Representing a collective membership of 324 diverse rural women they have documented and shared a series of priorities they would like to be accounted for in the work of the Constitution Commission.
“We don't want to be silenced,” said Yasmin of Wailoaloa as the women reaffirmed that whether it is about access to information and parliamentary processes, addressing river pollution, sanitation and drainage systems, the contribution to the agricultural sector, it is all about transforming existing decision making and governance structures to ensure gender equality and access to decision making structures from parliament to local government as well as district and divisional level committees.
The women leaders will now work at club level to help their members develop more submissions to present to the Constitution Commission—even if it means delivering it in Suva!
Since 2007 fem'LINKPACIFIC's rural community media network meetings, consultations and community radio broadcasts have provided a participatory and interactive process to link rural women's networks with initiatives such as the Fiji Women's Forum and other women's rights groups to also provide relevant support to enable rural women to engage proactively in the process of democratisation, including Constitution submissions.
The activity is part of the Fiji activities of the Regional Women's Media and Policy Network on UN Security Council Resolution 1325 and undertaken with support from the European Union, UNDP—Strengthening Capacities for Peace and Development Project, the Generation Next project supported by International Women's Development Agency and in collaboration with the Fiji Women's Rights Movement.
