Seeking a way forward for Tongan women [1]
Friday, June 10, 2005 - 18:15. Updated on Friday, May 9, 2014 - 15:48.
Tonga has yet to ratify the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discriminations Against Women (CEDAW), but a seminar this week helped to familiarize Tongan women with the convention.
Tonga can ratify CEDAW and still have reservations on certain articles in the convention that Government feels are inappropriate for Tonga, a visiting specialist on gender issues told the seminar.
Visiting Tonga were Samantha Hung, the Gender Issues Adviser from the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat, ...Amelia Kinahoi, the Regional Director from the United Nations Development Fund for Women, and ...Amelia Pasikala Faasau from the United Nations Development Program.
The two 'Amelias and Samantha were in Tonga to participate in a National Summit on ...A Way Forward for Women, Gender and Development..., that was officially opened yesterday by the Deputy Prime Minister, Hon. Cecil Cocker.
Samantha Hung said that the workshop would be looking at ways Tongan women could advance their status to be in line with Tonga...s existing National Gender Policy. She said they would also be reviewing other Regional and International Gender Equality conventions.
...Amelia Kinahoi, said that the workshop was to draft a plan of action for Tonga on how to implement the government's Gender Policy that was launched by government in 2001 but needed to be clearly understood by everyone from the grassroots to Government officials.
'Amelia said that Government was currently working on a 8-Year Sustainable Development Plan for Tonga. "What we like to see is for the Gender Policy to be reflected in this plan because if it does that would make it a lot easier to be endorsed by all sectors of Government and the community. "
...Amelia said that there were still a lot of misconceptions in Tonga of the convention. "People think that if Tonga ratifies CEDAW, it will cause changes in our laws and disrupt our way of life, is not true. CEDAW encourages changes and brings out equal opportunity for men and women.
"Tonga can ratify CEDAW and still have reservations on certain articles in the convention that Government feels are inappropriate for Tonga," she said.
Polotu Paunga, the Head of the Women and Development Center said that Tonga had yet to ratify the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discriminations Against Women (CEDAW), but workshops such as this summit was to familiarize Tongan women with CEDAW so that when Tonga ratified the convention it would be easier to implement.
The three-day workshop, which began on June 8, was hosted by the Women...s Development Center of the Prime Minister...s Office and funded by UNIFEM. It was attended by representatives from the civil society, women and youth groups.