Women Parliamentarians Still Waiting for Plus TV Host to Apologize
On Monday, Speaker of the House, Valerie Woods, sent off a letter to the Chairperson of the Belize Broadcasting Authority, Evan Tench, to draw its attention to what the Women Parliamentarians Caucus feels was a clear violation of women by Plus TV Morning Show Host, Louis Wade, Jr. The Women Parliamentarians want the B.B.A. to address the matter with Wade, who also sits on the B.B.A. Board. The matter has to do with an episode of Plus TV’s Rise and Shine Morning Show during which Wade reportedly made reference to members of the gay community by associating them with the female genitalia to suggest weakness. Earlier today, Speaker Woods said that what Plus TV has offered as an apology amounts to naught for the Women Parliamentarians.
Valerie Woods
Valerie Woods, Speaker of the House
“The Women’s Parliamentarian Caucus issued a statement on Monday, bringing to the attention to the media house that the choice of word used is not acceptable. That language on a whole has been a problem, not just in Parliament but outside of Parliament, so we recognize that and that we ask that the media house issue an apology in consideration of that. An apology on the use of the word and it has not been considered that it’s been given. There was a subsequent airing, I think the following day, and if you were to digest that and go through it, the caucus really does not consider that an apology, especially when you look at some of the other language that was used in there in an attempt to explain why that particular choice of word was used. The issue here is just the language being used and the women parliamentarians are not oblivious to the fact that the parliamentarians themselves, us, all of us need to be more careful in the words used in Parliament but also be prepared to bring attention to it and to correct it. We’re also using it as a teachable moment to the wider society because it’s not just parliamentarians and House Meetings and Senate Meetings where leadership is on display.”
