Lol...now its okay to present the 2002 referendum....Lord help us, a full decade to educate our WOMEN that they have rightss to and should support their OWN RIGHTS!! sad

Are these people serious? They were strongly against this in 2002

Tribune, do you have any archived articles from 2002 with PM Christie's campaign against the referendum?

The claim by both the PLP and the Church "the people need more time". Visit Fred Mitchell Uncensored 2002

Good looking out...I read Fred Mitchell's Referendum remarks dated 13th of Feb 2002...and he said which is on his own website and in his own words that there is no need to change anything on gender equality because it is a trick by Hubert Ingraham..... and now in 2012 he stands up in the house and said this exact thing needs to be amended....WOW!!! Fred, PM PC, Brave ETC....I got one thing to say to you all the digital age will be your downfall....Mr. Mitchell's website is still up and he now is contradicting himself....that must be why they got beef with CWC and Cable Bahamas they want internet gone cuz it will expose them....and you go ahead and try to delete your 2002 website, won't work buddy everything ever posted on the WWW is archived forever whether you delete the domain or not...the internet erases nothing it will turn back up. Make it easy speak the Truth from Day One

In some countries the Government filter the internet and the people see what they want them to see....is that your plan PM?

While on the election campaign, back in 2002, Mr. Christie was very vocal about his opposition to the FNM's proposed referendum to the Constitution. The referendum would have eliminated the current discrimination affecting the spouses of Bahamian women. After the referendum was defeated at the polls, Mr. Christie promised, that if he were elected, he would immediately address the problem. He said he would appoint a "special" commission that would review the Constitution and propose the changes necessary, to ensure that our flawed constitution would be brought into compliance with a UN Convention on the non-discrimination against women, which the Bahamas signed way back in the early 1990's. Well, after the election, the PM did appoint the special commission, but it was comprised of political cronies and headed by the very man who installed the discriminatory verbiage in the original document.
Needless to say, nothing has ever been done, and the discrimination continues to this day.

The 2002 referendum was defeated by the PLP's. I have a feeling that this so-called new referendum on Bahamian women rights will be defeated by the Bahamian people, because nobody likes to be made a fool.

it has became crystal clear to me ,you don,t win an election here on facts , productivity ,or integrity .you win an election on xenophobia and emotion ..the PLPS main campaign from the 80 ,s on has been ,whitey bad ,whitey bad he ga trick us and take everthing from us ,but we are special even annointed special by God ..once you convince the less educated masses of this you can then rob them blind ....

The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), adopted in 1979 by the UN General Assembly, is often described as an international bill of rights for women. It defines what constitutes discrimination against women and sets up an agenda for national action to end such discrimination.
“Under the present constitution, the way in which Bahamian citizenship is conferred on the spouses and children of Bahamian women, is, to say the least, irregular. The wives of Bahamian men are entitled to Bahamian citizenship; the husbands of Bahamian women are not granted any such entitlement and have to apply for citizenship like any other would-be immigrant. Similarly, the children of Bahamian men, whether born in the Bahamas or not, are Bahamians at birth; the children of Bahamian women have a far more complex fate. If a woman is unmarried, and has a child outside the Bahamas, her child is born Bahamian. But if she is married to a non-Bahamian, and gives birth outside the country, that child is merely entitled to apply for citizenship between the ages of eighteen and twenty-one, and may be refused. If offered citizenship, the child is then forced to renounce any other citizenship in order to receive Bahamian status.”
Source: Nicolette Bethel , Engendering The Bahamas: A Gendered Examination of Bahamian Nation Making, or National Identity and Gender in the Bahamian Context, *International Journal of Bahamian Studies*

The Bahamas’ response to CEDAW: "The Government of the Commonwealth of the Bahamas does not consider itself bound by the provisions of article 2(a), ... article 9, paragraph 2, ... article 16(h), ... [and] article 29, paragraph 1, of the Convention." *The sections contravene our constitution.*

The Bahamas made three reports: 5 November 1994; 5 November 1998; and 5 November 2002
Source: http://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/cedaw/

The referendum concerning the items was held in 27 February 2002.
Question 1: The removal of gender discrimination from the constitution
Vote: 34% for and 66% against.

THE BAHAMAS GOVERNMENT'S RESERVATIONS
"The Government of the Commonwealth of the Bahamas does not consider itself bound by the provisions of
*article 2(a)*
States Parties condemn discrimination against women in all its forms, agree to pursue by all appropriate means and without delay a policy of eliminating discrimination against women and, to this end:
(a) To embody the principle of the equality of men and women in their national constitutions or other appropriate legislation if not yet incorporated therein and to ensure, through law and other appropriate means, the practical realization of this principle;

*article 9, paragraph 2*
2. States Parties shall grant women equal rights with men with respect to the nationality of their children.

*article 16(h)*
States Parties shall take all appropriate measures to eliminate discrimination against women in all matters relating to marriage and family relations and in particular shall ensure, on a basis of equality of men and women:
h) The same rights for both spouses in respect of the ownership, acquisition, management, administration, enjoyment and disposition of property, whether free of charge or for a valuable consideration.

*article 29, paragraph 1*
.Any dispute between two or more States Parties concerning the interpretation or application of the present Convention which is not settled by negotiation shall, at the request of one of them, be submitted to arbitration. If within six months from the date of the request for arbitration the parties are unable to agree on the organization of the arbitration, any one of those parties may refer the dispute to the International Court of Justice by request in conformity with the Statute of the Court.

http://tribune242.com/users/photos/2012…

Here is quote from a 2002 Fred Mitchell speech in Fox Hill, which he posted the transcription of on his own website.....

"Ladies and gentlemen, it is important for you to turn up to your respective polling stations and to vote ‘NO’. You must vote ‘NO’ to all five questions. I am like the Honourable Arthur D. Hanna in that regard. I don’t need to know the facts. I just need to know where to vote ‘NO’. "

I would assume at this exact moment the crowd went wild and began uncontrollable chants of "PLP ALLLLL THE WAY!!! And A Fresh Wind is Blowing!!! Cuz the "New" PLP 2002 is here!!!"

And the people voted all the way!

Not to be confused with the New New PLP, PLP 2.0, nor PLP 2030....I miss any?

what a great way for fly away to quote A D Hanna ,i don,t need to know the facts .i just need to know where to vote no ....

Don't worry he ga pull a L. Miller and say he was takin out of context

z

I am a Bahamian woman married 24 years to a non-Bahamian, with two daughters born here at Doctors Hospital. What annoys me most about this foolishness is why we females even have to go through this anyway. What were these writers of our constitution thinking when they decided it would be fine to treat future generations this way? Think is, so many of them have foreign wives and children with two passports. Also, reading this article, a non-Bahamian wife can keep her citizenship and become a Bahamian but no mention of the same thing for my husband. Do they even know what it means to be fair and equal??

I am so happy I wasn't the only one that noticed that. The Minister talks about eliminating one form of discrimination against females whilst in the same breath highlighting another with no indication to address it. Will the double standards ever end????

can u believe in 2012 there still pulling this nonsense ,and with people that live alternative life styles in there ranks they should be againts all forms of discimmination /////

Hi SansSouci,
I came across your comment. I am with a women's rights organization in the US called Equality Now. We are very concerned about these sex discriminatory nationality provisions and have been studying the issue closely, and we would really like to be able to speak to someone such as yourself who has personally experienced the effects of this. If you would like to share your story so that we can use it to help illustrate the effects of these laws in our advocacy efforts to get these laws changed, it would be very helpful! You can email me at Mibars@equalitynow.org. Thanks!

IN the words of the DELIVERY BOY the grand duke"history will prove that i was right about the 2002 referendum" the greatest loosers of that day was and still is,is bahamian woman.then mel griffin,glenis hanna,allison maynard,and their plp women compadres all sat dumbstruct idly by and allowed paul adderley, bishop gomez,philipa russel,steve mckinie and the rest of the plp machinery to succeed in destroying what was a most oppertune moment in time for bahamian women.they all ought too hang their heads in public disgrace.the naked truth is that bahamian women have only themselves to blame.they were set back 10 years and still counting.where is the strong,commited,intelligent bahamian women that we hear so much bragging about? why do she surrender her advancement and intreast into the hands of fred mitchel,political prostitute extrodinere?are she admitting that he can speak for and achieve for her what she refuse too demand and posess by her own networking?. who is fooling who?

Well said. Griffin, Hanna-Martin, Maynard-Gibson, Mother Pratt and many others should be ashamed of themselves today but seriously they have no shame and I have no respect for them. These PLP's women allowed sexist-racist men like Paul Adderley, Brady Roberts, Fred Mitchell, and the former Anglican bishop to demean and berate their gender by telling Bahamian women to keep your clothes on.

This story alone should indicate to us that politicians lack integrity! Well, by damn! So in 2002 Bahamian women weren't being discriminated against by the Constitution, hey? I suppose this is what we the collective get when we fail to accept responsibility for ourselves and solely rely on politicians to guide and direct us!

The moral lack of responsibility towards our leaders and the total hypocrisy of our Christians values continue to be setback for the Bahamian people. Whether it a health or social or civil or moral issues, we seek guidance and direction from unscrupulous politicians and religious leaders not from the Most High.

to my friend mynameis..papa put it to a vote ,we had the chance and the plp rattled that old schackles and chain rethoric and the people ran and voted to shackle themselves and their women again .........2002

Not one word from the infamous Tal Russel.......

I find it odd that NONE of the daily papers are calling the PLP out about this referendum and making them explain why now and not 10 years ago.

Why are they not being confronted by our Press by words they said in 2002? Why are our papers allowing the government to bamboozle the people without question?