Minister for Education Premila Kumar says the recent comments by Fiji Women’s Crisis Centre Coordinator Shamima Ali regarding the recent brawl between students at the Suva City Bus Stand are disgusting and patently ridiculous.
Ali in a recent Fiji Times article had said children were manifesting what is going on in the country and she is not surprised at all – it is the state of the nation.
Ali also said there is no dialogue or consultation – beginning with the very people the country is supposed to look up to.
She further said it is very well for Kumar to say that it is everyone’s responsibility.
She added ‘Madam, you need to set the example by showing us how to resolve issues in an amicable manner and how to work in bipartisanship in Parliament.”
While responding to these comments, Premila Kumar says it is an utter shame that the FWCC Coordinator has decided to use children as a political football in her feeble attempts to denigrate Government when all else fails.
She says her modus operandi has become so obvious and one wonders whether the Coordinator runs an NGO or a political party.
The Minister further says if one were to give any credence to her twisted logic, one could also simply deduce that the surge in domestic violence in this country is also a reflection of the failure of the FWCC given that the NGO has been at it for decades now.
She says instead of fighting to protect women, Ali seems to have made it her mission to solely focus on making political attacks against the Government, even when children fight.
Kumar says donors to the FWCC are being misled into giving funding for what appears to be a political campaign.
She further says there are many vulnerable girls and women who are in dire need of help and to use donor funds for political advocacy is a grave disservice.
Kumar highlighted one good example was the recent ‘Sex for Grades’ saga at the University of the South Pacific which was highlighted by the media, shocking the entire community.
She says they noticed Ali dodged questions by a youth group and did not respond to them and yet, she wants to talk to the Ministry about bipartisanship and consultations.
Kumar says since the FWCC is an organisation that should be protecting young women, there were high expectations of a large outcry against the exploitation of young girls, and demands for the young girls to be protected from exploitation, but instead, the FWCC seems to only be interested in politics.
She adds she was baffled by Ali’s wildly off-the-mark comments, as one would think that Ali would have a better and more nuanced understanding of why such brawls occur.
Kumar also says all right-thinking people know that addressing domestic violence is the responsibility of society as a whole, not just that of NGOs, and not just of the State and similarly, it is expected that Ali should also have the common sense to know that you cannot assign blame for unruly behaviour on the part of our children to the state of the nation.
The Minister says it is an incredibly ridiculous and misleading thing for her to say that it is the state of the nation, that children are manifesting what is going on in the country’ as if fights between students are a recent phenomenon.
Kumar states everyone, including parents, know that similar incidents have been occurring for decades and to blatantly politicise a brawl between students is incredibly irresponsible and shifts the blame from the actual reasons for this kind of violence.
She says children and young adults are still developing and often lack the ability to resolve conflicts without violence - peaceable conflict resolution is a part of the morals and values that parents and guardians, as well as faith-based organisations, should be instilling in children, in addition to what is taught by teachers at school.
She stresses that they also know that students who come from backgrounds where violence is present, such as homes where there is domestic violence, are especially vulnerable and may have behavioural issues.
Kumar asks, shouldn't the Coordinator of the FWCC have a better understanding of this as part of her work?
She also says studies have proven that school-aged children are deeply affected by domestic violence in their homes, which traumatises them and this may result in problems at school, including the manifestation of rebellious behaviour.
She also asks why didn’t Ali say what she and her organisation would be doing to assist and help in stemming such societal based violence, which is actually part of the work she purports to do.
The Minister says to use children to make such a blatantly political statement tells them everything they need to know about the FWCC.
She says Ali, as well as the Fiji Times, conveniently misrepresented her comment which referred to the fact that the responsibility of teaching our children proper values and to refrain from violence is not solely that of the Ministry of Education, schools, or teachers, but is also shared by parents, guardians and community leaders.
Kumar adds the Ministry has always held the position that education is an entire community effort and all parties must play their role in moulding our future generations.
She further adds she is proud that schools and teachers are doing all they can to keep students disciplined but they need everyone to play their part when children are not in school. The Ministry urges all Fijians to work together to find sustainable and viable solutions that we can all make positive contributions toward.
When contacted by fijivillage for her response to Kumar’s comments, Shamima Ali says there is no need for her to respond.
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