A thing that bothers my primary school teacher

Aug 26, 2013 Letters

Dear Editor,
This letter here is at the request of one of my primary school teachers at St. Thomas Moore on Durban Street, Wortmanville many moons ago. He was one of the most likeable yet the most feared. He didn’t bring up the question of being identified when he spoke to me last Friday but I did promise him I will write about it. I plan to do an entire column on the subject.
It has to do with the primitive dress code that is stipulated in many, many public institutions. For me, the worst manifestation of it is at the High Court.
People who have cases in front of judges and those that have to give evidence have been turned away. Many of us have witnessed these cruel acts. For example, your shirt or T-shirt or jersey cannot have a marking on it or the face of a person. So if you go to the High Court with a white shirt with Chris Gayle’s image at the back, you will be turned away. I have seen too many instances of these wrong things. Where is this backed by law and why are policemen permitted to be the aesthetic judges of what Guyanese must wear?
In one instance, Leonard Craig refused to tuck his shirt in his pants because he argued that the fashion of the shirt which resembles a shirt-jac was not made to be inside his pants. The policeman was annoyed and threatened him with arrest.
In many public places, women are not allowed with sleeveless tops or dresses. What is wrong with such a top or dress? And to think the feminist society in Guyana has not protested that absurdity.
Frederick Kissoon

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