OBJECTS AND REASONS(amendments to effect gender equality)
This Act seeks to make several amendments to the Constitution of The Bahamas.
Clauses 4, 6 and 7 seek to amend Articles 3, 8 and 9. Article 8 permits a person born out side of The Bahamas after July 9, 1973 to automatically become a citizen of The Bahamas if on that date his or her father was a citizen of The Bahamas, but that is not so pursuant to Article 9 where it is the child’s mother who was a citizen of The Bahamas. That child who had no control over whom his or her mother was to be has to wait until he or she is between ages 18 and 21 to apply. The proposed amendment will eliminate this manifest injustice.
Clause 5 makes provision for Article 5 to he amended in order to eliminate the gender discrimination prior to independence against Bahamian women who are married to foreign men. These foreign men are not allowed under the provisions of this Article to apply to he registered as citizens of The Bahamas as the foreign women married to Bahamian men. Once these amendments have been made, then the foreign men who are married to Bahamian women prior to independence, would be able to apply to be registered as citizens of The Bahamas.
Clause 8 seeks to amend Article 10 of the Constitution. Article 10 of Chapter II of the Constitution denies a Bahamian woman the right to have her non-Bahamian husband become a citizen. This amendment will eliminate this manifest injustice.
Clause 11 seeks to include the word “gender” in Article 26 to afford protection to women from discrimination.
Clause 12 seeks to amend Article 54 of the Constitution to insert the new Articles.
It should be noted that by virtue of Article 54 of the Constitution Articles 3, 5, 8, 9, 10, 13, 14, 26 and 54, must, at the final voting thereon in each House, be supported by the votes of not less than three-quarters of all the members of each House and a vote must be taken by way of a referendum held in accordance with the Constitutional Referendum Act, Chapter 1.
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