by Maxine Tuwila Lesivou
Ba rural women leaders have called for greater use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) in times of crisis and especially during disaster preparedness, as Fiji prepares for the cyclone season that commences in two weeks’ time.
The Ba Rural Women Leaders Community Media Network (RWLCMN), who are members of women’s weather watch (WWW), said preparedness is the key, and the lessons of TC Winston have shown that it was through ICTs and WWW messages from femLINK’s platforms that enabled them to be prepared.
“And during TC Winston, we saw (other) people trying to prepare for the cyclone but it was too late – Winston has already arrived – and it was a category 5 Cyclone. We received messages from Women’s Weather Watch (WWW) way before Winston strike so we were prepared – that should be the practice – Preparedness is key”, said Sainiana Tinai, the representative from the Ba HART home.
Mosese Tikoduadua a representative from the Nailaga Youth group echoed this statement and said that the use of online resources, amongst others, should be utilized.
“We need to make use of the internet and the online resources we have to prepare for disasters. There are toll free lines available for us to call, if we need to get to evacuation centers. It is better to be prepared than regret later when fatalities happens because at times violence occurs in households because we are not prepared,” said Tikoduadua.
The network also called for more opportunities for greater networking, empowerment, political voice and leadership, so that women increasingly become active in their communities,
“We recommend that women be empowered and educated so they can come out of these ‘comfort zones’ and do more engagement in their communities apart from their household work”.
Kaur, the former Vice President for Ba Red Cross Branch and a member of the Varoka Tavarau Naari Shaba said, women need to also take initiatives to lead in their individual communities and groups. She said this was a collective feedback by women leaders from Ba.
Women are leaders
in their communities and play a major role in shaping peace within households and communities, not only during the pandemic. - Kamlesh Kaur
Discussions today also focused on the increasing number of domestic violence cases during this pandemic.
“We need to take heed of warnings especially before something happen so we can minimize the number of fatalities,” emphasized Sainiana Tinai. Tinai added that we need to contact relevant authorities if violence is not resolved.
Fifteen (15) diverse rural women leaders from our Ba district met yesterday to further discuss their recommendations in ways to support systems in place during the pandemic and during disasters. These recommendations included, the need for ensuring that these Women’s Human Security Priorities (WHSP) are met and addressed during this pandemic and the upcoming disaster months.
The convening also looked at ways in which the voices of women can be amplified during a crisis and the accessing of available resources for support. The theme for this convening is “Rural women Shaping Peace and Recovery better – Women’s deliberation through perseverance, leadership and hope during COVID19”.
Communities represented in this convening includes District Advisory Councillors (DAC), members of the LGBTIQ + community, Young Women, members of the District Council of Social Services (DCOSS), Community Health Care workers and Village leaders.
