Glenys Hanna Martin has done it. Twice.
She did not get permission to do it, throwing tradition to the wind, wearing stylish pants suits to the House of Assembly in recent weeks.
Asked last week about her new move, she joked that she hadn’t gotten arrested yet.
Minister HannaMartin is the only female member of the new government to defy the practice of female legislators wearing dark skirts and dresses to parliament.
“I think women in parliament should be given the opportunity to wear pants,” Minister Hanna Martin said. “I see no harm in doing this.”
Her move to leave her skirts out of the House has not gone unnoticed.
Walking from her seat, her male counterparts have pointed to her bold move. While teasing, they remained tasteful and respectful.
Other female Parliamentarians are campaigning to change the practice of the legislature, to break with tradition, as the Transport and Aviation Minister has been doing.
Progressive Liberal Party Senator Cyprianna McWeeney raised the issue last month at the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association Seminar during a session on Women In Parliament.
Senator McWeeney believes that the practice started by Minister Hanna Martin would soon become widespread.
She said she and other senators have asked Senate President Sharon Wilson to give female legislators her stamp of approval as far as a change in wardrobe goes.
“I believe that she will agree with us,” Senator McWeeney said. “This is the 21st century and pants are quite acceptable. Women are wearing them everywhere.”
There is no particular parliamentary rule prohibiting women from wearing pants in parliament, Chief Clerk in the House of Assembly Maurice Tynes pointed out.
“It’s just an old tradition that no one ever thought to change,” Mr. Tynes said. “But if the women in parliament want to change it they should present their views to the Speaker.”
When Parliament opened on May 22, 2002, eight female Members of Parliament were sworn in, becoming the largest group of female MP’s to attain such an honour at any one time in the history of the 273-year-old Parliament.
This year marks the 41st anniversary of women gaining the right to vote in elections in the Bahamas. They voted for the first time in the elections of November, 1962.
By Yvette Rolle-Major, The Bahama Journal
