Hon. CV Hope Strachan Contribution on the Constitutional Bills
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Transcript of Hon. CV Hope Strachan Contribution on the Constitutional Bills
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.