Minister for Women, Children and Poverty Alleviation, Mereseini Vuniwaqa says Fiji has made huge strides in the area of women’s development and gender equality.
However she says the harsh reality is that Fijian women are still faced with great violations of their human rights; especially in the form of gender based violence.
Vuniwaqa highlighted this in a message for Women’s Equality Day and says that this will remain an area of priority for Government so that they can fully realize the essence of Women’s Equality Day.
She says there is a reason to celebrate with Fijian women achieving great levels of educational attainment and breaking barriers in formal sector employment, parliamentary representation and entrepreneurship.
Vuniwaqa says the Fijian government has mechanisms in place in the form of laws, international obligations, local policies and government led programs to achieve gender equality and for the empowerment of women.
She says the 2013 Constitution guarantees equal rights to all Fijians and being the supreme law of the land means every Fijian can enjoy the same rights and opportunities without any discrimination.
She says this will need the participation and commitment from everyone to break the silence on violence against women so that women can fully enjoy their human rights as they deserve to.
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