Dear Editor,
A video containing lewd vulgarities and gesticulations is circulating on social media. The video captured Charrandass Persaud’s obnoxious abusive outburst towards a woman identified as Sonya Ghosh, an Animal Rights Activist, Ecologist and English Lecturer at Delhi University. This abusive outburst occurred in New Delhi at the Residence of Guyana’s High Commissioner to India on August 1, 2021. It has now made headlines in Guyana approximately 14 months after the vulgarism. The President has since recalled the culprit amid the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation’s release of October 25, 2022 which states “allegations of sexual abusive words to complainant has (sic) not been substantiated”.
Clearly, this video did not form part of the investigation and Guyana’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation relied on the findings of an investigation in India, instead of conducting its own enquiry. In the video the woman’s reaction to the repulsive and derogatory insinuations by Charrandass clearly caught her off guard. Charrandass’s outpouring is consistent with a person devoid of respect for women.
Similarly, Takuba Lodge did not find Charrandass wanting in his conduct of the affairs of state according to the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations of 1964.
Nevertheless, I applaud the President’s action to cause a recall. The decisive action creates a precedent to deter future occurrences. Condemnation must also resonate from all our women Parliamentarians since such people must not be protected nor feared.
Women the world over continuously face abuse in many forms. The United Nations maintain an agenda item advancing the rights and protection of women and girls, not only in terms of their economic and social wellbeing, but also to give protection from mental, social and physical abuse which they encounter on many fronts. According to the World Health Organisation mental health is a growing concern and forms part of the Sustainable Development Goals, a priority issue of the United Nations.
We must not allow such horrendous attacks to be visited on our mothers and our sisters and therefore we must be loud in our condemnation. I sincerely extend an apology to Ms Ghosh and her family for this unwarranted personal attack.
Yours sincerely,
Indira Thakurdin
