Dear Editor,
We read an article in Kaieteur News dated July 12, with the headline ‘Essequibo sisters to remain in state care until court hearing- CCPA.’ It was so heart-rending to read about the plight of these two young girls, aged 11 and 14, who were sexually abused by their father for about three years and according to the papers, allegedly with their mother having full knowledge of the horrific acts. Can you imagine the pain and suffering the 11 year old child endured when from the tender age of seven her father has been sexually abusing her? Look at the trauma they both went through and are still going through.
And why was the police treatment of the offender/s so lenient. The father should never have been placed on station bail, and if the allegations about the mother are true, her release was totally out of place.
With the sexual abuse of these two girls going on for at least three years, how is it that nobody else noticed anything irregular about these children or spoke out? Where were the relatives of the children when they were going through this abuse? Didn’t neighbours or friends see anything strange about their behaviour? At school where the children spend most of their time, didn’t the teachers see any changes in the girls’ behaviour or in their performance at school? Adults need to look for changes in children’s behaviour and do something to find out what’s wrong and help them.
We want justice for these two young girls, not another cold case.
Yours faithfully,
Halima Khan
Red Thread
Shirley Shaffeek
Grassroots Women Across Race
