SUVA, March 8 (Xinhua) -- The COVID-19 situation has highlighted the centrality of the role of women in holding societies together as they carry out diverse responsibilities, said a Fijian minister on Monday.
In her message to mark the International Women's Day with the theme "Women in leadership: Achieving an equal future in a COVID-19 world" and a campaign theme of "Choose To Challenge," Fijian Minister for Women, Children and Poverty Alleviation Mereseini Vuniwaqa said that in Fiji, 63 percent of health workers, 80 percent of social workers and 85 percent of market vendors are women.
She said that as they address the extraordinary hardship that COVID-19 has brought to women and girls and their communities, they shall look ahead to the opportunities. Changing attitudes is fundamental to achieving gender equality and empowerment of all women and girls. In so many ways, that must start with respect and balance of power.
She stressed that the COVID-19 pandemic has amplified and exacerbated gender inequalities.
In Fiji, the economic impacts of COVID-19 are being disproportionately felt by women, who earn less than men, have little to no savings, and work in jobs with little security or protections. These pre-conditions are being coupled with increased unpaid work and disturbing spikes in already high rates of gender-based violence.
The Fijian government recognizes the gendered impact of COVID-19 and is prioritizing the importance of gender responsive national recovery plans and the critical role that all women and girls play as leaders and in building resilience, she said.
She added that the island nation will also continue its efforts to eliminate violence against women and girls with the development, adoption and implementation of the National Action Plan to Prevent Violence against all women and girls to stop violence before its starts.
The minister urged Fijians to work together to create an inclusive and equal society in Fiji which has a population of around 900,000. Enditem