Stray dogs and Drua W
Drua women support
WHILE we advocate and shared so much about women’s empowerment and gender equality at the recent International Women’s Day, like 17 days ago via mainstream and social media, our actions at Churchill Park, Lautoka last Saturday 23/03 said otherwise.
For two time defending champions, the conduct by home fans to vacate the ground was an act of disloyalty, and an insult to our women ruggers who have toiled the hard yards in training and in camp. Let’s do better Fiji fans.
Our Drua women’s team are twotime reigning champions in Super Rugby W, and equally demand our support and enduring loyalty like we give to our men’s Drua team.
While I can blame us the supporters and die hard Fiji fans, the onus to blame too, rests with the organisers including the Drua team management.
They should have scheduled the women’s match before the men’s match? That way it will make majority of fans stay until the men’s match. Unless they are forcing our women to play on a boggy ground later, so the men’s team can play first because of the rainy weather, which I assume is not true.
However, where is our respect for our women when we used to say “ladies first” gents? Again the Super Rugby match this weekend 30/03 versus the Western Force is scheduled for the same time, as our men’s team will play first before the women’s team. It seems we still have not learnt from what happened last week?
At least you should have consulted the Ministry of Women and local women led NGOs who can pitch in best practice ideas on how to treat our women’s team, Drua management, because your decision makes you look bad and does not augur well with the vision and values of DFAT who I believe are funding both our Drua teams under the PacificAus Sports Funding arrangements.
JIOJI M CAKACAKA
Drua women fan Carreras, Votualevu, Nadi