Plans for spending NZ$5.3 on construction of the Fiji Prime Minister’s new office should be diverted to people affected by the covid-19 coronavirus pandemic, civil society groups say.

The groups, which form the Civil Society Organisation Alliance for Covid-19 Humanitarian Response, said requests they had received for assistance from families prompted them to urge the government to reconsider the construction.

Director of the Social Empowerment and Education Programme (SEEP) Chantelle Khan said children needed to be cared for during the crisis.

READ MORE: Al Jazeera coronavirus live updates – World ‘nowhere close’ to needed herd immunity, says WHO

“The F$7.4m (NZ$5.3m) that’s supposed to go to the PM’s Office – give all of it to the future generation of this country and to our elderly. Our Social Welfare recipients and our children who need to be fed,” she said.

Khan also called for the government to work with stakeholders for the betterment of the country. This would reflect a democratic government that cared for its people, she said.

“We need to work together, so please relocate this funding to children who are unable to be fed by their families because of the impact of this pandemic.”

The alliance includes the Women’s Rights Movement (FWRM), the Social Education Empowerment Programme (SEEP), the Foundation for Rural Integrated

Enterprises and Development (FRIEND), the Women’s Crisis Centre, FemLink Pacific and the Citizens Constitutional Forum (CCF).

Shamima Ali of the Women’s Crisis Centre said Fiji was not “out of the woods yet” and that there was a dire need in community for the money devoted to the office.

Humanitarian centre opens
People in the Western Division whose lives have been affected by the pandemic can now access basic assistance from the Alliance’s Humanitarian Response Centre in Navakai, Nadi.

The centre opened last week and is the brainchild of Fiji’s largest NGO, Then India Sanmarga Ikya Sangam (TISI Sangam), to establish a one-stop shop in the west that provides school lunches for children.

TISI Sangam president Sadasivan Naicker said the centre was timely because it would assist Fijians who had lost their jobs as a result of the pandemic.

“We have branches all over Fiji and with the manpower we have, we can help in this programme to make it successful,” Naicker told The Fiji Times.

“We are in a better position and this is the first time we have forged such a partnership with the NGOs and we look forward to this.”

The Foundation for Rural Integrated Enterprises and Development (FRIEND) said there was a need to establish the centre because it would make work easier for people who needed assistance.

FRIEND director Sashi Kiran said in recent months, more than 40 percent of its food bank applicants were from Nadi.

Kiran said they were mostly people who had no employment as a result of the pandemic.

The centre will also distribute seedlings, facilitate training, and provide counselling and legal services.

This article is republished by the Pacific Media Centre under a partnership agreement with RNZ.

A Fiji women’s coalition has praised the confirmation of 56 female candidates for the 2018 Fiji national elections next week, but warned over the lack of diverse young women in national decision making.

Diverse Voices and Action for Equality (DIVA) said in a statement today women were under-represented at all levels of decision making in Fiji, including formal and informal governance processes.

This meant women – including diverse young women – did not have equal influence over policy decisions that affected their lives.

The Fiji Young Women’s Forum (FYWF) congratulated six young women candidates under 30 years of age, saying it looked forward to engaging in their leadership

However, FYWF also noted a lack of representation of diverse young women in decision making at the national level and said this was expected to increase in the future.

“It is critical to recognise that with continuous and effective support, the self-determination of all young women regarding the formation of an accountable and transparent government that will in turn help to advance all diverse young women’s social, economic and political statuses,” said FYWF.

Exercising their rights
The forum also called on young women to realise the significance of active political participation and exercising their rights in community and national levels to enact change.

With awareness through civic education, young women were better informed of their constitutional rights and were able to confidently assert themselves in their communities, said FYWF.

“As diverse young women we face multiple forms of discriminations because of our age, sex gender, and psycho social disability.

“FYWF envisages a future where we have the freedom to express our views, opinions and political beliefs in safety and with dignity with no fear of retribution or violence.”

The Emerging Leaders Forum Alumni (ELFA) said effective, equal and safe political participation of women and young women was vital for a strengthened democracy promoting gender equality and women’s human rights.

FemLINKPACIFIC stressed the community media contribution.

Accessing information
“”We recognise the need for young women to access key information and communication platforms to actively participate in civic dialogue, decision making and lead shifts in public and political opinion,” it said.

femLINKPACIFIC called for continued investment in young women’s empowerment for increased participation.

The Fiji Young Women’s Forum (FYWF) is a space for diverse young women leaders to articulate their needs, rights and perspectives on Fiji’s political transition and strategise for moving Fiji forward.

The past five forums saw young women leaders continuing to make visible their opinions, particularly in the national election process.

• FYWF is co-convened by DIVA for Equality FIJI, Emerging Leaders Forum Alumni and femLINKpacific’s Young Women’s Leadership Team. Fiji Women’s Rights Movement is the secretariat for FYWF.

Pacific — and global — feminists are facing challenging times this week in New York with efforts to squeeze out NGO access to United Nations negotiations.

“Pacific feminists and women led groups are pressing for a CSW61 Agreed Outcome document that shows governments showing courage to change the inequalities within and between states, examining and addressing sustainable consumption and production patterns, and envisioning a changing world of work for women that is not toward concentration of wealth and corporate power that prevents governments from investing in public services and social protection necessary for women’s economic rights, but rather toward a just and equitable future for all, including women and girls,” says Noelene Nabulivou, political adviser of DIVA for Equality in the final days of the 61st session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW61) here in New York.

But the shrinking spaces for women’s human rights are glaringly obvious.

This year’s CSW has seen attacks on NGO access to the consulting process as the negotiations come to a close today.

According to the NGO CSW Committee as well as We Rise Coalition partners outside the negotiations on Wednesday, UN Security staff removed NGOs from the building after 6pm while negotiations continued late into the night.

CSW Agreed Conclusion negotiations were moved to the ECOSOC Chamber and Trusteeship Council Chamber twice this week. These meeting rooms are on the second floor which are off-limits to NGOs.

This has severely restricted NGO/government informal discussions, hampering their ability to support the progress of the negotiations.

Gains at risk
This is putting at risk the gains we have made for women’s rights, as Nabulivou explains:
“We see more governments making links between women’s work and climate change, and we now want to see language on implementation; and on what components are needed for just and equitable transitions to low carbon economies.

“We also are concerned for language to help address structural issues such as the grossly imbalanced global economic and financial system; and a growing automation of work impacting on women already at the bottom of deeply unequal global supply chains.”

Caroline Lambert of International Women’s Development Agency has raised issues of universal human rights, and inclusion of all women as central to leaving no-one behind:
“For too long, the CSW has failed to recognise the human rights associated with sexual orientation and gender identity.

“It’s time for the CSW to uphold these critical human rights.”

She added: “The indivisibility of human rights, particularly the vital intersection of labour rights with women’s economic empowerment, must be a strong part of the Agreed Conclusions. This text must place the ILO as a central pillar of the outcomes.”

In this global political climate, feminist networks and women human rights defenders, says Nabulivou, hope for a text that better responds to multiple forms of misogyny and patriarchal behaviour, authoritarianism, conservatism and violence that are being used to try to restrict women’s bodily autonomy, movement, sexuality and decision-making over their lives:
“It is important that the CSW61 Agreed Outcomes reflect a strong universal human rights framework.”

Pressing issues
Feminists across the world now look to the UN Secretary-General, UN Women and all member states to ensure that the remainder of the negotiations are open to civil society engagement, and that the agreed conclusions respond to the most pressing issues facing women’s human rights.

It is after all part of the critical legacy of collaboration between member states and civil society at the Commission on the Status of Women which have delivered many advances for women’s human rights, from the development of the Convention on the Elimination of All forms of Discrimination Against Women and its Optional Protocol; to the creation of the first International Year of Women as well as the adoption of the first Security Council Resolution on Women, Peace and Security.

Sharon Bhagwan Rolls of femLINKpacific is at the consultations as a representative of We Rise Coalition, led by four feminist organisations:

• Diverse Voices and Action for Equality (DiVA)
• femLINKpacific (femLINK)
• Fiji Women’s Rights Movement (FWRM)
• International Women’s Development Agency (IWDA)

While the world was busy celebrating Women’s Day on March 8, in Fiji many women from different communities were struggling for their basic needs.

“In my community, I want to see improved infrastructure including proper crossings and bus shelter,” says a woman from Lautoka, Alecy Amua, who is worried about children’s safety.

“I want young people to access the training and support they need,” says Amacy Antonio of Suva, who is concerned about the violence and bullying in the communities that encourages suicide.

The irony is that the voices of these women are unheard and this leads to major issues that women are facing in Fiji.

“Women in Fiji have been recently facing issues related to food security, market economy, health, infrastructural problems — which are long standing — and access to the water,” says Sian Rolls, programme associate media advocacy of the regional feminist media organisation FemLINKPACIFIC.

“Women from significant communities are apathetic to the issues because they haven’t had the opportunity to access to the leadership or communication training or to speak for their family, for the community or for themselves.

“They cannot find a way to reach out to the local government agency.”

Lengthy, tiresome communications
The process of informing the government about the problems is not only lengthy but also tiresome.

For people living in a settlement, they have to take their issues through the advisory council.

Information is then taken to the district level and finally feedback is sent back to the community.

For those living in a village, they need to work through the provincial council.

Both systems still prefer men for communicating about issues.

This means major gender discrimination and ultimately women are excluded from the decision-making process.

However, the Fiji government has shown improvements in some areas.

Women in Parliament
Fiji has the highest number of women in Parliament in the Pacific – 16 percent.

There are also four women in the Fiji cabinet.

But local areas are underprivileged and women from these communities need government attention.

In 2014, the national gender policy was adopted. But such information is not making its way down to the advisory council level or provincial council level — or even to the villages.

Lack of education about the policy at local level means officials need to be reminded to include women in development planning.

In fact, women are facing problems about articulating their issues and fighting against gender discrimination.

Community radio
To give a voice to Fiji women, femLINKPACIFIC launched its own community radio in 2004.

The purpose of the radio was to bridge the gap between young and older women. Young women are keen to learn new technology whereas older women have not been able to present their issues.

The radio is a platform where women can raise their voice together and solve community issues.

FemLINKPACIFIC’S Sian Rolls believes that the more women are invested in, the better off their community is. With the objective of making women self-sufficient, they are willing to create an environment for their voice to be heard.

While FemLINKPACIFIC’s work is not focused on disaster and relief, its Women’s Weather Watch network and campaigns have been reflecting weather patterns. Its advocates say this programme is the only women’s centre information and communication model being used in the Pacific.

“As a leader I want to see myself, first to be a reliable person and well educated. I must work out my time between my family commitments and socialisation,” says Luisa Yalobula.

She is the leader of Bulileka Women’s Group and thinks that tradition, education, sometimes husband, source of income and communications are the barriers for the leadership.

Rolls says: “It is not only about changing the stories, but it is about bringing their voices to the society. Because when a woman shares her story, experiences on a multimedia platform, it makes a lot of difference in people’s mind.”

After Cyclone Winston
Fiji women used to consider themselves secondary to their husband and children. Because of that they are compromising their own health to make sure that their children’s requirements are taken care of, say advocates.

This includes pure water and hygiene issues. Usually dignity packs do not come with the immediate relief supplies, which accelerates women’s hygiene issues.

In Vatani Kaba village, Tailevu, for example, women need to travel a lot to access basic healthcare. Women have to spend almost $200 to get to the nearest main medical centre.

They have to catch a bus to a jetty and then they have to catch a bus for a nearby town and if they have to go to the capital, Suva, then again catch another bus to reach to centre.

Also, women from this village are facing major issues related to pure water. They have one pool in the middle of the village and it is the only source for them to get pure water.

In 2014, the women got vaginal infections for not getting the pure water.

Now far worse
It took 8 months for their recovery but again a dry spell and Cyclone Winston have made things worse for this village.

FemLINKPACIFIC’s programme associate network coordonation Frances Tawake says: “Many families have moved to the mainland because of the poor access to water in Vatani. If this problem is not solved now, no one will be left at the village.”

The government has not taken this issue seriously even though women have been talking about it in their district meetings.

“We will continue to voice our issues about water until it gets fixed. We will not lose hope. Our grandmothers, our mothers have gone through this and now it’s our turn. This water problem should not continue,” says Merewairita Nasiri, 39, from Vatani Kaba, who is determined to solve this issue for her village.

Apart from this, many of the women have lost their homes and now they are facing problems in terms of their shelter.

“Internal displacement is becoming a major issue for the women. Women are forced to move to the urban centre which may lead to the possibility of sexual exploitation. We do have some sexual harassment cases from the evacuation centres.”

Menka Goundan, a research officer from the Fiji Women’s Rights Movement, gave some insights about the women’s condition after Winston cyclone.

“In some cases, because of the economic insecurity, women are forced to provide one meal a day to their families. Also, some of the families are less likely to send their girl child to school,” says Goundan.

Cyclone Winston first struck western Fiji early last month before double backing and devastating the country on February 20 with a death toll of 44. It has been more than a month now since for these women to try to rebuild normal lives again.

Ami Dhabuwala is a postgraduate student journalist at AUT University. She is reporting on the Asia-Pacific Journalism course.