Category Archives: Gender

England, Gender, General T&T, International, Race and Identity, Racism Watch

The Black Princess

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By Dr. Selwyn R. Cudjoe
December 05, 2017

Princess we are happy
You came our way
But unfortunately
You could not stay.

This is a welcome
That has no end
Please pay us a visit
Now and then.

— The Mighty Sparrow

Dr. Selwyn R. CudjoeIn 1955 Princess Margaret came to Trinidad to visit. Most of Her Majesty’s subjects felt elated. I attended Tacarigua AC School at the time. All of my fellow students lined the Churchill Roosevelt Highway with our flags (the Union Jack) to pay tribute to our princess. Two days later we headed down to the Queen’s Park Oval to give her a royal welcome.
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Gender, General T&T, PNM, Politics

The Reeducation of Our Prime Minister

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By Dr. Selwyn R. Cudjoe
October 30, 2017

Dr. Selwyn R. CudjoeIn terms of native intelligence and intellectual brilliance, Keith Rowley is among the top three people who have held the prime ministerial office since independence. The same cannot be said of how he applies these talents to his present office. These attributes were on display when he was the leader of the opposition; now they have faded. Each office brings different challenges. A person may be successful in one and a dismal failure in the other.
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Gender, General T&T, PNM, Politics, UNC

Kamla’s Equivocation

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By Dr. Selwyn R. Cudjoe
January 29, 2017

Dr. Selwyn R. CudjoeOn Wednesday 18th January the Senate passed the Miscellaneous Provisions (Marriage) or the Child Marriage Bill (2016) that prohibits twelve-year-old girls from getting married. It did so with the notable abstention of the UNC-led Opposition. Put simply, as Jennifer Baptiste Primus suggests, this bill prevents “hard-back men” from clambering over young girls to satisfy their lust.

Enter Kamla Persad-Bissessar, Q.C. She is one of the country’s more distinguished lawyers. I don’t know how she conducts herself in court but one presumes it is befitting of her status. Language and the manipulation of language are at the heart of her profession which allows her to say things without regard of their consequences or truth content. It is almost as though she (or any lawyer) can use words to serve any purpose they deem necessary.
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Gender, General T&T, Sex

Poor Rolph, Brilliant Rolph

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By Dr. Selwyn R. Cudjoe
Jamuary 16, 2017

Dr. Selwyn R. CudjoePoor Rolph, or should I say, brilliant Rolph. I do not wish to denigrate Dr. Rolph Balgobin’s name or rush to judgment about any of the charges that have been made against him. I expect justice to run its course since Balgobin has hired the best legal minds to defend his innocence and sustain his reputation.

This is my dilemma: I cannot understand why any society would want to pile so much responsibility on one man or woman even though it does seem as if our women are so favored. Balgobin’s public profile is a thing to behold. Andy Johnson described him as “one of the country’s more connected and powerful men” which is why so many persons feared to interfere where he trod.
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Gender, General T&T, International, Sex Crimes, USA, Violence

Gay and Straight Together

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By Dr. Selwyn R. Cudjoe
June 22, 2016

Dr. Selwyn R. CudjoeOn Monday evening, like so many people across America, I attended a vigil in honor of the 49 people who were gunned down at Pulse Night Club in Orlando just because some folks hate gay people. I was on my way to London but stopped in Wellesley, Massachusetts, to gather my papers and other necessities for my trip. In that small town of 28,000 people, about fifteen miles outside of Boston, I joined about three hundred people on the lawn of Wellesley’s Town Hall who had come together to stand in solidarity with those who had lost their loved ones in Florida.
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Gender, General T&T, Law, Politics, Race and Identity, Racism Watch, Religion, Sex

Is Sat Really a Racist?

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By Dr. Selwyn R. Cudjoe
June 13, 2016

Dr. Selwyn R. CudjoeLast Sunday, in this newspaper, Sat Maharaj mentioned casually (or perhaps not so casually) that he couldn’t possibly be a racist since I was his best friend and Desmond Hoyte was a close friend. Most of my friends were aghast that Sat should consider me to be among his best friends and, even if we are, they asked, why should he use our friendship to camouflage his racism?
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Court, Crime in T&T, Gender, General T&T, Media, Sex

CAISO head: CCJ ruling good for gays

By Julien Neaves
June 12, 2016 – newsday.co.tt

GaysOn Friday, EXECUTIVE director of the Coalition Advocating for Inclusion of Sexual Orientation (CAISO), Colin Robinson, said the ruling by the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) on the Maurice Tomlinson case allows homosexuals free movement in Caricom is “good news”, but it also leaves them as “unapprehended outlaws”.
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Gender, General T&T, Law, Politics, Religion, Sex

Sex and the geriatric preachers

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By Raffique Shah
June 01, 2016

Raffique ShahIt 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 behalf of the Inter-Religious Organisation (IRO), which called on Government to not change existing laws that allow for Muslim and Hindu girls, aged 12 and 14 respectively, to be legally wedded.
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Gender, General T&T, Law, Media, PNM, Politics, Religion

The Child Bride—Dularie’s story

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By Ria Rambally and Rosemarie Sant
Monday, May 23, 2016 – guardian.co.tt

Dularie Baboonie KanhaiAs the debate rages on over laws on child marriage, there is scepticism from an elderly woman who was married at the age of nine, before there were even any marriage laws in this country.

Today Dularie Baboonie Kanhai says she had no regrets about her marriage, she and her husband had a good life which produced ten children and a happy home. But she is sceptical whether young people now have the stamina and the mindset to get married at that age.
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Abortion, Crime in T&T, Gender, General T&T, Health, Law, Media, PNM, Politics, Sex

Call for new look at abortion laws

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By Geisha Kowlessar
May 05, 2016 – guardian.co.tt

AbortionAmid increased calls to legalise abortions which have been sanctioned by former health minister Dr Fuad Khan and advisory director of the Family Planning Association Dr Jacqueline Sharpe, Roman Catholic priest Father Clyde Harvey, however, said T&T must build a society where life was respected even in the most difficult of circumstances, including abnormalities.
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