Law repeals ‘hallmark of Govt’

ACabinet minister has paid tribute to the Government’s push to repeal discriminatory laws and legislate the empowerment of women. Minister for Women, Children and Poverty Alleviation Mereseini Vuniwaqa made the comment as 14 “big asks” were presented to Foreign Ministers yesterday from the Women’s Forum at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM). Ms Vuniwaqa said the repeal of discriminatory laws was always a good starting point for gender equality and the empowerment of women.

The legislating of laws that actually empower women, she said, was a further step in the right direction.

Ms Vuniwaqa said in Fiji both these strategies had been the hallmarks of the Bainimarama-led Government. “The Domestic Violence Act 2009, which for the first time created a specific mechanism for the protection of victims of domestic violence and the prosecution of perpetrators; the removal of the need for corroboration in evidence of rape victims from the Crimes Act in 2009; the raising of the marriage age for females to 18 years from 16 years in 2009; the recognition of the rights of de-facto spouses to marital property and spousal maintenance under the Family Law Act in 2012; and, the removal of the prohibition against women from working in underground mines in March this year,” she said.

She said gender-based violence was a key issue that we were still grappling with in Fiji.