The COVID-19 situation has highlighted the centrality of the role of women in holding our societies together.

This was highlighted by Minister for Women, Children and Poverty Alleviation, Mereseini Vuniwaqa, during the Inter Tertiary Law School Moot Competition at the University of Fiji in Saweni.

Vuniwaqa says women carry out their diverse responsibilities, be it at home, hospitals, laboratories, quarantine hotels, schools and markets, or in caring for the elderly, those living with disabilities and children.

According to the Minister, 63% of health workers, 80% of social workers and 85% of market vendors in Fiji are women.

Vuniwaqa says the global theme for International Women’s Day this year is Women in Leadership Achieving an Equal Future in a COVID-19 World.

She stresses it is fundamental that women’s voices and experiences are central to national and global recovery plans.

Vuniwaqa again raised that Fiji has widespread violence against women and girls in both public and private spaces.

She adds nationwide consultations and dialogues with Fijian women, men, girls and boys, stakeholders from key settings/sectors and communities will be undertaken this year to inform the development of the National Action Plan.