We aren’t anyone’s property!

Dear Pastor,

I am a high-school teacher here in Jamaica and I'm in my late 20s. I've been married for a year now. I was raised in the Church, but I am not a Christian. I have lost my way, but I'm slowly finding it back. I've been wanting to write to you for years.

I have much to speak to you about, as you are a wise man. However, I'm writing to you today about the killing of my fellow women here in Jamaica. Jamaican women have endured quite a lot, yet we never made the news as the perpetrators, always as the victim. We aren't anyone's property!

I believe that's what these men need to know. They are free to leave; free to get outside kids; free to disrespect us; free to leave us for opportunities if they see it fit; free to be abusive, both emotionally and physically. Yet if we do just one of the above we have to pay with our lives. Why is it we can walk away when things become unbearable and they can't?

Slavery

It seems as if we have not matured. It seems as if slavery has not been abolished for women in Jamaica, just the men. We are no longer the white man's property, but we are our boyfriends, husbands, and babyfathers' property instead. The Government needs to implement these things in the health and family life education curriculum. This should be aimed at our young men specifically. Teach them how to deal with rejection, how to build a healthy relationship, educate them on what is acceptable and what is not. If women were to deal with men in this light, we would have little to none left.

Keep me in your prayers, Pastor, as I will keep you in mine. I will be looking in THE STAR for your response, and we will speak soon again.

Teacher

Dear Teacher,

Thank you so very much for your letter. You have made valid points. As a teacher, I know that your heart is broken as you see how young women are being abused and killed. I hope that you will continue to speak out and that you would teach young people, male and female, to learn to love and respect each other.

The suggestion you have made that the Government should implement these things in the health and family life education curriculum would be very helpful. I look forward to hearing from you again. And I pray that God will continue to bless you as a teacher.

Pastor