Women's Empowerment and Good Governance Through - amarc

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Best Experiences for an Action Research Process 82 Chapter 16. Fiji: Mobilizing Women Through Community Radio for Post-conflict Transformation. By Sharon Bhagwan Rolls (39) In an ideal situation, the emphasis on engendering governance and leadership is particularly critical for strengthening the capacity and skills of women to facilitate their access to political and economic decision-making positions and to support their development as transparent, accountable, transformational leaders, who can effectively advance a pro-poor and pro-women agenda. However, in the context of post conflict reconstruction, when the agencies of the state have been disempowered due a cycle of coups (in Fiji’s context, this is about a series of coups since 1987 – military, religious and civilian), women’s leadership not only has to be transformed and revitalized, but sustained for the long term. The Fiji context The military coup of December 5th, 2006 in the Fiji Islands has defined a critical role for femLINKpacific: Media Initiatives for Women, the operators of Fiji’s only mobile women’s community radio station – femTALK 89.2FM, building on our efforts of the last seven years in advocating for the full implementation of the UN Security Council resolution 1325 (Women, Peace and Security), in particular to promote women’s participation in the peace process and reconstruction/transformation. Community Radio is a critical tool for Track I and Track II dia-
83 Best Experiences for an Action Research Process logue, as well as a significant tool for the promotion of active non-violence strategies, including the convening of the weekly Blue Ribbon Peace Vigil in Suva. In Fiji, the formal process of negotiation established as a result of the Eminent Persons Report continues to negotiate only with the Interim Administration without offering a formal space through which women in all our diversities can inform and contribute. It is now time for the women of Fiji, through civil society leaders who are committed to the realization of a just’ peace and women’s human rights are involved and supported to review and define a more gender-inclusive – community empowerment process for the return to parliamentary democracy by March 2009. Otherwise, the road map for Fiji will not highlight the realities of women in all our diversities. Community radio is the vehicle – “to increase the options and opportunities for Pacific women, especially those living in poverty, by offering them a ‘space’ to ensure they are able to participate in and shape political decision making at all levels toward a more gender-responsive and people-centred governance that puts the interest of the whole society, especially the poor, above the traditional politicians’ and elites’ interests (40).” Women’s experiences as a result of Fiji’s political history of internal conflicts have also meant dealing with new social and economic problems, but unfortunately mainstream media and government based information sources have not provided a multi-ethnic vehicle for people from all our ethnic and communities, to collectively articulate their views on issues and stories. Women’s limited access or even inability to access media, let alone technology, is actually a reflection of the personal, institutional and systematic barriers, including traditional practices, at work in many societies. Other drawbacks include gender barriers such as illiteracy, time constraints, costs, geographical location and social cultural norms, which mean women have to continue to play ‘development catch up’. These are important factors for consideration, if we want to ensure the women’s perspective at all levels of decision making and implementation; after all, one of the best ways to mainstream the gender perspectives is through the media. Community media as a vehicle for empowerment and transformation femLINKpacific develops, produces and distributes a range of women’s Community Media
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Women's Empowerment and Good Governance Through - amarc

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