Contribution by the Hon. Melanie S. Griffin, M.P., J.P. Minister of Social Services & Community Development To The Bahamas Constitution (Amendment) Bills, 2014 Wednesday, July 30th, 2014 House of Assembly
Mr. Speaker, As Minister with responsibility for Women’s Affairs as well as the protection and well being of children, I am pleased on this historic occasion to have the opportunity to second the movement of this compendium of Bills to amend our Constitution, the supreme law of our land. These amendments are intended to bring about full equality for men and women with regard to citizenship in our Constitution and to eliminate discrimination on the basis of sex.
The debate on these
amendments places a monumental responsibility on all in this Honourable place to ensure that our actions are for the wellbeing and benefit of everyone and I am heartened that the Leader of the Opposition has indicated that members opposite will support the Amendments. This is in keeping Mr. Speaker, with the commitment made in a joint sitting of parliament in this
place by resolution on Monday, November 26th, 2012. Indeed, our actions and words in this place on this matter will help to inform the citizenry who will have the final say with respect to the amendments later this year in a national referendum.
Mr. Speaker, The Amendments seek to address the following: 1.
Citizenship Issues (Bills 1 to 3) Right now, a child born outside the country to a Bahamian born man married to a non-Bahamian woman is given automatic
citizenship.
Similarly,
foreign
wives
of
Bahamian men are entitled to be registered upon application as citizens. Bahamian women do not, however, enjoy the same citizenship rights for their children and their foreign spouses. The amendments go further in granting the same rights to pass on citizenship given to Bahamian women of children born out of wedlock to a non-Bahamian man to Bahamian men of children born out of wedlock to a non-Bahamian woman with proof of paternity.
2.
Discrimination on the Ground of Sex (Bill 4) The Constitution specifically mentions ‘sex’ in a general concept of gender equality in article 15, yet omits ‘sex’ as a prohibited ground for discrimination in article 26. This particular amendment is fundamental to the overall intent of eradicating all forms of discrimination against women and men from our Constitution.
Mr. Speaker, As I speak today, I think of the plight and devastation of the 17 year old girl born in Florida to a Bahamian born woman married to a non-Bahamian man. Regretfully, when the girl was just a toddler, her parents’ marriage dissolved and her mother decided to return home to The Bahamas where the girl completed both her primary and secondary education. Upon the completion of her education, Mr. Speaker, she went job hunting only to be told that she was not a citizen and therefore had no right to reside or work in The Bahamas. This is only one of
many stories involving Bahamian born women who were married abroad and returned home with their children only to find that they do not have an automatic right to Bahamian citizenship as is the case with children born abroad to a Bahamian born man and a non-Bahamian woman. Why should there be a distinction? I am sure we all can see how unfair this is to the Bahamian born woman and her children.
Mr. Speaker, This fight for equal rights for women has been an ongoing one since the days of the Women’s Suffrage Movement. It was Doris Johnson who, when speaking to Parliamentarians in January 1959 on behalf of all Bahamian women in their quest to gain the right to vote said, ‘We women of The Bahamas have lined up on the side of the United Nations and justice and democracy, and do hereby reaffirm our faith in the equal rights of men and women and are prepared to perpetuate these ideas to our children. In the preamble to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights it reads:
“Whereas the people of the United Nations have in the Charter reaffirmed their faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person and in the equal rights of men and women, the General Assembly proclaims this Universal Declaration of Human Rights.”
Today, we quote Articles 1 and 2 of the Declaration: Article 1 – All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. Article 2 – Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedom set forth in This Declaration without distinction of any kind such as race, colour or sex.
Mr. Speaker, we in this place and throughout every nook and cranny of these islands called The Bahamas are the sons and daughters of the generation of women and men who fought hard
and long, with every fibre of their being, with the Women’s Suffrage Movement to achieve the right for women to vote which led to Universal Adult Suffrage (the right for both men and women to vote) in our country.
While the battle for the
enfranchisement of women was won in 1962, men and women have yet to receive all the rights and freedom referred to in The Declaration and as long as these remnants of inequality and discrimination remain in our Constitution we never will.
Mr. Speaker, we now have the opportunity in this generation to complete the mission and make it right. This is the mantle that has been passed to us, Mr. Speaker; this is our leg of the relay. We have an awesome obligation at this moment in time to accomplish the assignment. We must not drop the baton. As our own Bahamian poet, essayist, film maker and 11 th CARICOM Triennial Award winner, Marion Bethel so eloquently said, “Each generation of women must discover and unfold its own historic mission to formulate it and to give it meaning.� These Bills to amend the Constitution seek to provide equality for both men and women in matters of citizenship. This
is the mission of this generation and we must embrace it and we must complete it. If we do not, history will surely not be very kind to us.
Mr. Speaker, I refer again to the 1959 Petition by the Suffragettes and their supporters, many of whom were men by the way. At that time, the women spoke on behalf of 54,000 women, more than half of the population. Today, Mr. Speaker, according to the 2010 Census of Population by the Department of Statistics we speak on behalf of 181, 204 women, more than half of the population. Mr. Speaker no one can deny that women continue to play a major role in the business, social, civic, religious and political development of this Country. Yet some 55 years later we are still seeking equality in the Constitution of our country. Mr. Speaker, it is time to right this inequity.
Mr. Speaker, for years, Bahamian women have complained about the unfairness with respect to their foreign spouses not
having the same access to citizenship as is the case with the foreign spouse of a Bahamian man. This has caused hardship for many Bahamian women and their children and no doubt contributed to a number of them having to live abroad with their foreign spouses. Amendment Number 2 seeks to correct this situation. Naturally there may be persons who seek to utilize this provision for the wrong reasons hence measures to prevent this are included in the Amendment.
Mr. Speaker, many may be of the view that the amendments are intended for the benefit of women only but there is an aspect of the Constitution relating to citizenship that discriminates against men and hence Amendment No 3 seeks to address this. Presently under the Constitution, a child born outside of marriage to a Bahamian born father does not automatically have Bahamian citizenship as is the presently the case with the child born to an unmarried Bahamian born mother. Amendments No 3 will remove this discrimination and once the man can prove paternity, he would be able to pass on his citizenship to his children born outside of marriage.
Mr.
Speaker, this particular amendment will eliminate the only area in the Constitution that discriminates against men and I cannot help but reflect back to the 1959 Petition by the Women’s Suffrage Movement which revealed that women were denied the right to vote in spite of their many demands for it, but the Secretary of Staff, Mr. Lennox Boyd, instead recommended the extension of the right to vote to all males at the age of 21. So in fighting for the right to vote, our foremothers were able to get Universal Male Suffrage.
Mr. Speaker, today as we seek
equality for women in matters of citizenship in our Constitution, we have no problem in supporting the elimination of the only discrimination against men in the Constitution in the true spirit of equality for men and women as demonstrated by the suffragettes and their supporters some 55 years ago.
Mr. Speaker, Amendment Number 4 seeks to have the word ‘sex’, which is already in Article 15, also included in Article 26 (3) of the Constitution.
This amendment will make it
unconstitutional to discriminate against a person based solely on the fact that they are a male or a female, subject to the existing
exemptions in the Constitution. Simply put, Mr. Speaker, with this amendment the Constitution, will uphold that no man can be discriminated against on the basis that he is a man and no woman can be discriminated against on the basis that she is a woman. All the other meanings and theories that are being given to this particular amendment are not in line with the intent of the amendment, Mr. Speaker, and in fact the Constitution, the supreme law of the land and statute laws are very clear in this regard.
Mr. Speaker, we need to make these changes to our Constitution for ourselves, for our country, for our citizens, for our women, our men and our children.
We need these
amendments to ensure the dignity and secure the identity of our children. Too many of them are suffering under the burden of low self-esteem because they are unable to define for themselves who they are because of the uncertainty of their citizenship in the country of their birth or the birth of their parents. We have an obligation to them to make this right. The lot falls on us, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, we must provide equality in our Constitution first and foremost for ourselves and we must weigh the implications internally for our country, if we fail to do so. However, we must also be aware of the international implications, if we fail to do so. Now I am aware that there are those among us that really don’t care about international implications, but we must remember that we do not live in a vacuum. We are a part of a global community and Bahamians can be found in every nook and cranny of the world. In order to enjoy the life we live here at home and abroad, we have to meet certain international standards. Standards that are set out in various treaties or conventions to which we are asked to sign on. If we do not sign on we face international condemnation and I dare say national condemnation. When we do sign on, we must meet the standards set as long as they do not present a fundamental or major departure from our national interests. These amendments, I believe are in our national interest for the future development of our youth and our country. They will also send a message to the international community that we find
discrimination against women unacceptable, that we believe in the equality of men and women and as we have demonstrated in so many other ways, The Bahamas is indeed a world class player. We have purposed today in this place to do our part. We ask the Bahamian people to do their part in assisting us to rid our Constitution of discrimination against women and men. Then we will be able to remove certain reservations we have to such conventions as The Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) and the Convention for the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), as well as enhance our compliance with and activities in achievement of Millennium Development Goal #3 which is to promote gender equality and empower women.
Mr. Speaker, it is time to “Balance the Books� for men and women in our country. I therefore call on all Bahamians to join with us in the fight to achieve equality for men and women and eliminate discrimination on the basis of sex in our Constitution. The Constitutional Reform Commission has done its part as reflected in the Bills before us today; it is now up to us, in this
and that other place and to you, the citizens of the Bahamas to take it to its conclusion.
Since the laying of these bills two
weeks ago, discussions on these matters have been heightened, which is good, however, as I listened a lot of the discussion seems to be misinformed.
We are aware that the public
education is very important and I encourage all Bahamians to keep an open mind and to seek to attend some of the meetings that will be held throughout the country or tune into information provided by the Commission via radio and television so you are able to make an informed decision for yourself.
Finally, Mr. Speaker, I wish to commend the Constitutional Reform Commission for the work that they have already done and which they are continuing to do in this process.
Mr. Speaker, Yamacraw supports these four Bahamas Constitutional (Amendment) Bills, 2014 to secure the rights of and opportunities for all our people and for the continued development of this Commonwealth. Our efforts in this regard
will not detract from or diminish in any way the rights and welfare of others, but will instead enrich our nation, ensure justice for all our citizens and the proper development and growth of our homes, our children and our society.
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According to the 2010 Census there were 170, 257 males and 181,204 females for a sex ratio of 94 males per 100 females The final results of the 2010 Census indicate that at May 3, 2010 there were 351,461 persons resident in The Bahamas.