Rural women have been at the front lines of responding to COVID-19 pandemic - Vuniwaqa

Whether it is unpaid care and domestic work, working on farms, land and natural resource management, building climate resilience, selling at the market or fishing - rural women have been at the front lines of responding to COVID-19 pandemic and in any other crisis for that matter.

Minister for Women, Children and Poverty Alleviation, Mereseini Vuniwaqa stressed this today while handing over $4,000 worth of kitchen utensils under the Small Grant Scheme to the members of the Lokia Women’s Group in Rewa.

Vuniwaqa says rural women, having toiled under circumstances of stereotypes for centuries owe it to themselves to embrace how they can be effective actors of development within their homes and the society.

She says Fijian families need to support the girls within their homes in making strong-minded, progressive and passionate women who can influence greater positive changes for Fiji or themselves and those around them.

Vuniwaqa says women’s roles have expanded from being home makers to being the force behind the evolution of our societies and today, they have the highest number of women in Parliament in Fiji’s democratic history and they have more women graduating from tertiary institutions than men.

Vuniwaqa says there is no better way to commemorate International Rural Women’s Day than to give women some tools of empowerment to generate income and become self-reliant.

Close to 157 people live in Lokia village.

Vuniwaqa says the women’s group which has 86 members is usually entrusted to cater for the large community gatherings and they faced difficulties in raising funds to purchase proper kitchen utensils with no consistent flow of income for the members of the women’s group.

She says the assistance will also equip this group to diversify their income-generating methods and be economically independent to support their families.

The Minister for Women says this year on International Rural Women’s day, the spotlight is on the urgent need for building rural women’s resilience in the wake of COVID-19.