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Sent: Monday, December 13, 2010 10:00 AM
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Subject: Pacific Islands - Community Radio - Women Voice Issues for Rights
WUNRN
10
December, 2010
Labasa, Fiji Islands
PACIFIC ISLANDS - COMMUNITY RADIO
PROVIDES FORUM FOR WOMEN TO
VOICE ISSUES, A PLATFORM
FOR RIGHTS & EQUALITY - NETWORKING
Economic
security includong the availability of safe and secure employment, health
security, personal security through access to justice and law and order, and
community security through access to land, topped the Women, Peace and Human
Security agenda at a consultation convened by Femlinkpacific in Labasa today,
to commemorate World Human Rights Day.
Local women leaders who have been participating in the 16 Days of Community
Radio Campaign travelled from as far Tawake Village which is 120km away from
Labasa town to be part of today's consultation. The participants from Mali
Island travelled almost an hour. First they took a 30 minute boat ride and then
a 20 minute bus ride to join other participants from Naleba, Vunicuicui, Bua
and Dogoru.
Speaking in a radio programme produced for the final day of the 16 Days
Community Radio Campaign (tomorrow) they brought the stories of how realising
the human rights commitments to gender equality, is also about ensuring women
have the platform and the means to enjoy these rights, to define development,
and to address some of the root causes of conflict.
Unaisi Dogunu from Tawake Village, access to quality health
services, lack of job opportunities for women and the lack of community
police posts in the rural areas are some of the most common issues faced by
women from the different communities: “Nurses are not interested to be
transferred to our village because they live in the dispensary clinics and when
patients get admitted, the nurses have to find another place to live. We need
better clinics, to improve the quality of health care provided to us. Also our
group member from Vunicuicui has raised the issue of the non availability of
community police post in their area, as there is a lot of crime in their area
by youth and the town police post is very far from their community."
Adi Makitalena who this year has assisted in the establishment of a multiracial
women's forum in Naleba agreed adding that the rate of unemployment in Labasa
is a major concern for many of the women at the consultation today: “Our main
concern is lack of jobs and this gives rise to other problems such as poor
education for children, no food on the table for family and financial
problems,” she said.
She added that women also would like to be able to access land and also be
consulted and involved in land management issues so that they can also get
directly involved in agriculture production, which would also enable food
security at the family level: “(Currently) there is no assistance for land for
the community and we can’t plant any food crops because of the land issue. We
also need the prices of the food items to go down as there is a lack of jobs in
our communities, especially for women and we need it to happen now!” said Adi
Makitalena as she made this call on behalf of the rural women from the
communities in Labasa.
As a community leader, she is keen to see women mobilizing together to become
stronger advocates for their peace and security, to define the type of
development they would like: “(These) issues (of concern) have been here for a
long time and we will keep raising these issues and concerns until proper
authorities take action and I am calling on other women in the community to
join us or other women’s groups and make a collective call for action” she
added.
FemLINKPACIFIC’s team will be wrapping up their suitcase community radio
broadcast to end violence against women tomorrow with an extended weekend
broadcast with local rural women leaders in Labasa.
(Ends)
Sharon Bhagwan Rolls
Executive Director
femLINKPACIFIC
+6799244871 (Mobile)
+6793310303 (Office DL)
http://www.femlinkpacific.org.fj/
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