The Tribune

By SANCHESKA BROWN Tribune Staff Reporter sbrown@tribunemedia.net PRIME Minister Hubert Ingraham said it is the government's honour and duty to ensure all women in the Bahamas have the same opportunities as men. Speaking at his luncheon with the nine FNM females candidates to mark International Women's Day (IWD), Mr Ingraham said while the Bahamas has come a long way in terms of women's rights, there is still a long way to go. "I have always believed that women should be equal to men in all aspects. "In fact, quite frankly when we are born in this world we have roughly an equal number of males and females and there ought to be no discrimination against women in any form whatsoever. "In government and in politics I have sought to advance the cause. We still have a couple challenges to overcome but we have made tremendous progress over the years," he said. "I want to say to my female candidates that we fully expect to advance the cause of women further in the Bahamas and eventually there will be no difference in law or the constitution between a male or a female. "I can't comprehend why my son should have an advantage over my daughter. That is totally unacceptable. "I can't comprehend why a married woman is discriminated against and a single woman is not when it comes to the passing of their nationality and for as long as I am in public life, I will ensure the Bahamas is full of equality between the sexes." Minister of State for Social Services, Loretta Butler Turner, echoed the Prime Minister's remarks. "In terms of the furtherance of women and their rights, we still have inequalities and things we have to achieve. We have great inequalities even when it comes to pay and when it comes to males and females and so I think that all those matters need to be addressed," she said. "As a married woman, if I had had my child outside this country to a foreign man I couldn't pass citizenship on to my child and that is a huge disadvantage for Bahamian women. So we are basically second-class citizens in our own country when you look at the rights of men." International Women's Day, originally called International Working Women's Day, is marked on March 8 every year.