In celebrating the immense contribution that rural women play, the Minister for Women, Dr Jiko Luveni has congratulated Fiji’s women in being the agents of change.
Speaking on the opening of International Rural Women’s Day, Dr Luveni commended all rural women for their tireless effort and continuous perseverance for the support they provide to their families and ultimately towards nation building, Minister for Women, Dr Jiko Luveni says the Government is aware and acknowledges the struggles of rural women and has therefore put in place means of addressing them.
She said Ministry of Women is working on partnerships with development partners and the private sector and with this new initiative, it is envisaged that this will be the beginning of more effective program to empower women in the rural areas and all the communities in Fiji.
“The utilization of more effective and efficient methods to achieve a sustainable and improved livelihood will form the core of all program interventions adopted by the Ministry. This will be funded under the government budgetary allocation,” Minister Luveni said.
With Government continuing to allocate specific annual budgetary allocations for women which include funding for the Implementation of the Women’s Plan of Action; Cottage Industry Development and NGO Grants to support women organization.
Dr Jiko encouraged all women to take advantage of opportunities being offered by the government and development partners to assist them and to contribute positively to the improvement of their livelihood.
Moreover a three day Kuta symposium has been organized for the rural women in the Northern division to commemorate the International Day of Rural Women which starts today.
The symposium will enable the rural women in the North to have access to information on available development by the development partners and agencies including key government departments.
The symposium aims at bringing stakeholders together to share information, and discuss strategies to move the project forward, from source to market.