor by placing value judgements on male or female characteristics where stereotypical male behavior is seen as an indicator of ‘normal’ for men.
The devils Advocate I agree with most of what you said above except the idea that somehow we are creating homosexuals by how we value male/female traits. In my opinion most homosexuals are born that way. Perhaps you meant we are creating ‘men on the down low’ who perpetrate a ‘masculine’ image ( or at least how we define such…village ram, thug etc) while sleeping with both men and women. I think homosexual oreintation is intrinsic while behaviour may or may not be…
Me, perhaps i did not illustrate as clearly as I should. It is simple, some little boys tend to be a little ‘softer’ than the others and exhibit qualities that are more generally associated with girls……what does society say to him? Stop behaving like a little girl.
The other little boys, noticing this take up the chorus……Sissy boy! Sissy boy! How does the ‘little sissy’ feel? How does he feel as this continues? What does he think of himself at 6 at 10 at 15. Imagine that he is sexually abused by an older male at 13-15, what will he think of himself then?
Almost all of the homosexuals I know have an episode of sexual abuse in their past, very few of them speak of knowing they were gay from the start. In our society some boys develop traits because they have been socialised exclusively by females (e.g. ‘he is a grandmudder chile) and they find it hard to blend in with men who have been socialised by males.
Today it was reported in the news that Sir Richard Cheltenham will be Arbiter in the dispute within the St. Lucian cabinet which is threatening to split it. The question which comes to mind is why is he always absent from the Jippy Doyle trial which is 7 years old but has time to trek the Caribbean earning money. We smell a rat and the Chief Justice needs to act. The fact that both of them maybe BLP card carrying members is irrelevant!
What does being a homosexual have to do with equality between men and women???
Are you relating that two homosexual men have equal rights to each other as opposed to a man and woman union?
Should we all become homosexuals???
That way we have equal rights?
I don’t understand what your inclination in sexual relationships has to do with women’s rights…..
Meg
What does being a homosexual have to do with equality between men and women??
If male and female traits were valued equally in our society would we have something called ‘homosexual’?
Why yes DA, we would have homosexuality.
DO you really need me to explain it to you?
because I think it would be better for you to Google it… then you can get images that really, should we say, ‘paint a picture’ for you.
Valuing traits equally (in any society) would not take homosexuality away from us.
It’s more a “liking” than a “trait”.
If it is more ‘liking’ than ‘trait’ then does this imply that it is learned behavior and the person was not born that way?
Are homosexuals born, or made?
Are there any male homosexuals who do not have an episode of childhood abuse in their past?