There’s quite a
contradiction here – either women stand up for their rights, or the village laws ban women from drinking
kava – meaning women’s place is in the kitchen and looking after the children
instead of sitting around drinking kava and socializing. Women do not make the decision but the men say so. There’s no talk of
moderation, just a ban. This is in some
villages in Cakaudrove and Macuata.
Stand up for your rights PM urges women
Fiji Prime Minister
Commodore Voreqe Bainimarama has encouraged women to stand up for their rights
and be empowered. “We need to make them more aware of their own importance in
their families and communities. They are the backbones of their communities,”
Bainimarama said. “Too many men in Fiji still think it’s their right to demean
and mistreat women. Domestic violence is still a major problem. And far
too many women are exploited.” “Women are generally regarded as someone only to
do the cooking and look after the children. We can never be an equal and fair
society if even a single Fijian woman is discriminated against.” Bainimarama
said government has introduced a raft of new laws to promote gender equality
and also the first domestic violence laws. “We have strengthened the rights of
the women in this country who live in “de facto” relationships.” “We have
removed the old Victorian rules for corroboration for rape. Our criminal laws
are modern and gender neutral.” He said they are still working hard to
modernise all laws to make sure they reflect equality between men and women.
Bainimarama was in Mau, Namosi yesterday to open the new Women’s Resource
Centre for Seaweed. By Mereani Gonedua
Read more at: http://fijilive.com/news/2013/07/stand-up-for-your-rights-pm-urges-women/54516/
Copyright 2013 © Fijilive.comFiji
Read more at: http://fijilive.com/news/2013/07/stand-up-for-your-rights-pm-urges-women/54516/
Copyright 2013 © Fijilive.comFiji
From Fiji Times
Ministry says
grog ban on women is a policy
Salaseini
Moceiwai
Tuesday, July 30, 2013
Tuesday, July 30, 2013
THE decision by elders
in some villages up North to ban women from drinking grog can be regarded as a
village policy instead of a bylaw.
Responding to
questions sent by this newspaper yesterday on how some women in Cakaudrove and
Macuata have been banned from consuming grog, iTaukei Affairs Board deputy CEO
Colonel Apakuki Kurusiga said the decision by the village elders could only be
considered as a village policy.
"The proposed
village bylaw has not been gazetted as it is undergoing a review once again but
the elders' decision can be regarded as a village policy to prevent women from
drinking grog because of some unfamiliar occurrence that may have happened in
the village," Col. Kurusiga said.
"The village
policy is only exercised and effective within that village and to the members
of the village.
"It is not
effective in other villages that still permit their members to drink yaqona.
"This is similar
to some protestant churches that ban their members from drinking yaqona."
Some villages in
Cakaudrove and Macuata have banned women from drinking grog for the purpose of
helping them to wholly dedicate themselves towards the welfare of their families.
Baleyaganiga Village
headman Jekope Matanamatua earlier said the village law of not allowing women
to drink grog was not to discriminate them but to ensure that children were
looked after well by their mothers.
For Seavaci Village,
the decision was discussed in the village meeting and was accepted by the
women.
Turaga ni yavusa
Ravinivatu Motekai Soidroka told this newspaper women could only drink grog in
their own homes but not in the village hall.
He said they did not
allow women to drink grog during village functions or at the hall but they
could do so in their own homes.
From Wikipedia
In Fiji, kava (also called "grog" or
"yaqona") is part of the fabric of life, drunk day or night, at home
or in the village hall. The consumption of the drink is a form of welcome and
figures in important socio-political events. Both sexes drink kava, with women consuming the beverage more than men.
The importance of kava in Fiji is not so much in the physical as it is
psychological, serving as a forum where stories are told and jokes exchanged.
Part of this communal aspect is its role in conflict resolution, functioning as
a peace
pipe between quarrelling groups.
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