ellauri080.html on line 781: His sexual hang-ups caused him to carry monstrously sexist views. His view of the female body was warped. As accounted by Rita Banerji, in her book Sex and Power, "he believed menstruation was a manifestation of the distortion of a woman's soul by her sexuality".
ellauri108.html on line 137: Rasta women usually wear clothing that covers their head and hides their body contours. Trousers are usually avoided, in favour of long skirts. Women are expected to cover their head while praying, and in some Rasta groups this is expected of them whenever in public. Rasta discourse insists this female dress code is necessary to prevent women attracting men and presents it as an antidote to the sexual objectification of women in Babylon. Rasta men are permitted to wear whatever they choose. Although men and women took part alongside each other in early Rasta rituals, from the late 1940s and 1950s the Rasta community increasingly encouraged gender segregation for ceremonies. This was legitimised with the explanation that women were impure through menstruation and that their presence at the ceremonies would distract male participants.
ellauri108.html on line 239: The Bobo Ashanti sect was founded in Jamaica by Emanuel Charles Edwards through the establishment of his Ethiopia Africa Black International Congress (EABIC) in 1958. The group established a commune in Bull Bay, where they were led by Edwards until his 1994 death. The group hold to a highly rigid ethos. Edwards advocated the idea of a new trinity, with Haile Selassie as the living God, himself as the Christ, and Garvey as the prophet. Male members are divided into two categories: the "priests" who conduct religious services and the "prophets" who take part in reasoning sessions. It places greater restrictions on women than most other forms of Rastafari; women are regarded as impure because of menstruation and childbirth and so are not permitted to cook for men. The group teaches that black Africans are God's chosen people and are superior to white Europeans, with members often refusing to associate with white people. Bobo Ashanti Rastas are recognisable by their long, flowing robes and turbans.
ellauri204.html on line 684: She wrote openly about menstruation, abortion, masturbation, incest, adultery, and drug addiction at a time when the proprieties embraced none of these as proper topics for poetry.
4