Tag Archives: child bride

The trajectory of Kamla Persad-Bissessar’s political career is a cautionary tale to any who would assume that gender presupposes good governance. In the months before the 2010 election, there were valid queries about questionable construction projects and a frightening escalation of the crime rate under then leader of government and …

“This stance against child marriage must be seen as an absolute. Much like the universal condemnation of child soldiers, so too we must recognise that child marriage can never be justified.” The following Letter to the Editor on child marriage, in response to recent remarks by Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar, …

Minister of Public Administration and Communications, Maxie Cuffie, has likened the support of child marriages to the defence of slavery and suggested that the current Marriages Act, which permits minors to be married under Hindu, Muslim or Baptist rites, leads to a culture of rape and violence against women. Cuffie, …

“I was surprised, though not very, when Hindu leaders sought to criticise the outfit worn by the President during the Carnival revelry. It is my opinion that such instances actually normalise and homogenise the Indian wear in our culture. “While most of the criticism was focused on the Rudraksha mala …

“Uncles, check allyuh bits and pieces and then see about pulling off this one for me. For all of us. Allyuh need to turn up the natural moxie allyuh have and teach them. Doh hold dem and wuk dem, Uncles, just teach dem. Teach them before they start thinking that sex in marriage is just some scriptural routine for procreation and that fulfilment …

“The current debate on child marriages has been a morose, crass exchange of rebuttals over the right to grant the child the opportunity to marry or not marry along a subjective morally defined age range—vis a vis a grant of the right to let them know when to lust, love …

“The Hindu Women’s Organisation of Trinidad and Tobago reiterates its call for the age of 18 to be established as the legal age of consent to marry with provisions for 16-18 year olds under strict checks and balances as outlined further below. “In so doing, we seek to correct the …

Islamic Council of Scholars official Dr Waffie Mohammed, who was sworn in as a temporary UNC senator, yesterday argued that Trinidad and Tobago should continue to permit the legal rape of minors—otherwise known as child marriages—because it was the ‘command of God’. “Muslims believe that the marriageable age of a …

If Republican US presidential candidate Donald Trump is Sat Maharaj dipped in curry—and that is definitely a dish designed to induce bowel movement—then former president George W Bush is surely Dr Fuad Khan without a stethoscope. Simplicity is certainly not next to genius with those two. Let’s just say someone’s …

The Association of Female Executives of Trinidad and Tobago (AFETT), Caribbean Association for Feminist Research and Action (CAFRA), Coalition Advocating for Inclusion of Sexual Orientation (CAISO), Domestic Violence Survivors Reaching Out, Down Syndrome Family Network, UWI Faculty of Law (St Augustine Campus), Family Planning Association of Trinidad and Tobago (FPATT), …

It. Just. Got. Flipping. Real! The Hindu community were supposed to be celebrating Arrival Day—no doubt at public expense too—but Maha Sabha general secretary Sat Maharaj used the occasion to tell Roman Catholic archbishop Joe Harris to get lost instead. “Archbishop, mind your own damn business,” said Maharaj. “(…) If …

It is amazing, though not surprising, how easily our people can be distracted from the important issues that we face as a nation, currently galloping crime and an economy in crisis. Last week, everyone—from captain to crook—was consumed in debate over a rather stupid statement that Harrypersad Maharaj issued on …