WRAM believes that one of the greatest gender inequality and injustice and major abuse of women’s rights in Solomon Islands is the very low participation of women in many national, provincial and community decision-making bodies says Women’s Rights Action Movement (WRAM) Chairlady, Anika Kingmele.
Women Practise Parliament is seen as an occasion to showcase all aspiring women leaders in Solomon Islands, as well as a time to strive towards their participation in the democratic process of national general elections.
In an address to the 50 enthusiastic women across the eight Provinces of the Solomon Islands who attended the recent weeklong 4th Practice Parliament for Women in Honiara, Anika Kingmele highlighted that the absence of women in leadership and decision making restricts half of the country’s voices to be heard in discussions on various developments that impact their lives, many of which ends in negative results for women which are also major violations of women’s rights.
“WRAM was established because of this very fact, to address the violation of women’s rights in the country, which stems from gender inequality due to imbalance of power between women and men. WRAM is very aware that the term women’s rights’ does not sit well with many and comes with very negative connotations.
“Many harbour the misconception that women’s rights is about women trying to be the same as men. Women can never be the same as men as it is physically impossible. Women in leadership positions mean inclusive decisions and there is nothing evil and power seeking about women’s rights,” Women’s Rights Action Movement (WRAM) Chairlady expressed.
Mrs Kingmele said WRAM addresses structural barriers to women’s rights. It analyses various national legislations through a gender lens and picks out those clauses that are discriminatory to women.
“We need more women in village and community committees; we need more women in provincial governments, NGOs and church governing bodies; we need more women in the provincial assemblies and in the round house.
“Women’s rights are about building more clinics in rural areas to enable women to enjoy their right to life when giving births; it is about providing more water supplies and having proper sanitation in communities to ensure that women enjoy their rights to adequate health.
“Women’s rights is about being consulted by the male decision makers when major developments are being planned in a MPs constituency. When this does not happen and women suffer the consequences of the developments, this shows a great violation of their right to life and right to healthy food because their gardening land is used and women have to walk further to find gardening lands.
“Women’s rights is about respect and understanding between couples when practising their marriage vows as man and wife, to help each other even with the household chores such as cooking.
“The equality that women’s rights organisations like WRAM is preaching is to do with the equality of opportunity; to give credit where credit is due; to enable equality to take precedent when normal processes for gender equality are saturated for rigid gender norms, traditions, structural barriers and stereotyping have blocked gender equality from permeating through WRAM’s supports women’s leadership, so women leaders can support women’s rights,” he added.
Meanwhile, the Women’s Rights Action Movement (WRAM) in Solomon Islands belongs to a Regional Asia and the Pacific programme called WAVE which is the acronym for Women’s Action for Voice and Empowerment.
Anika Kingmele underlined that WRAM is part of this ground breaking women’s leadership program that brings together and supports individual women, women’s organisations and women’s movements in Asia and the Pacific region to increase the representation of women in diverse leadership positions.
“WAVE supports WRAM and 18 other women’s rights organisations in five different countries in the region with the resources, skills and networks they need to amplify their collective voice and create a more enabling environment for women’s leadership.
“It was established in 2012 because of the fact to address the violation of women’s rights in the country, which stems from gender inequality due to the imbalance of power between men and women.
“As the organisation’s name implies; it is to address gender inequality in our country especially the barriers that restricts women from enjoying their rights.
WRAM’s is now working and moving into the future will continue to address gender inequality brought about by the power and control that men have over women and which have resulted in many violations of the rights of women and girls of this country,” she added.
Women make up half of the population of Solomon Islands; however, they continue to face historic systematic discrimination based on sex and gender. As a result of this discrimination, women are subject to challenges in enjoying respect, protection and fulfilment of their rights.
Key gender issues include the low participation of women in decision making and leadership, the high prevalence of violence against women and girls and lack of institutionalization of polices for women’s economic empowerment.
WRAM will continue to support government to promote, protect and fulfil the rights of women and men equally, to take affirmative action to address inequalities faced by women, and to work with non-government organisations to promote good governance in Solomon Islands.
Their vision is for all Solomon Islands women, men, girls and boys to enjoy equal access and enjoyment of human rights, to participate in leadership, be free from gender based violence and to benefit equally from development and economic advancements.
