Dialogue Fiji has rejected claims made by Fijian jurist and lawyer Imrana Jalal that its upcoming national discussion on Fiji's Constitution Review features an all-male panel, describing the remarks as grossly unfair, misleading and defamatory.
This comes as Jalal posted on her social media criticising the composition of the panel, saying the panel included five men and only one woman, whose participation was still to be confirmed.
Jalal wrote that organisations such as the World Bank and ADB no longer allow all male panels and noted that Professor Jeffrey Sachs refuses to participate in them.
She says a minimum of one third women should be the standard and called it “a manel that excludes representation of half of Fiji”, adding “so much for dialogue”.
In a statement, Dialogue Fiji says Jalal’s comments on social media criticising the organisation for allegedly excluding women from the panel were entirely untrue and demonstrably misleading.
Dialogue Fiji stated that eight women, including prominent academics, lawyers, and civil society leaders, were invited to join the discussion, where two did not respond, one declined, and five indicated they were unavailable on the scheduled date despite follow-up emails and phone calls.
They stated that the level of effort put into securing female participation was greater than that for any of the male panellists.
Dialogue Fiji’s Executive Director, Nilesh Lal, defended the organisation’s record of promoting inclusivity and facilitating national debate.
Lal says the upcoming panel discussion aimed to provide a platform for citizens and stakeholders to exchange ideas on how Fiji’s constitutional review process could be legitimate, inclusive, and reflective of the people’s will.
He adds that it was deeply regrettable that Jalal chose not to ascertain these facts and instead malign the reputation of an organisation that has, for over a decade, provided a neutral and credible platform for open, inclusive, and constructive dialogue on issues of national importance.
