WUNRN
Video on Women & Democratic Rights in Fiji – Global Fund for Women
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http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/2014/10/09/progress-womens-empowerment-fiji
Fiji - Progress for Women's Political
Empowerment
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By Phillippa Carisbrooke
9 OCT 2014 - Fiji has just
appointed a woman as Speaker of its House of Representatives. It's not the
first Pacific country to have a female Speaker: that milestone was achieved by
the Cook Islands back in the 1960s.
But
for those who've been working to empower women in Fiji, it's an exciting
development.
But
they say it's just the start.
A
record eight women were elected to Fiji's 50-member parliament last month.
Sixteen
per cent of its parliamentarians are now women - that compares to a Pacific
average of 13 per cent.
In
addition to having its first female Speaker of the House, a woman has also been
appointed Minister for Social Welfare.
The
Executive Director of Australia's International Women's Development Agency,
Joanna Hayter, says Fiji is showing other nations in the Pacific what can be
achieved when there's a concerted effort to support women wishing to enter
politics.
"Fiji
at this point across the region is really demonstrating the leadership in terms
of what is possible, and the kinds of work we need to do to see these changes
in representation."
The
Fiji Women's Rights Movement has been promoting democracy in Fiji for 25-years.
Program
director Tara Chetty says in the eight years since Fiji's previous democratic
election there's been a small but positive shift in perception about the role
of women.
And
she says a joint effort by women's groups to advocate for female leadership has
translated into people voting for women.
In
2012 women's groups got together to form Fiji Women's Forum, offering female
candidates training.
The
Fiji Women's Rights Movement got on board.
Ms
Chetty says it came at a critical time for candidates.
"It
helped them plan their campaigns better. It helped them understand some of the
challenges they were already going through or could expect to face. And it
helped them feel solidarity with other women candidates who were experiencing
other similar challenges."
Fiji
Women's Forum would like to see women make up 50 per cent of parliament.
Ms
Chetty says that would require special measures.
"To
take the next step there is really no way without putting in place some
measures. They don't have to necessarily be quotas, but they can be."
FemLink
Pacific advocates for women.
Executive
Director Sharon Rolls warns traditional views of women will remain a barrier to
those wishing to fill leadership roles for some time.
"There
have been a lot of hurdles, particularly outside of the urban communities where
rural women really have to work a lot harder to organise and to be part of
structures that have traditional perceptions that women should be there for
support. And when you add the age dimension of young women that certainly
should be seen but not heard."
The
Executive Director of Australia's International Women's Development Agency,
Joanna Hayter, says it takes "courage" and "extraordinary
resilience" to become a female politician, in any country.
"Just
look at the recent history in Australia and the groundbreaking but terrifying
sort of persecution that we witnessed for our first female Prime Minister in
Australia. These are architectures and structures that are deeply masculine.
That have a sense of club and culture that has excluded women through history.
You have to take a very deep breath before you say "I want to be a
politician."