Sub-standard show on Independence Day

It could not be the pleasure of any patriotic Mauritian to witness a show like the one performed on the occasion of the 36th anniversary of Independence at Champ-de-Mars. Apart from the traditional official parade by the police force, there was a very sub-standard SHOW in four parts as below:

1. Dog show ? where the police dogs were showing the most ordinary skills like jumping through hurdles, running after thieves and so on.

2. One police exercise to show how the police can catch an unarmed thief and put him in a police van.

3. Simple bicycle ride by police officers, any teenager can perform.

4. A poor dance show by MGI students. The costumes were most ridiculous and unattractive. The movements of the dances were not even uniform and were simply scattered. The music and dance were not vibrant enough with patriotism.

In fact to our great pride, our international guest of honour, the president of WTO was present at this official ceremony and the show performed could not reach any standard of national celebration of our independence. Such shows could be performed for ?Police Day? or ?School Annual Day? at the most.

There are so many creative Mauritian artists who could surely present a SHOW of much higher standard with patriotic themes.

These days, when the performance of police force anywhere in the world has most modern techniques to demonstrate, it is a pity that our police force could demonstrate only the most simple techniques of police catching an unarmed thief or riding bicycles.

If we look back, we still remember that past official celebrations of our independence day at Champ-de-Mars where colourful majorettes, calisthenics with high skills, cultural SHOWS of much better quality were performed. In fact such shows could also probably attract more Mauritians to participate in this glorious and prestigious national celebration of our independence day.

Even our national sega dance with colourful costumes could not be seen. Surely a symbolic and artistic parade showing our developments in the field of textile, tourism, IT (cyber tower), to name a few, could have appealed more to our national guest of honour coming all the way of this tiny island to participate in our independence day.

The SHOW performed at Caudan Waterfront in the same evening was of better standard and of better taste but surely it could not be a substitute for the prestigious official ceremony at Champ-de-Mars.

Ms Ranjita BUNWAREE

Man?s world, woman?s oppression

So long as the structures of a male-dominated society are not dismantled, there will always be the enslavement of women. Basically we live in a patriarchal society and there is still the pervading mentality ?garçon 1er lot, tifi deuxième lot? or ?man to lead, woman to follow?. The institution of marriage is the chief vehicle for the perpetuation of the oppression of women; it is through the role of wife that the subjugation of women is maintained. A woman is doubly exploited : at home (as unpaid labour) and in the field, factory or office. At the dawn of 21st century, shockingly some women still have to surrender submissively their monthly pay-packets to their tyrannical husbands. Her social status is determined by what her husband is and by the number of children she bears and rears. In some quarters there are still battered women who suffer in silence for fear of being expelled from marital roof. Domestic violence becomes the order of the day.

Why talk of proportional representation, when our current Parliament is male-dominated, undemocratic and unrepresented? Women constitute above 50% of the whole electorate but yet they are so unrepresented. Why are their seats usurped ? Is the world of politics the monopoly of men only ? The feminine bulk is a force to be reckoned with. Gone were the days when women had to vote according to the whims of their husbands. Male lawmakers cannot decide what is good or bad for their female counterparts, especially on burning issues like Muslim Personal Law, or abortion. Let women (the silent majority) voice out their opinions to decide their plight. Then we have another anomaly in the legal system : the juries tend to be, in practice, too male, middle-aged, middle-class and middle-minded. Why does the jury system hardly include one or two woman or sometimes none at all ? Are women treated as second class citizens in this country ?

Worse still, the industrial capitalism has fattened itself on the sweat and tears of woman labour, considered as cheap labour.

Male supremacy is a myth which has been built for centuries on the biological weakness of women. Year in year out, we have the same speeches, same attitudes and same promises. What we need is a change of heart, a change of social attitudes and a change of mentality. We must unmask the hypocrisy of male chauvinists. It is only then that we can have a more egalitarian society and thus the empowerment of women will become a reality. The shackles of modern slavery will be crushed down.

Philip LI CHING HUM