Olympic champion joins critics as Tonga schoolgirls are banned from rugby

An order by Tonga’s education ministry banning girls from playing rugby at the Pacific nation’s only public high school has been condemned by Tongan community leaders and a high-profile Olympic champion.

A letter signed by education minister Penisimani Fifita told staff at Tonga High School in the capital Nukualofa that girls should not play rugby or take part in boxing, to “preserve the dignity of Tongan women and hold on to Tongan cultural values”. Chief education officer Manu’akau’ola said it was not culturally motivated, but reflected concern students had missed too much school because of Cyclone Geta which recently struck Tonga.

But two-time Olympic women’s shot put gold medallist Valerie Adams of New Zealand, whose mother is Tongan, tweeted: “Tongan women must be free to choose their destiny and not be held back by misguided and stubborn misinterpretation. When progress and tradition are in conflict we must ask ourselves what will bring the people the most benefit and how do we move forward together. According to this way of thinking, a proud Tongan like myself could not attain the standing I have in this world.”

Tongan women’s rights advocate ’Ofa Guttenbeil-likiliki said: “It takes us right back to the thinking that education is only academic and for girls to remain in that kind of academic lane,” she said. “Sports is just the alternative for boys.”

Guttenbeil-likiliki cited Teuila Fotu-moala, who was playerofthetournamentatthe recent women’s Rugby League World Cup in Australia. “That story hit Tonga last year and made a lot of people proud,” she said. “To see these women excelling in sport… I mean, you look at Valerie Adams. This letter from the Ministry of Education has taken us 100 years backwards.”