Overview

At the end of 1992, Fiji’s total population was estimated to be 758.087 of which about 49% were females. Despite women’s consistently longer life expectancy, the lower proportion of females in the population may be explained by the continuing higher proportion of boys born each year. Census data show an increase in the proportion of urban population from 37.15% in 1976 to 38.72% in 1986. However, the majority of the population (about 61%), remains rural.

Fiji women have made some progress in gaining positions of power and decisionmaking within their society. Notable has been the election of three women parliamentarians, two of whom now hold cabinet posts. The difficulties women face in entering politics at all levels is exacerbated by deeply entrenched cultural and religious attitudes over the roles and status of women in our society. However government policies promote a favourable environment for the advancement of women. This includes the setting up of the Department for Women. The department in conjunction with NGOs has begun extensive education programs to increase political awareness and meaningful political participation of women.

Fiji is committed to democratic decisionmaking and popular input into national programs and priorities. Institutional machinery is therefore in place to facilitate this process. Women have become more aware and begun to more fully utilise this machinery to voice their concerns. Full participation of women at all levels of the decisionmaking machinery has been inhibited by cultural attitudes and by a lack of awareness of their rights. The Department for Women is supporting efforts by major national Women’s NGOs to educate women to utilise the machinery at all levels to have their voice heard.

Fiji recognises the need to ratify the Convention for the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women. The government actively supports efforts by women’s NGOs to publicise the terms of the convention and to enable women to understand its implications for them, though national legal literacy programs. In addition, women in trade union movements and women involved with the disadvantaged have been making concerted attempts to improve appropriate national legislation’s that affect the rights of women in Fiji.

School enrolment statistics and literacy rates indicate that Fiji women’s educational status is not significantly different form men’s except in terms of areas of study. Enrolment of women in non-traditional areas such as engineering and agriculture remain low. Health statistics show general improvements in women’s health and reductions in fertility and maternal mortality rates throughout the eighties. prevalence of STDs however has not varied significantly, and its occurrence among younger females is of concern. The ratio of women among those unemployed has increased in recent years with the rate in rural areas somewhat higher than in urban areas. Concurrently job creation policies of government has resulted in an increase in economically active women particularly in the manufacturing and service sectors where they predominate in the lower wage bracket.

The continuing rise in population accompanied by a low growth in the national economy during the eighties, resulted in social stresses that saw a rise in poverty and violence against women.

III Future Strategic Goals and Objectives and Corresponding Financial Arrangements

The government adopted strategic development planning in 1988. This approach does away with detailed long term projections of the macro economic variables but concentrates upon the national objectives, national policies and carefully appraised public sector investment programs, PSIPs. The current national policies and strategies for development in Fiji was released and adopted by the government during the first quarter of 1993. The document has a separate chapter on women in development. The policies and strategies which are projected in that chapter include:

1. Involving women as equal partners in the national, political, economic and social development of the country, through positive discrimination, where appropriate,
2. Women to be recognised and valued as resources which can be assisted and contribute more effectively in an economically productive development process,
3. Upgrading of training and skill levels and overall human resource development for women in an effort to improve their access to employment opportunities,
4. Strengthening of coordination of women’s activities in the overall national development effort,
5. Examining legislation, including legal instruments pertaining to women, with a view to safeguarding the interests of women.

Detailed implementation of the policies and prioritisation of programmes require good understanding of current problems and needs. This in turn is dependent on reliable information¾ including statistical series to show changes over time.

Not all statistical series are broken down by gender. A certain degree of disaggregation by gender has been attempted in the educational, health, population and employment series. But much more needs to be done in this area. In pursuit of policy (iv) mentioned above the government will, through the women’s office and the statistics bureau work with the Inland revenue Department and the Provident Fund in the interest of disaggregation by these two organisations of the wealth of information at their disposal into gender series. Such information will show more clearly the relative positions of women by skills employment and income levels. The sectoral survey forms and population census forms which the bureau uses will also be examined to ensure that the questions which extract important gender information are secured. Such information will be incorporated on an ongoing basis into a current and updated electronic data base. To supplement these data where necessary, the Women’s Office intends to sponsor specialised surveys on specific issues associated with the formulation of implementation of key policies.

The government intends to establish women’s cells in line Ministries. Such cells will cooperate closely with the Ministry. They will also play a critical role in influencing the policies and programs of line ministries in the interest of making them supportive of the overall objectives of the Ministry.

The NGOs have become increasingly aware of the potential influence which they can bring to bear upon the decisionmaking process of government, but they will need to familiarise themselves with the working of the decisionmaking machinery outlined (in this report). They will also need to strengthen their technical and administrative capacities to enable them to influence the decisions made at all levels such as at the District and Divisional committees, the line Ministries, the Planning Office, Economic Strategy Committee, Cabinet and Parliament.

The Department for Women is envisaged to increase its strength in policy analysis. It proposes to strengthen its research unit which will, through its publications, keep both government and NGOs informed on women’s progress and women’s concerns in all sectors. NGOs role as implementors of government’s special projects for women will be encouraged. Government’s women’s interest assistants (WIA) will be retrained to widen their capacity to raise the awareness of women regarding opportunities available to them and on their rights as citizens of Fiji. For this expansion of tasks, additional resources will be provided to WIAs.

Budgetary allocation will need to be increased and extra funding sought for increased activities and programmes to promote the advancement of women in Fiji.