Balderamos Garcia did speak up for female police officers who have faced disciplinary measures for speaking out. As we have reported, the police department places very clear guidelines on how female officers can wear their hair as a means of both uniformity and practicality. Well, now reports say those officers have been targeted for speaking out.
But, the Minister says discrimination can be a very dicey subject:
Dolores Balderamos Garcia, Minister of Human Development
"I don't know what the orders and the disciplinary procedures and regulations of the police department are, but certainly in terms of what happened in the case, I think that Belizeans should agree that we should not be placing very restrictive rulings and provisions on how people should wear their hair. Once ih neat, once yo wash yo hair, once yo noh got hair lice, once you respect the order and discipline of where you are, I think we should be able to wear our hair in a natural way because that is a part of our identity. Everybody of African descent in Belize, including myself because I have all kinda blood ina me, everybody should respect the cultural values and approaches of everybody else."
