WOMEN in informal sectors need to be included in policy making, says Lautoka Women Vendors Association president Filomena Ditukana.
Ms Ditukana made the comment during the Fiji Constitutional Review public consultation in Lautoka last week.
“If this is done, this could improve the livelihoods of the informal sectors,” she said.
“We say women have rights, but look at the gap, the gap exists because we design our system only to suit the formal sectors.”
Ms Ditukana said government-led trainings were often limited to hotels and offices.
“When scholarships are announced, they require academic marks not 15 years of business experience. So, we are telling our daughters that success only counts if it happens in a building with air conditioning.”
Ms Ditukana called for the new constitution to consider the perspective of grassroots communities.
“A woman selling dalo is no less than a nation builder than a woman running a boardroom.
“The Bill of Rights should not stop at the market gates or at the entrance of an informal settlement where a group of women is running a canteen.”
