[xml][/xml]
The Bahamas Weekly Facebook The Bahamas Weekly Twitter
News : Bahamas Information Services Updates Last Updated: Feb 13, 2017 - 1:45:37 AM


Bahamas Parliament cannot afford to ‘drop the ball’ on Constitution Amendment Bills
By Bahamas Information Services (BIS)
Aug 11, 2014 - 2:30:11 PM

Email this article
 Mobile friendly page

NASSAU, The Bahamas --- Parliament cannot afford to “drop the ball” onthe amendments included in the compendium of The Bahamas Constitution (Amendment) Bills, 2014, as passage of those Bills will be the first step in ensuring “that this generation of Bahamians” continue to provide equal rights for both men and women in The Bahamas, Minister of Social Services and Community Development, the Hon. Melanie Sharon Griffin said.

Debate on the amendments began in the House of Assembly Wednesday (August 6) and was led by Minister of Transport and Aviation the Hon. Glenys Hanna-Martin. Mrs. Griffin “Seconded” the Bill.

Mrs. Griffin said she was “pleased to learn” that members Opposite would support the complete compendium of Bills.

“I am heartened that the Leader of the Opposition has indicated that members opposite will support the Amendments. This is in keeping 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,” Mrs. Griffin added.

The Amendments seek to address the issues of Citizenship (Bills 1-3) and Discrimination on the Grounds of Sex (Bill 4). The Citizenship Bills are expected to correct an anomaly between children born outside of The Bahamas to Bahamian-born men married to non-Bahamian women and children of Bahamian-born women married to non-Bahamian men.

As it now stands, children born outside of the country to Bahamian-born men married to non-Bahamian women are 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 even 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.

Minister Griffin said with regards to 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,” Mrs. Griffin said. “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.”

Minister Griffin said the 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.’”

“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.

“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; 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,” Mrs. Griffin added.


Bookmark and Share




© Copyright 2014 by thebahamasweekly.com

Top of Page

Receive our Top Stories



Preview | Powered by CommandBlast

Bahamas Information Services Updates
Latest Headlines
Junkanoo Summer Festival Is Back, Bigger and Better
ZNS Celebrates 86th Anniversary with Church Service
Doctoral degree posthumously conferred to Hon. A.D. Hanna by University of The Bahamas
Select Jif Peanut Butter Products Recall - Update
Dr. Rodney Smith confers final degrees as President and CEO of UB: asks graduates to take the next step with an open mind