Dear Editor,
I read an article in which Help and Shelter castigated the TOK for an incident in which a sexually inappropriate remark was made to an under-age girl, by one of the members.
Help and Shelter must be lauded for the observation because a significant proportion of women still continue to be the subject of tyrannical and pugilistic men, whether verbal or physical. One of the things I abhor the most is to see men abuse women or treat them with condescension. In these contemporary days, not only is it archaic, but it ought not to be.
However, having said that, I think that we have made gargantuan strides not only in ensuring gender equity, but as a nation, we have also managed to assail some of the atrocities that confront our women folk. I am not in anyway asserting that we have surmounted every perceptible difficulty. We still have a far way to go. Violence, incest, rape, etc. are still very much interwoven and condoned in the fabric of society.
Conversely, I was very disenchanted and could not decipher why acerbity was tilted in Digicel’s direction. Why would Help and Shelter want to chastise Digicel for patronizing this band? I can comprehend their anger for a lewd and derogatory remark but I think that it was untenable to criticize Digicel for its affiliation with the band. I have listened to a lot of reggae music and most of the lyrics are lewd and degrading to women. Not that I am in any way trying to justify the remark made by the member of TOK’s band.
On the obverse side of the coin, while we are scouting for scapegoats, we must remember that women also have an equal responsibility for their empowerment. They are not robot like yes women. They too have analytical and critical minds.
If we look carefully, we would recognize that GT&T heavily patronizes Celeste David and Timeka Marshal, both of whom are female artistes. I wonder if Help and Shelter has ever seen the video titled ‘back it up?’ by Celeste David. If not, it might want to have a look. In addition, if you looked at the newspaper, you would have seen clips of these two young women among others at the Mash parade, in flesh exposing attire. I am certain that they are role models and other young people would want to imitate them.
I concur that music with decadent lyrics has a negative influence. But the point that I am trying to make is that we as individuals have a moral responsibility to ourselves to elicit a desirable change in behaviour.
Yours faithfully,
Raul Khan
