The Tribune

By DIANE PHILLIPS

THIS is not the column I intended to write, which was going to be light-hearted and fun about the days when the music we listened to had words we could understand and when songs had lyrics you memorized. When you knew every word and could relate to the love or anguish it belted.

That was the plan, reviving the Beach Boys and Bee Gees vibe as the Sloop John B documentary gets underway.

But then I picked up the Tuesday Tribune and nearly exploded.

“DID YOU SEE THIS?!” I burst out loud, shouting to everyone in the office, meaning the only two who were in before 8 am. A quiet voice would have been fine under normal circumstances, but this was not normal. This was the kind of thing that had to be shouted. Staring straight at me and the thousands who were going to see it later was a headline so bizarre, so infuriating, so 1800’s that I could not help myself.

“DID YOU SEE THIS?!” MEN GET TWO CHANCES BUT WOMEN ONLY ONE.
The story was based on comments the day before by Corrections Commissioner Doan Cleare at what was supposed to be an intake ceremony for recruits who qualified to serve in one of the most underappreciated arms of law enforcement – the corrections division. Such ceremonies are normally intended to serve as part-congratulatory and part-motivational for new recruits, inspiring them to do their best, to serve with pride, and to strive to be the best they can be. All of which means that to anyone other than a recruit soaking in the words, such ceremonies are pure pablum, bland, routine, and worthy of not much more than a passing glance by the general public.

Not this one, though.

Cleare’s message was clear: in the world of Bahamas Corrections, gender bias is real. One world for men, the other for women. MEN GET TWO CHANCES BUT WOMEN ONLY ONE blasted the Tribune top of the page one headline in bold at least size 72-point font.

If ever there was a clear message that there are two worlds in The Bahamas--one for men, one for women--this was it.

In your face.

Undeniable.

In his voice.

In print.

Apparently, more women want this job than men. And that did not make Commissioner Cleare happy, so he explained how he plans to deal with it.

“Now, females in the squad, the first one of you mess up or do wrong, I gonna let you go. And you know why? Because we have an abundance of you, too much.”

Too many women applying for a job many would run as far away from as they could? Too many women applying for a job in a prison dealing with incarcerated females who may have had childhoods that send chills up your spine? Incest? A parent who overdosed or thought the best lessons were taught with a tamarind switch, cursing and beating?

“Our waiting list now is over 400 females trying to get in here, but it is the males I will try to massage, wash your toes, and wash your feet to try to get you in line. But if you do fool, we still gon’ let you go, the Commissioner said.”

Cleare was clearly coming from a place of disappointment, and he didn’t try to hide it.
Originally, he told the audience, they were hoping for 70 men and 30 women, but not enough men who applied qualified, while the women, he confessed, were meeting the requirements. The result? The new cohort consists of 38 women and what he called “about 41 men.”

He did acknowledge the fact that the shortage of qualifying males was in part a reflection of the education system and noted the importance of parental involvement. He credited parents who cared enough to pay attention to their sons’ and daughters’ progress in school and schoolwork.

“It’s difficult to say, but I’ll tell you, me growing up in school on the Family Island, a lot of males, they were eager to learn and we were focused. But it’s New Providence and Grand Bahamas that has the challenges,” the Commissioner said. “They used to want to gravitate toward gangs. They tend to want to be bullies in class, they tend to want to be the clowns…Then some of them tend to want to take the easy road out, smoke marijuana or drink alcohol, you see. So that’s one of the reason why, you know, the pool is so short.”

We get it – males struggle more, females pay more attention to the rules. So now you want to punish the females -- one strike and they are out, but “massage” the males, “wash their toes”?

If ever there was the slightest doubt about bias against females in The Bahamas, Corrections Commissioner Cleare’s remarks at the intake ceremony laid bare the bitter truth. There are two worlds, the world of the male and the world of the female, and it’s time for a sweeping change, a change that can be made with a signature. It does not need a referendum.

And here is the reason why:

This is a true story. A Bahamian woman could not marry the father of her child, even though the couple has been together for more than 15 years, from the time they were in school together in Nassau, through college, now she as a graduate student, he as a highly responsible professional. Though he holds citizenship of another large Commonwealth nation outside this region, he and his family have lived in The Bahamas nearly his entire life.

When the couple learned they were expecting a child, they were over the moon. Neither has ever had another boyfriend or girlfriend. They wanted to marry--they had always planned to marry--but they could not or their child would not be Bahamian. As a Bahamian, she had to give birth out of wedlock rather than walk down the aisle with the man she wanted to marry, the man who wanted to marry her, so their child could be a Bahamian. She had to give birth to the horrible sound of the word--a “bastard” child born out of wedlock--because she is female. Had the father been Bahamian and the mother hold citizenship of another Commonwealth nation, it would have been a different story.
How can that be right?

Don’t ask the Commissioner of Corrections. Ask yourself. Ask this country. Ask those who govern.

Gender equality is not an amorphous ideal. It’s what makes a child a Bahamian or the other word, a “bastard.”

You decide. And act. It’s on your conscience.