Women lobby parliament on key laws

WOMEN and schoolgirls, representing more than 15 civil society organisations, took advantage of International Women’s Day yesterday to march to parliament and voice their concerns over two key pieces of legislation being debated in the National Assembly.

Chanting ‘We want everything and we want it now’, and waving placards reading ‘Who is the best parent?’ and ‘No dual custody’, the campaigners demanded that the Children’s Status Bill, which aims to provide for the equal treatment of all children, irrespective of their parents’ marital status, be referred to a parliamentary committee to allow for public input. The activists said not all provisions of the Bill, which is also aimed at securing a better deal for children’s whose parents and guardians have died, are in the best interests of the child.In fact, they claimed, some of the provisions on access, custody and guardianship of a child could endanger the lives of children especially in a country where domestic violence was rampant.In a petition handed over to the Secretary of the National Assembly, Moses Ndjarakana, the women also take issue with provisions related to discrimination in a new Labour Bill, set to replace the current Labour Act.The proposed legislation does not specifically outlaw HIV status and pregnancy as grounds of discrimination for employment.Furthermore, campaigners say the Bill does not take a strong enough stance against sexual harassment and says mere mention that it should not be tolerated is not enough.They have called for a special section to be devoted to dealing with this issue.Carrying posters reading ‘You’ve never seen your child but you have custody’ and ‘Can a murderer raise my child?’, as they marched down Independence Avenue, the campaigners were clear in their opposition to parents’ automatic right to joint custody on the child’s seventh birthday as provided for in the Children’s Status Bill.They said while both parents had the right to access to the child, the situation of the unmarried parents had to be taken into account when considering custody and guardianship.They demanded that the Bill be amended to make provision for a father to apply for custody at any stage.Should a mother contest the application, the courts would have to decide whether to allow joint custody.The women’s rights campaigners also disagreed with awarding equal guardianship to parents of children born outside of marriage.They believe that sole guardianship should be awarded in accordance with custody, unless the courts decide otherwise.Such a provision would give decision-making power to the parent who has the most contact with the child.Another concern is the Bill’s position on the custody of a child whose parent has died.According to the proposed legislation, the sole custody of such a child would rest with his or her surviving parent, even if this parent was previously denied custody by the courts.While acknowledging that the surviving parent can potentially be a good parent, activists fear for instances where this is not the case.They propose that a Commissioner for Child Welfare appoint a guardian if none is named in a will.Pushing for gender equality in all spheres of society, activists yesterday also urged for a revision of the new labour legislation.While the Bill requires that the Labour Advisory Council balance representation from Government, trade union and employer organisations, there is no requirement for balanced representation of women and men – a situation activists say is necessary to ensure that all labour matters are dealt with in a gender-sensitive fashion.Accepting the petitions on behalf of the Speaker and Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly, Ndjarakana encouraged the campaigners to make use of all avenues available to them to make their voices heard.”We appreciate your right to exercise what you just did, to petition your elected leaders.Don’t stop here.This is your place, you are welcome,” he said.The activists said not all provisions of the Bill, which is also aimed at securing a better deal for children’s whose parents and guardians have died, are in the best interests of the child.In fact, they claimed, some of the provisions on access, custody and guardianship of a child could endanger the lives of children especially in a country where domestic violence was rampant.In a petition handed over to the Secretary of the National Assembly, Moses Ndjarakana, the women also take issue with provisions related to discrimination in a new Labour Bill, set to replace the current Labour Act.The proposed legislation does not specifically outlaw HIV status and pregnancy as grounds of discrimination for employment.Furthermore, campaigners say the Bill does not take a strong enough stance against sexual harassment and says mere mention that it should not be tolerated is not enough.They have called for a special section to be devoted to dealing with this issue.Carrying posters reading ‘You’ve never seen your child but you have custody’ and ‘Can a murderer raise my child?’, as they marched down Independence Avenue, the campaigners were clear in their opposition to parents’ automatic right to joint custody on the child’s seventh birthday as provided for in the Children’s Status Bill.They said while both parents had the right to access to the child, the situation of the unmarried parents had to be taken into account when considering custody and guardianship.They demanded that the Bill be amended to make provision for a father to apply for custody at any stage.Should a mother contest the application, the courts would have to decide whether to allow joint custody.The women’s rights campaigners also disagreed with awarding equal guardianship to parents of children born outside of marriage.They believe that sole guardianship should be awarded in accordance with custody, unless the courts decide otherwise.Such a provision would give decision-making power to the parent who has the most contact with the child.Another concern is the Bill’s position on the custody of a child whose parent has died.According to the proposed legislation, the sole custody of such a child would rest with his or her surviving parent, even if this parent was previously denied custody by the courts.While acknowledging that the surviving parent can potentially be a good parent, activists fear for instances where this is not the case.They propose that a Commissioner for Child Welfare appoint a guardian if none is named in a will.Pushing for gender equality in all spheres of society, activists yesterday also urged for a revision of the new labour legislation.While the Bill requires that the Labour Advisory Council balance representation from Government, trade union and employer organisations, there is no requirement for balanced representation of women and men – a situation activists say is necessary to ensure that all labour matters are dealt with in a gender-sensitive fashion.Accepting the petitions on behalf of the Speaker and Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly, Ndjarakana encouraged the campaigners to make use of all avenues available to them to make their voices heard.”We appreciate your right to exercise what you just did, to petition your elected leaders.Don’t stop here.This is your place, you are welcome,” he said.