By NICO SCAVELLA
Tribune Staff Reporter
nscavella@tribunemedia.net
A local pastor has called for Bahamians to support the upcoming referendum on gender equality, saying that the “patriarchal old-world mindset of man rule” in Bahamian society must change in order to “level the playing field” for both genders in the country.
Elder Paul Joseph, a community activist based in Grand Bahama, lamented the division in the country on the constitutional referendum, asserting that all stakeholders must “come together on one accord to remove and pull down all gender-based barriers for the national good.”
This, Elder Joseph said, is especially important due to women and children in this country continuously being “minimised and overlooked” as victims of crime.
Elder Joseph’s statements come amid a fierce debate over the four Constitutional Amendment Bills, with widespread fears that the fourth bill, which seeks to end discrimination based on sex, could pave the way to same-sex marriage in the country.
Concerns have also been raised from some pastors over whether or not government officials are deceiving people about the true intent of the referendum.
Government officials and organisers of the YES Bahamas campaign have pushed back against those narratives however, stressing that the upcoming vote is about equal rights for men and women in the Constitution.
“While the nation prepares for a June 7 gender equality referendum that would level the playing field with respect to equality between men and women, and remove inequality and discrimination on the basis of sex, our women and children are minimised and overlooked as victims in the war on crime,” Elder Joseph said in a statement.
He added: “The patriarchal old-world mindset of man rule in Bahamian society must change if we are going to truly save our Bahamas. All stakeholders must come together on one accord to remove and pull down all gender based barriers for the national good.”
Under the first Constitutional Amendment Bill, a child born outside of The Bahamas would become a Bahamian citizen at birth if either the child’s mother or father is a citizen of The Bahamas by birth.
The second bill would give the foreign spouse of a Bahamian woman the same right to apply for citizenship that the foreign wife of a Bahamian man enjoys.
The third bill would allow a Bahamian father of a child born out of wedlock to be able to pass his citizenship to that child subject to legal proof that he is the father. The fourth bill seeks to end discrimination based on sex.
The gender equality referendum will be held on June 7.
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SEEKJESUSPLEASE 8 years, 5 months ago
well written:
BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, December 14, 2015 (LifeSiteNews) – Christians in many Caribbean territories being pressured by developed countries and international agencies to normalize homosexuality are joining in prayer and sharing resources to defend family values and Bible-taught sexual mores.
In a shrewd appeal to nationalist sentiment as well as biblical truth, Barbadian sociologist Veronica Evelyn told a rally of approximately 6,000 islanders gathered at Bridgetown's Bay Street Esplanade on November 22, "A handful of wealthy nations in North America and Europe have decided to turn the world upside-down, to deconstruct society with new, ungodly versions of family and marriage." The rally was an attempt to mobilize Christian churches to become actively involved in public affairs, including sexual rights issues.
Dr. Evelyn, a key organizer of the event, warned, "Today, family, faith and freedom are under severe and persistent attack in Barbados, the entire Caribbean, and across the world."
Citing President Obama, who at his second inauguration likened the struggle for LGBT rights to the struggles of blacks to attain equality, Dr. Evelyn objected strongly to the notion. "How can a moral wrong ever become a civil right?"
Across the Caribbean, the message is being delivered by developed countries and international agencies, she said, that the region's island nations must conform to the new morality.
In May, the Barbados Ministry of Industry, International Business, Commerce and Small Business Development collaborated with the Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network to invite a same-sex couple to conduct a week-long training to sensitize police, military, prison officers, and others to LGBT issues. At the end of the week, the collaborating parties hosted a public panel discussion on the topic "How Gay is Too Gay and should they be Invisible?" The moderator of that discussion ruled faith-based questions out of bounds.
The point of all this effort, Dr. Evelyn told the crowd, is the repeal of Barbados's anti-sodomy laws, which criminalize anal penetration. But it is socially lethal to normalize what is against the law of God, she argues. "When human governments collaborate to usurp the authority of God and to make His laws void, it is time to defend family, faith, and freedom. As a church, we must focus on being God's ambassadors, the salt that will preserve our country from legalizing mass sexual confusion, and the light that will guide the way towards building strong families and a strong nation."
Warning that they would be called "homophobic ... haters, bigots; intolerant, discriminatory," Dr. Evelyn urged the crowd to return this hostility with love and openness to dialogue. At stake, she said, is the moral and physical health of their country, their children and grandchildren.
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