The Tribune

WE ARE more than surprised, in fact we are shocked at the position taken by the first Bahamian woman to serve as Chief Justice of the Bahamas (1996-2001) and President of the Bahamas Court of Appeal (2001 to 2010) on the referendum to be held on June 7 to decide whether Bahamian men and women should have equal status in our country.

We are not surprised at Dame Joan’s position on the four proposed bills. It is her right to say that if she votes at all, she will vote “no.” But to dismiss them as “a waste of time” while admitting that she has not even read them is inconceivable for a woman of her educational background.

However, that is what she has done obviously without seeing anything wrong with her admission. She left the impression that she made her statement for her lack of information with a prideful bravado.

She admits that she has not as yet seen the four questions, but would vote “no” anyway, adding that in her opinion the referendum is unnecessary.

It’s unnecessary, she told The Nassau Guardian, because “there are two provisions in the constitution that deal with discrimination. One is Article 15 and the other is Article 26, and if you read those two articles together you come away with the clear view, if you’re thinking rightly, that what that does is it prohibits the government or any arm of the government from discriminating against people on a certain basis.”

On this page today, a lawyer has written a letter refuting her claims.

“Dame Joan well knows,” said the letter writer, “that the courts of the Bahamas, up to and including the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, decided that Article 15 does not in any way secure any of the fundamental rights and freedoms including the right not to be discriminated against.

“In fact,” the lawyer continued, “Article 15 has been held by our courts to be non-justiciable, meaning no rights are derived from that article, and is in essence an introductory paragraph only. In fact, Dame Joan, writing for the Court of Appeal in Newbold et al v the Commissioner of Police and others SCCrApp 180 /2008, recognised that no rights were derived from Article 15.”

Our readers should read the lawyer’s letter for themselves to follow the argument, which disagrees with Dame Joan’s premise as stated in The Guardian.

But for the sake of argument, let us say that her premise that relief against discrimination is covered in the Constitution. At the snail’s pace at which our courts move — they urgently need a major overhaul — litigants will end up like Jarndyce v Jarndyce in Charles Dicken’s “Bleak House”. By the time their case has droned to an end, there will be nothing left to discuss because the litigants will have long since gone to their graves. And the Bahamians most affected by this unequal status are among the less fortunate who do not have the finances to fight for their rights. That is why we agree that the equality rights should be clearly enshrined in our constitution and be beyond dispute. This is the importance of the four bills on which Bahamians are being asked to vote on June 7.

Vicious PLP politics wrecked the first referendum in 2002. Don’t let June 7 be a repeat performance. We know that Bahamians have reached the end of their rope with their politicians, but don’t let your anger destroy the future of your families. Unlike Dame Joan, read the proposed Bills, try to understand them, and then act with wisdom, not blind emotion.

Said Dame Joan: “When you’re dealing with laws and laws so fundamental as constitutional law, you must take time to think things through and what I have seen in the debate leading up to this is a bunch of hot air and emotionalism and no thinking things through.

“So I would not support anything like that and all the brainwashing and things that are going on on television saying women are treated differently from men, that’s a conclusion based on what fact?

“And if we are treated differently, how are we treated differently?” she asked.

With Dame Joan seemingly so removed from the suffering of so many families in this community, The Tribune has decided to reprint cases of how many of our fellow Bahamians — women and children — suffered at the hands of heartless politicians – and, despite what Dame Joan now maintains, had no law to protect them.

That is what June 7th is all about — equality for all of our citizens - men, women and children.

We shall probably introduce the series with an article we wrote on April 24, 1997. Headed “A family tormented by the PLP”. The opening paragraphs read:

“The front door flew open. A woman ran into the road and headed for the graveyard.

“‘Frank it’s over! It’s finished, Frank, it is really finished,’ she screamed. She laughed. She cried, and she screamed some more. For her, it was a joyous moment.

“Neighbours opened their doors and looked out to see what had happened.

“Mrs Drucilla Higgs of Mathew Town, Inagua, had gone to her husband Frank’s graveside to share her good news with him. It was March 14 and ZNS had just announced the results of the general election.

“The FNM had won 34 seats. Mrs Higgs did not wait to hear the PLP’s results. Instead she was off to tell her Frank the good news…”

Mrs Drucilla Higgs was a strong woman. Hers was a brave, but sad story. There were many such stories. We shall try to reprint as many as possible to inform persons like Dame Joan of how many in our community suffered while they slept in self satisfied ignorance.

This is what June 7th is all about. We hope that Bahamians will first inform themselves and then get out and vote their conscience.