Platform for women to voice opinions

THE newly formed Qaqa Fijian Young Women’s Grassroots Association will give young women around the country a suitable platform to voice their opinions.

After concerns were raised from young women on the lack of such a platform, Diverse Voices and Action for Equality or DIVA for Equality’s executive director Noelene Nabulivou said most of these young women were denied their right to speak in community development committees.

Referring to testaments made during the Women Defend Commons symposium on Kadavu last week, Ms Nabulivou said young women continued to be rejected even within women’s groups that were supposed to represent their rights and interests.

Ms Nabulivou said young women in rural areas continued to be disconnected from formal organisations such as non-government organisations.

“Through this group, they would be able to connect to the women’s movement even if they are located in the rural, maritime or urban areas,” she said.

“Women are smart, comfortable and have a lot of skills, and one of the things that we have talked about is the need for intergenerational skills, sharing set of work and if we can move that, over the next few years women are eager to share information on conservation of their qoliqoli or ideas on improving income generation.

“This is also a platform where they could teach older women on how to become tech savvy and promote their businesses through the cyber world.”

Ms Nabulivou said having such a platform would enable young women to connect with elder women and get them out of the isolated worlds they were so often left in.