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Last Updated: Feb 6, 2017 - 2:32:04 PM |
The Bahamas makes first appearance before Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
By The Bahamas Weekly News Team
Aug 31, 2012 - 2:03:13 PM
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The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women 52nd session took place from 9 to 27 July 2012 in New York at the United Nations Headquarter. This was the first appearance of The Bahamas before the Committee.
Mel O'Brien of the School of Human Rights Research in Netherlands, who writes for the Invisible College Blog had this to report on the 52nd session:
"As was a running theme with other states, with regards to women in politics and leadership, there seemed to be both a lack of understanding of what temporary special measures are and an unwillingness to apply them. Like previous states in the session, the Bahamas declared there is no need for special measures, a decision that was even declared by the Bahamas Court of Appeal. The Bahamas argued that there are ‘no barriers of advancement of women’ in the country, and that the small percentage of women elected to parliament in May 2012 does not demonstrate the fact that 16.5% of candidates were women. However, this is a very low percentage compared to the fact that over 18,000 more women than men are registered to vote. This demonstrates a real interest in politics by Bahamian women, and a need for programs that encourage women to participate in politics.
Also of issue to the Committee were the reservations that the Bahamas maintains for certain CEDAW provisions, namely Article 2(a) which obligates embodiment of ‘the principle of the equality of men and women' in the Constitution; and Article 9 concerning the granting of women equal rights with men to acquire, change or retain their nationality. The Committee had previously requested the Bahamas to remove their reservation to Article 2(a), but no steps have been taken to do this. Only the reservation for Article 16(h) (regarding equal rights for spouses in respect of property) has been withdrawn. The Committee emphasised that any reservation to Article 2(a) is contrary to the object and purpose of the Convention.
The reservation to Article 9 is due to the fact that the Bahamas has discriminatory provisions relating to the granting of nationality. A Bahamian man can transfer his nationality to his foreign spouse, but a Bahamian woman cannot do the same. The woman’s spouse has to wait 5 years to apply for citizenship. A Bahamian father can transfer his nationality to a child born abroad, but a mother cannot. Thus, a child with a Bahamian mother born abroad has to wait until they are 18 to apply for Bahamian citizenship. The Committee was particularly concerned about these discriminatory provisions, and urged the delegation to change legislation and remove the reservation to Article 9.
Another significant concern to the Committee was the fact that marital rape is not a criminal offence in the Bahamas. A bill to criminalise marital rape was drafted, but was not discussed by parliamentarians. According to the delegation, the public voiced concerns about the bill, and thus the government did not proceed with the legislation. The public objection was based on the fact that because of the importance of marriage and family life in Bahamian culture, people didn’t believe that rape in marriage existed. Thus it was clear to the Committee that the Bahamian government needs to make a concerted effort to alter the perceptions of the people, to reinforce that marital rape does indeed occur. "
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Related:
Bahamas submits report to UN committee on elimination of discrimination against women
© Copyright 2012 by thebahamasweekly.com
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