Introduction
The Indian Act has been criticized because of its gender bias and termination of the Indian status of an individual, therefore excluding their Aboriginal rights. The Act states that if an Indian woman marries a non-Indian man, she will lose her Indian identity, status, and treaty benefits. The Act supports gender discrimination because if an Indian man marries a non-Indian lady, he will keep all his rights, unlike their women counterparts (Bourgeois, 2015). Supporting Bill C-31 is crucial in addressing the issue of gender discrimination among Indian women. The primary aim of Bill C-31 is to amend the Indian Act and bring it in line with gender equality, as per the Canadian Charter and Freedoms. The bill is essential because it helps address gender discrimination, restore Indian status to women who have been denied by the previous provisions, and allow bands to control their membership.
Background
In the United States or Canada, for one to be recognized as Indian, he/she must comply with precise standards of government regulations, for instance, the Indian Act in the case of Canada. The Act is more than a law, and it has been controlling the aspect of Indian lives for over a century (Morden, 2016). In Canada, the Indian Act governs issues concerning the status band and Indian reserves, and it has been invasive and discriminative, especially when it comes to gender issues. The status of Indian women in Canada has been conditional and significantly depends on the man's status or the husband. Bill C-31 is, therefore, crucial because it will ensure that the Indian Act considers the rights of Indian women and grants them the right to enjoy some of the benefits that the country provides.
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Charter of Rights
With the help of Bill C-31, it would be possible to amend the Indian Act to include the charter of rights and freedoms and ensure that every individual, regardless of gender, race, and nationality, is equal before the law (Brodsky, 2016). Through the amendment, all people in the country, including women, will enjoy equal protection and other benefits without any form of gender discrimination. Supporting Bill C-31 is a step forward in addressing gender discrimination in the country and enabling women to enjoy equal rights like their male counterparts. Bill C-31 will also help the status of women by ensuring that it does not depend on that of the men giving women some sense of independence.
Indian Status Restoration
Another critical component of supporting Bill C-31 is to ensure the restoration of the status of Indian women that has been forcibly enfranchised by the previous discriminatory provisions. Without the amendment of the Indian Act, the women's status will be a problem. If the husband to the woman dies or abandoned her, the woman will lose Indian status because her status depends on that on her man the moment she accepted to marry him. Supporting the bill will play a significant role in restoring the position of Indian women by abolishing the enfranchisement of the women who have lost their status to it. The amendment will also help women establish their status that will remain permanent and would not depend on the one for their husbands. Restoring their position is also crucial because it allows a woman to enjoy her civic rights, connect with the family and community, and heritage. With the amendment of the Indian Act, all the women will be one step towards addressing gender equality because they will enjoy similar rights with men, especially about the rights of status.
Band Control Over Membership
Enabling the band to control membership is another critical reason for supporting the Bill C-31. Women experience significant challenges when it comes to band matters; for instance, if a woman marries a man from a different band, she will automatically cease to be a member of her band and instead become the member of the band of the husband (Bhandar, 2016). When a woman loses her band from the man's side due to issues such as divorce or when the man dies, she would also cease to be a member of that particular group and will no longer enjoy the rights of living in the reserved lands and access to band resources. Children of such women who lose their bands will also suffer the same fate by losing their legal Indian status and community connections.
The changes in the Indian Act will grant responsibility to the bands to develop and manage their membership. Enabling the band to determine their membership is critical in allowing them to depend on the federal resources. The process of reinstating the status will see thousands of women and men qualifying for the rights and other benefits provided for the Indian status. The separation of the Indian position and the membership will play a critical role in reducing the chances of a band denying membership to the individuals whose status has been reinstated. Changing into new ways of operating bands in the country will play a critical role in addressing the problem of gender inequality because women will enjoy the benefits of their band membership without having to depend on the status that of their husbands. The changes in how the band handles membership issues will also help women fight against gender discrimination where men have their rights fixed, unlike those of women, which changes when they get married to men from different bands.
Culture Interference
However, it is important to understand that the basis of the argument is the Indian culture. Accordind to their culture and most cultures, the woman takes on the husbands ethnicity after getting married and even taking on their husband’s ethnic name. On the other hand the Indian culture believes on a social strats system where one social class is not supposed to marry from a different social class. It seems like the Indian Act has put the aspect of culture into its legislation and, therefore, it amendment would be a demeaning move especially when the Bill C-31 goes through. Culture is an aspect of origin and identification and should be respected by foreign countries not of that origin. Therefore, the move to amend the Indian act is a spat on the Indian culture.
Raising Awareness
The Indian culture is repected hower, there are some aspects of culture that cannot fly in the modern society. Civilization has led to the evolution of culture and therefore some concepts are outdated. Women now have an equal right and should not be subjected to the whims of men in society. Raising awareness and educating people that all people regardless of gender, color, race, ethnicity, and nationality support Bill C-31. Gender discrimination has deprived women of their rights for a long time, and it is the right time to educate people on the importance of treating women and men equally. By supporting the bill, people will learn many things. For instance, the restoration of the women's status will enable people to understand the importance of granting women their status and making them independent without depending on that of their husbands (Rao, 2017). Passing the bill will also provide a lesson to other countries across the world that deny women their rights and, in one way or another, may help change their perception concerning gender discrimination.
Conclusion
Supporting Bill C-31 plays a critical in spearheading the change of the Indian Act that for an extended period have been having gender discrimination, termination of Indian status in the process excluding Aboriginal rights. With the bill's help, the country will be able to change the Act and address the issue of gender discrimination, restore Indian status, and enable the band to control its membership. Changing the Act is essential towards addressing gender discrimination because women seem to experience more challenges than men, and their status depends on that of their husbands. Supporting the bill is also essential because it will ensure the restoration of the Indian status, especially to the women that the previous provisions have forcibly taken away. The bill will also help raise awareness and educate people on the importance of treating men and women equally by ensuring that all enjoy the rights that the constitution provides them.
References
Bhandar, B. (2016). Status as Property: Identity, Land and the Dispossession of First Nations Women in Canada. darkmatter Journal , 14.
Bourgeois, R. (2015). Colonial exploitation: The Canadian state and the trafficking of Indigenous women and girls in Canada. UCLA L. Rev., 62 , 14-26.
Brodsky, G. (2016). Indian act sex discrimination: Enough inquiry already, just fix it. Canadian Journal of Women and the Law, 28(2) , 314-320.
Morden, M. (2016). Theorizing the resilience of the Indian Act. Canadian Public Administration, 59(1) , 113-133.
Rao, N. (2017). Assets, agency and legitimacy: towards a relational understanding of gender equality policy and practice. World development, 95 , 43-54.
