Breaking through the pervasive shadow of patriarchy
CENTRAL to the vast array of challenges women leaders encounter in the realm of gender inequality lies the pervasive shadow of patriarchy and genderdiscriminatory social norms.
Ministry of Women, Children and Social Protection permanent secretary, Eseta Nadakuitavuki, while speaking at the International Development Law Organization (IDLO) side event at 68th session of the Commission on the Status of Women held in New York recently, said “these forces significantly hinder women’s leadership and infringe upon our rights and autonomy”.
“In our leadership, we’ve found the strength to say “No,” to raise our voices, to demand justice, to forge movement and sisterhood and to carve pathways through seemingly insurmountable barriers,” Ms Nadakuitavuki said at the event organised by the German Government and the IDLO.
“This resilience and determination do not merely define us –women in all diversity; they propel us toward a future where gender equality and gender responsive justice system is not an aspiration but a reality.”
Speaking to the gathering of women leaders, Ms Nadakuitavuki said everyone in the room had encountered and navigated through this entangled web of patriarchal norms at different points in their lives, no matter “where we are in the world or the context, we find ourselves in”.
She highlighted that in Fiji and across the globe, women and girls navigate the waters of customary and informal justice systems, seeking resolutions to the challenges that touch the most intimate aspects of their lives.
The IDLO has launched a brief on Women’s Participation and Leadership in Customary and Informal Justice Systems titled “Leading the Way: Women’s Empowerment and Leadership in Customary and Informal Justice Systems” which Ms Nadakuitavuki said offers a roadmap to meet the challenge.
“Our session is not just a discussion; it is a collective aspiration to identify and advocate for strategies that amplify women’s empowerment and leadership and outlining actionable steps toward a more gender-transformative engagement with customary and informal justice systems,” she said.
These systems, Ms Nadakuitavuki said, that are embedded in the communities could often offer a promise of justice that was accessible, swift, and resonant with the cultural values, yet, this promise remains unfulfilled for many women and girls, who encounter barriers that are not just procedural but profoundly discriminatory.
“The report calls for the critical roles that women in all diversity play as leaders and providers of justice in these systems and to unequivocally affirm women’s human rights to be recognised and amplified.”
“We are further urged to challenge and eliminate discriminatory laws, to stand firm on women’s rights protection, combating gender-based violence and gender discrimination, and to ensure an enabling environment for women’s participation in justice system and decision making,” she emphasised.