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, 2014House 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 well-

being 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 11th

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.

____________________________

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.