“Balancing the Power”: FWRM promotes temporary special measures
12th December, 2012
Priscilla Naidu & Frederica Nagan
Click here to see the Public Service Announcement
In effort to ‘balance the power’ in Fiji, the Fiji Women’s Rights Movement is promoting women’s political participation through Temporary Special Measures (TSMs). This Public Service Announcement explains what TSMs actually are and the why they are urgently needed to fast-track gender equality in Fiji, where women are still lagging behind in political life due to institutionalized patriarchal structures.
This Public Service Announcement (PSA) will officially hit the airways on Monday December 17, 2012 and run for around two months.
FWRM encourages future members of Fiji’s Constituent Assembly, other decision-makers and the general public to learn more about TSM’s and include them in Fiji’s next Constitution to effectively increase the number of women participating in political life, especially as we near the 2014 national elections.
Note: FWRM acknowledges the support of AusAID in making this PSA possibility.
TEXT:
Fredrica – “One day I want to be the Prime Minister!”
Priscilla – “That’s great! But sometimes, no matter how hard we try, we can’t achieve what we want because women face a lot of barriers that most men don’t.”
Fredrica – “How do we remove these barriers?”
Priscilla – “By educating the public on equality, BUT that will take decades. We need something to fast-track gender equality and get more women into decision-making positions now. We NEED Temporary Special Measures or TSM’s“.
Fredrica – “TSM’s?”
Priscilla – “TSM’s will assist capable women to enter politics through quotas, and balance the number of women and men in decision-making”.
Both – “Support TSM’s. It’s about time we balanced the scales”.
*Priscilla Singh is a woman human rights defender and human rights activist. She has also stood as a candidate in past elections.
**Fredrica Nagan is an emerging leader and a participant of various projects run by FWRM for young girls.
Contact FWRM for any queries:
Email: info@fwrm.org.fj
Website: www.fwrm.org.fj