The Fiji Women’s Crisis Centre says inequality, the climate emergency, COVID-19 and the rise of exclusionary politics have further exacerbated our vulnerability as a nation to address the serious violations of women’s human rights.
In her message to mark International Women’s Day today, Fiji Women’s Crisis Centre Coordinator Shamima Ali says we must continue the collective action to demand for accountability for crimes against women and girls in the country.
She says while our progress towards gender equality is still lagging, we need to scale up our public services to meet women’s rights and increase women’s participation at all levels.
Ali says violence against women and girls continue to increase and anecdotal evidence show this is because of the patriarchal society that we live in.
She says we have a very patriarchal society that’s underpinned by religious and cultural attitudes towards women and their place in our communities.
Ali says this is further exacerbated by lack of political will on the part of government to commit to the issue of eliminating violence against women and girls.
She says we have poor law enforcement, particularly around the area of gender-based violence.
Ali says while we have good legislation and protection orders in place, we are not doing well at the implementation level.
She says gender neutral laws and programs that are not rights based often act as a backlash for women and programs that are not rights based do not address the root cause of violence against women which is gender inequality.
Ali says we have the General Elections next year and more women need to contest the polls.
She says the status quo needs to be challenged and we must demand for inclusion to create an enabling environment, address inequalities, educate our women and girls and amplify their voices.
Ali says there are many women leaders in the world, in the Pacific and in Fiji and from her experience, effective women leaders are feminists who do not just accept the status quo.
She says feminist leadership challenges patriarchy, is fearless, is compassionate and leads with humanity, kindness and firmness.
Ali says while International Women's Day is an opportunity to celebrate the achievements of women, we must not lose sight of the struggles ahead.
She also stressed that as a precautionary measure and practicing social responsibility around COVID-19, the annual Reclaim the Night march which has become an event synonymous with International Women’s Day in Fiji has been cancelled.
The Fiji Women’s Crisis Centre will be holding a candle light vigil for a small number of people at its Suva office this evening.
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