Dear Editor,
I looked in horror at the Saturday front page of Kaieteur News where there were photos of a man beating his wife in public, and said to myself, this newspaper has lost its marbles. I said to myself, this has to be the limit; this newspaper has crossed the boundary where all decency and respect is thrown out the window. I said to myself this newspaper is not responsible any more; it is operating in the realm of pure sensationalism. The headline reads, ‘Woman gets sound beating in public for threatening to leave husband.’ If this kind of coverage was given of a man beating a donkey it would have generated outrage; come to think of it, one cannot even flog a child these days, but here you can brutalise a woman in public.
I think this is meant to humiliate women and tear down whatever dignity they have left. I know there are men and even women who would laugh at this photo; however, I find no humour in the story. There are children seeing this, and young boys seeing this; what kind of message is being conveyed to them? Is this the society we are building where a man beats a woman and children have to grow up in that kind of environment?
Given all the despicable acts of violence perpetrated against women, to post such photographs on the front page at that, degrades womanhood and human beings. Kaieteur News must post an apology for this kind of reportage and image. I know where KN is going with this one; they are saying we have a right to report, a right to bring to the public what the real extent of domestic violence is. This might be so, but to do this in such a graphic way leaves much to be desired. I chide KN for this kind of lawlessness because they should not be afraid that their paper would not be sold. They operate in a constituency that readily buys their stuff, so the paper does not have to sing so loud for its supper. But I do ask them to operate with a modicum of standards where reporting is concerned. If they are worth their salt then the images should be turned over to the police so this man could be arrested for assault and battery.
Violence against another human being is unacceptable and anything that promotes this kind of behaviour must be met with the sternest condemnation from all right-thinking individuals. I expected all women’s groups to be swarming all over this front page for the damage it has caused to the dignity of womanhood.
Yours faithfully,
Neil Adams
