15 Women Graduate with Leadership Programme
Fifteen women of the seventh (7) cohort of the Emerging Leaders Forum Programme (ELF), graduated in Suva on Friday night. The six-month training programme run by the Fiji Women’s Rights Movement (FWRM), targets diverse Fijian young women aged 18-25 years. It is designed to develop advocacy skills, critical thinking and to motivate young women to speak on issues that affect them. Themes are centred on human rights, gender and feminism, women and environment, mental health, sexual and reproductive health and rights, women in leadership and more. Graduate, Lusiana Masitabua counted herself lucky to be part of the programme.
The 23-year-old is a current student at the University of the South Pacific pursuing a Certificate III in Early Childhood Education.
“My uncle was a staff member for FWRM and he introduced me to this programme. I am glad that he did because I learned a lot of things that changed my perspective,” Miss Masitabua said.
“Before joining the programme, I used to see gender-nonconforming from a different perspective; I used to be one of those that make fun of them but after the programme it has changed how I view them.
“I learned that they are the same as us and they also need rights, and they need it to protect themselves.
“I have become more aware and now my views of them have completely changed. I put myself in their shoes and how would I feel if I were one of them.”
Miss Masitabua said she would be more vocal on issues that she had learned during the programme.
“From this programme, I have also learned the difference between gender and sex, and that they are not the same thing and women have the same rights as men and we can exercise it. Most of us do not know all these things and we can be the boss of our own money,” she said.
Changing mindset
Another graduate, Dorrin Irvin who is a Programme support officer for FWRM said the programme has empowered her to speak up.
“I have learned a lot and have become an empowered young woman and I regard myself as a feminist,” Miss Irvin said.
“I have learned that there was a need to change the mindset of some people. I will need to start from home; I will need to change the mindset of the men that think that cooking, washing dishes, and cleaning is only a women’s job.
“If men and women work together things will be much easier because by doing that, they are complementing each other. So, let us fight for equality.”
Learning to listen to others
For Jana Ali-Traill, she was someone who was strongminded and always ready to voice out her opinion and now she has a different perspective of things after being part of the programme.
“I grew up knowing
Miss Traill said.
“Before the programme I was a feminist without a purpose, I had no defining principles of my own.
“After the programme, I am now a feminist that fights for the equality of everyone regardless of their age, gender and sexual identity.
“I grew up strongminded and think that my ideas were always stronger than others but after meeting the women who were from different backgrounds made me learn to take a step back and listen to them and learn from them. “Listening to them talk doesn’t take away my power to speak but it empowers me more because I am listening to them and I am giving them space to also grow.
The programme was established in 2003. that equality is very important,”