THE EDITOR, Sir:
UPON READING the Stockert v. Desnoes case in the paper and having gone through the judicial process recently for the dissolution of my marriage, it has become abundantly clear that Jamaican women are still regarded as chattels.
Although the women of this country are the backbone and base of every family, women are still not being afforded the equal rights that are necessary for survival. The judicial system perpetuates the typical Jamaican mentality of many women is better than one and does not hold accountable our men for the responsibility to any and their offspring. It does not permit women who are battered or abandoned by their men, the chance to pick up the pieces and move on with their children, as they do not see the role of wives and mothers important enough to grant reasonable settlements and child support.
Jamaican women, to survive after the fact, have to prostitute themselves by seeking out other men to provide for their children and themselves to ensure the continuance of their well-being.
When is this country and its Justices going to afford the downtrodden lost gender of our society the respect and equality that we deserve and halt the continued deterioration of the moral fibre of our nation? We hope that our voices will be heard.
I am, etc.,
DOWNTRODDEN
Kingston 8
