You are a beacon of light not just for the women of Fiji, but for the men and women, the boys, and girls of the world.
These were the words of the President of the Human Rights Council, Nazhat Shameem Khan, in her address to the Fijian British Army servicewomen on the occasion of the International Women’s Day.
“We will never forge change, unless we understand what it is like to live in an inequitable world as a woman, where she is forever judged, not as a person with merit, character, and experience, but invariably as a mother, a wife, a daughter,” Ms Shameen-Khan said.
She said women needed to start talking about themselves.
“In doing so, we unlock the doors not only to an understanding of how women’s roles are prescribed by society, but also to success for many girls who may experience the same barriers and who look to us for inspiration and hope,” she said.
In her address, she recalled her mother telling her that all the leaders representing Fiji at the handover of power, from the British Crown to the Fijian Government, were male, and that one day this would have to change.
“And indeed, it has.
“Think for a minute, what it must have been like for the first woman taken in the British Armed Forces as a soldier. And pay tribute to her. She broke barriers so that every woman who comes after her can survive with dignity.
“I was the only woman prosecutor in 1983. In 1999, when I left the office to become a judge, the ratio of men and woman in the DPP’s office was 50 per cent. It remains the same, with women occasionally in the majority.
“I congratulate you all on the progress you have helped the world to make, as women in the British Armed Services,” Ms Shameen-Khan said in her address.
“The future lies in recognising the barriers you have experienced as women in the services, and in working to ensure that those women who come after you will not be asked to endure the same.”
