The Fiji Women’s Crisis Centre (FWCC) has strongly criticised recent public calls for the creation of a “Men’s Department”, saying the proposal reflects a deep misunderstanding of gender inequality and the purpose of Fiji’s existing gender machinery.

FWCC Coordinator Shamima Ali said the Ministry for Women and the national women’s machinery exist to address long-standing, systemic discrimination — not to give women special privileges.

“Women have been structurally excluded for generations — in law, politics, economic life and national decision-making. That is the meaning of gender inequality,” Ms Ali said.

She said the proposal for a men-specific ministry would only reinforce existing male dominance.

“Proposing a ‘Men’s Department’ recentres male privilege in a system where men already dominate parliament, cabinet, business, policing, defence and religious leadership.”

FWCC warned that establishing such a department would have several harmful consequences, including reducing already scarce resources needed for violence prevention and survivor support and creating a false equivalence between men’s challenges and women’s systemic discrimination.

Ms Ali said women’s rights work in Fiji remains significantly underfunded.

“Women’s rights work remains severely underfunded. Redirecting resources to a ‘Men’s Department’ would undermine hard-won progress.”

She acknowledged that men face genuine issues — including mental-health struggles and pressures created by harmful masculine norms — but said these concerns can be addressed within existing institutions.

“We support work with men and boys — but the solution lies in transforming harmful masculinities and improving mental-health, youth and social-service systems,” she said. ‘

“Not in creating a parallel ministry based on a false narrative of equal disadvantage.”