It was not by accident that Sat Maharaj, the Secretary General of the Sanatan Dharma Maha Sabha, made reference to a business. While worshippers of differing faiths see only houses of worship, deliverance from sin and its consequences, relief and a place to differentiate themselves, religious leaders run competing organisations, are in the business of corralling and subjugating human minds predicated on sound financial decisions and a reasonable return on investment.
In order to save a child's life, the life of the caregiver must first be canvassed and protected. In this society of meaningless checks and balances, would any adjustment to the legal age of marriage bring about much needed transformational relief to abused children as a whole?
Is the adjustment upwards harmonising legislation in regard to children, the correct place to begin to prevent abuse and to protect children? Just asking.
Bonded child marriages, like marriages under undue influence, like a host of freely entered contractual adult marriages among rich and connected men, are matters of economic convenience. The morally reprehensible dichotomous relationship between economic convenience and unequal partnerships is the mainstay of abusive relationships, generating child, spousal and gender�related abuses all of which equally need our closest scrutiny.
A messenger ought not to be condemned for crudity in his delivery of a message but he should be condemned for any intended mischief hidden away deep in the bowels of the message.
Was it appropriate and morally sound or opportunistic for Roman Catholic Archbishop Joseph Harris to lead the charge of statutory rape when all the while his church has been perpetrator and protector of some of the most heinous crimes against children and humanity, and pointedly on matters of colour and social class injustices still unresolved?
Kathleen Pinder
