CONTRIBUTION BY C.V. HOPE STRACHAN, MINISTER OF STATE TRANSPORT AND AVIATION

M.P. FOR THE SEABREEZE CONSTITUENCY ON THE DEBATE ON THE COMPENDIUM OF BILLS TO AMEND THE CONSTITUTION OF THE BAHAMAS

MR SPEAKER

The journey continues.

Our history as a nation is replete with periods where our people

suffered from tyranny, injustice and a myriad of inequities.

Slavery was a shameful period in our existence. When that was

abolished we proclaimed FREEDOM and correctly so. But the

nature of mankind and the ingrained desire to dominate other

human beings has always led us to seek dominance over others.

No sooner had we gained freedom from slavery the rich and

powerful, disenfranchised and marginalized the masses on the

basis of color, creed, absence of wealth and gender. Women

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were less than second class and had no voice or vote. It led to

the physical and psychological repression of the Bahamian

masses for decades and Bahamian women were singled out as

having less rights than all. Thus in 1951 Women were not

considered equal under the Law. The burning issue for them was

disenfranchisement from the political process. The idea was that

if they were able to obtain the right to vote, equality under the

law would follow.

Mr. Speaker,

Boldly , my grandmother and a handful of luminaries ignored

the status quo, defied the odds and boldly stepped into the

unknown. Mary Ingraham, Georgiana Symonette, Mable Walker

and Eugenia Lockhart and Doris Johnson worked tirelessly

garnered the support of Thousands of right thinking Bahamians

and through peaceful means and the power of the pen obtained

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for us majority rule in 1967. What a time. Another traunch of

freedom so desperately needed for our people.

Again we proclaimed FREEDOM and rightly so.

But Mr. Speaker less than Ten (10) years after attaining majority

rule we achieved independence. We then wrote a constitution

and enshrined in that constitution provisions which are, in

hindsight, regressive. Seemingly the provisions negated much of

the hard won freedoms that the suffragettes had achieved.

Mr. Speaker,

Today just as the suffragettes did we face the fact that a large

segment of our population have been marginalized and are not

being afforded equal treatment under the law because of

entrenched provisions in our constitution. Today we have the

opportunity and we must take a stand to change this. To wipe

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out all forms of discrimination from our constitution based on

“sex”.

We have four Bills before us. These Bills are intended to repeal

certain articles of our Constitution and to amend others to

remove all forms of discrimination which exist under the law on

the basis of sex. The constitution as it presently stands

discriminates against Bahamian women. Women, who are

citizens of this country, who raise families, who toil, fight and

work for their families and for the development of the country as

a whole.

Specifically,

Article 26, sets out all the grounds upon which discrimination is

prohibited. However it failed to prohibit discrimination on the

grounds of “sex.” It speaks to discrimination on the grounds of

race, place of origin, political opinions, color or creed. The

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absence of the word sex is glaring and was either a grave

mistake or a deliberate omission. Our Supreme Law, our

Constitution, closed the door to gender equality and women

were thus condemned to a status as unequal to men in our

Commonwealth.

Article 26 is all encompassing. It creates the fundamental

concept of discrimination while articles 8, 10 and 14 create

specific instances of discrimination.

ARTICLE 8

One of the most egregious prohibitions for women is found in

Article 8. It is her inability to transmit citizenship to her

children born overseas if her husband is foreign. This

discriminatory provision has caused much heartache for many

Bahamian women their spouses and children. There are many

horror stories. It’s hard to rationalize the inclusion of these

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provisions in our Constitution even in 1973. Aside from the

obvious wrong done to married Bahamian women and their

children it operates as an obvious disincentive to marriage.

Article 10

To add insult to injury Article 10 dictates to her that she connot

transmit citizenship if she marries a foreign man. Of course a

Bahamian man could go and marry whomever he wished even if

she comes from Timbuktu. The constitution is on his side and

his wife could apply for citizenship immediately.

Mr. Speaker the men in this country have taken full advantage of

this right and privilege over the last Forty years. Since 1973 the

Bahamas Government has conferred citizenship on many

women. Literally there are Thousands of foreign women,

spouses of Bahamian men who have benefitted from these

provisions . Bahamian men are taking full advantage of their

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constitutional rights. Do they sometimes make fools of

themselves and get caught up in marriages of convenience?

Unquestionably. But this is ABSOLUTELY NO reason to take

away their constitutional right and it certainly does not qualify

as a rational reason to deny women the ability to make the same

choice for themselves.

Mr. Speaker,

It is obvious that the rank discrimination in Articles 8, 10, and

26 of our Constitution is wrong. There are serious ramifications.

In a report on gender equality by the Group “Equality Now”

The Article called Campaign to End Sex Discrimination in

Nationality and Citizenship Laws opines that:

“Women and men should have equal rights to transfer their

nationality to their children and their spouse, but too often the

laws governing citizenship are based on – and so reinforce –

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stereotypical roles for women and men. This not only denies

equality to women and men, it also causes unnecessary

suffering, vulnerability and harm to all affected by the

discrimination.”

This extract indicates that gender discrimination has a negative

impact on society in general. In addition The United Nations,

Human Rights Organizations, International Conventions like

CEDAW all espouse the concept of gender equality. This is

nothing new or earth shattering as many alarmists have opined.

It is the normal accepted standards of enlightened societies

which have been made law in most countries.

While the previous articles discussed were clearly drafted to

restrict the rights of women as it relates to citizenship and

equality the constitution also created discrimination against

single men.

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Article 14

This Article actually discriminates against single men. They are

unable to transmit their Bahamian citizenship to their children.

Single women can do so. This provision in light of the existing

social norms was particularly regressive and downright cruel in

some instances because it enshrined the filius nullius rule in the

constitution. This rule did not recognize children born out of

wedlock as having legal rights. It exacerbated an already

tenuous situation created by the existing Legislation which

governed familial relationships at the time. The father’s lack of

ability to transmit citizenship to his child weakened their

approach and attitudes towards responsible parenting. Thus

Between 1973 and the passage of The Status of Children Act

there were many injustices visited upon single fathers. I can

speak to the fact that many were prevented from establishing

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proper relationships with their children. The prohibition fostered

hostility in relationships where women used this lacuna in the

law against men. Many children in our society suffered as a

result. There are many examples where men were not secure in

their ability to approach the courts to seek access to their

children. In other instances the failure of the constitution to

provide them with protection as fathers created apathy in

asserting their rights and many ended up carrying the blame for

children who really were not their own, supporting them for

years at a time only to find out when the child attained 18 that

child not theirs. Notwithstanding that The Status of Children Act

rectified much of this the absence of the ability to transmit

citizenship to their children left a gaping hole in the law

stultifying the full realization of what being a father truly means

for many men. Society is the worst off for it today. Like the

other discriminatory clauses 8, 10 and 26 of our Constitution it

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is time to right the wrongs. To give equality to men and women

so that our country can develop and every citizen man, woman,

boy and girl can know that they are regarded by their country as

no less than any other person.

Mr. Speaker,

The Amendments foreshadowed here today will create equality

of the sexes under The Laws of the Commonwealth of the

Bahamas.

Article 8 will be amended to allow married Bahamian Women

who marry foreign men and have children with that man to pass

on her citizenship. This is only right. Under the law They will be

entitled as of right to citizenship upon birth.

Mr. Speaker

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Under the amendments to Article 10, a Bahamian woman who

marries a foreign man will have the same right as a Bahamian

man. Her husband will be able to apply to be registered and have

his application considered in all the circumstances of the case

taking into account the provisos against fraudulent marriages,

criminal convictions, national security issues and the Oath of

Allegiance.

Mr. Speaker,

The Amendment to Article 14 will allow single men who have

children born inside or outside the Bahamas to foreign women to

transmit their citizenship automatically once it is satisfactorily

proved that the child is his by blood relation. An amendment to

The Status of children Act will provide that such proof must be

given by DNA testing or through a trial where other relevant

factors would be considered if the father is deceased. Mr.

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Speaker this is consistent with the desire to remove the stigma

that is pervasive in this society that children born out of wedlock

are less equal than those born within the bonds of marriage. It is

consistent with the abolition of the Philius Nullius rule abolished

under the Status of Children Act and is consistent with civilized

enlightened societies.

The Amendments to Article 26 will create a constitution that no

longer discriminates because of “sex” thereby enshrining gender

equality into our Supreme Law. Finally we will be a country that

recognizes that men and women are equal under the law. This is

a major step in the course of our development as a people. The

rest of the region has left us behind on this issue. We are so far

behind when common sense dictates that we should be far ahead

of our regional counterparts. These amendments facilitate our

compliance with International Human Rights Laws, Treatise and

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Standards. More importantly it creates an environment for the

full flowering of our people whatever their race, place of origin,

political opinions, color or creed or “sex”.

By these amendments we shall restore the full freedoms won by

the Suffragettes in 1967 usurped by our well intentioned

forefathers in our constitution. I know Mary Naomi Mason

Ingraham, Georgiana Symonette, Mable Walker, Eugenia

Lockhart, Doris Johnson and all those brave warriors upon

whose shoulders we stand are now rejoicing.

I implore my brothers and sisters to support this joint effort on

the part of the government to bring our country into

enlightenment. Now is the time!!!!

This is no time for play. No time for politics. No time to pander

to less than enlightened male egos. We must disregard the

chauvinists. Ignore the naysayers. This is for

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our women! In fact it is for all of us. We can’t let this

opportunity pass! We need unity on this issue! Ignore the false

accusations about same sex marriage. Marriage is between a

man and a woman in this country. That is the law and it cannot

and will not be changed by these Bills or the referendum to

follow. It’s there big and plain as day in the Matrimonial Causes

Act and in the Marriage Act. There is NO intention to change

that!

If you’re not sure find out when the commission will be coming

in your area or call them and set up a meeting for you and your

friends. Get on the internet. Research the issues presented in

these Bills, you will see why Gender Equality is so essential.

Women,

It’s time to rid ourselves of these encumbrances to our

development. Time has come for the full realization of our

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humanity. The Women of this country have suffered long and

hard. Married women, who through the exercise of their human

instinct to nurture a family in the most favorable circumstances

have suffered untold misery. It’s time to give the women and

children some RELIEF!!!!!. IT’S time to deliver another

tranche and we can once again proclaim FREEDOM.

C.V. Hope Strachan M.P.