Tongan women have made submissions to the Constitutional and Electoral Commission to incorporate gender perspective into Tonga's reform process, the Deputy Director of Women's Affairs, Polotu Fakafanua-Paunga, told the 53rd session of the Commission on the Status of Women, at the United Nations in New York on March 6.

Polotu said that the Tonga government had identified several areas needing assistance and one of them was mainstreaming gender and capacity building to increase women's participation in the economy, and at the decision making level.

During an interactive dialogue on the subject of 'Equal participation of women and men in decision making' she said that in Tonga more work needs to be undertaken to achieve better representation of women in elected positions.

"The Kingdom of Tonga in 2001 launched the National Policy on Gender and Development. The Constitutional and Electoral Commission established in 2008, and mandated to consider aspects of constitutional and electoral reform, has received submissions from Civil Society and NGO Women's Groups proposing several options for improving the participation of women at the decision making level.

"Despite several marked achievements, more work needs to be undertaken to further enhance the level of representation of women in the private and public service sectors, including elected positions, as well as in other sector of the economy including agriculture," she said.

Polotu said several areas needed further assistance and strengthening.

"Financial support should be allocated to encourage the participation of women in the political process and to help negate gender stereotyping. This requires advocacy and education aimed at raising women's direct participation in the political process;

"Educational opportunities need to be strengthened for girls and women who as a consequence of limited educational opportunities are often prevented from full participation in social, economic, and political life;

"Assistance and sharing of experience from other countries in developing educational interventions (formal and informal) that are based on human rights and imbued with the principle of gender equality;

"Assistance in implementing these policies that support gender equality is needed, including recognizing the contribution of unremunerated work to the economy in national accounts, and support home-based caretakers and allow for their full participation in political and social and economic environments."

Polotu said there was also a need "to incorporate the gender perspective into climate change adaptation and mitigation, . . . and finally, to incorporate the gender perspective into the solutions to the current financial crisis, particularly in view of the reduction of the remittances and aid flows."

Country statement

In delivering the Tonga country statement, also on March 6, Polotu stressed that the government had also made several policy changes and legislative reforms pertaining to women's rights in other specific areas.

"A Royal Land Commission who has been appointed for a term of three years will also deal with the issue of inheritance by women where there is no male heir," she said

"The Nationality (Amendment) Act 2007 made provisions for dual citizenship, which allows the nationality to be determined not only on a person's father's nationality, but also the nationality of the mother.

"Female officers of the Tonga Defence Services can now continue in their services within the army once they are married.

"The Domestic Violence Unit was established in the Ministry of Police in 2007 with a 'no drop' policy, which ensures that all charges of domestic assaults cannot be withdrawn by the victims once reported, thereby strengthen work against gender based violence," she said.

Polotu also stated that Tonga has completed work around CEDAW. the Convention on Elimination of Discrimination against Women, including legislation analysis, Information Research, national awareness raising activities, and translation into the Tongan language.

Other areas Polotu identified that require further assistance was for funding education programs, advocacy and health services, particularly in the rural areas of Tonga.

She said there was also a need to conduct research and data collection of gender disaggregated data, and to develop gender indicators for evaluation and monitoring of women's status in all areas, including violence against women.