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Situating Women: Gender Politics and Circumstance in Fiji / Nicole George

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Situating Women: Gender Politics and Circumstance in Fiji / Nicole George Situating Women Gender Politics and Circumstance in Fiji Situating Women Gender Politics and Circumstance in Fiji Nicole George Published by ANU E Press The Australian National University Canberra ACT 0200, Australia Email: [email protected] This title is also available online at http://epress.anu.edu.au National Library of Australia Cataloguing-in-Publication entry Author: George, Nicole Louise, 1966- Title: Situating women: gender politics and circumstance in Fiji / Nicole George. ISBN: 9781922144140 (pbk.) 9781922144157 (ebook) Notes: Includes bibliographical references. Subjects: Women--Political activity--Fiji. Women in development--Fiji. Sex discrimination against women--Fiji. Women’s rights--Fiji. Women--Government policy--Fiji. Dewey Number: 305.4099611 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher. Cover design and layout by ANU E Press Printed by Griffin Press This edition © 2012 ANU E Press Contents Maps and Illustrations . ix Acknowledgements . xi Abbreviations and Acronyms . xiii Introduction: Situating Women . 1 1 . A Feel for Context: Contingency and Women’s Collective Agency . 19 2 . ‘A New Frontier’: Pioneering Gender Politics in Fiji’s Independence Era . 39 3 . Beyond the ‘New Frontier’? Fiji’s Decade for Women: 1976–1985 . .75 4 . ‘Foreign Flowers’? Articulating Rights in the Post-Coup Political Economy: 1985–1995 . 107 5 . ‘A Gentler Political Engagement’: 1995–2002 . 139 6 . ‘Working in a Different Way Now’: Division and Peacebuilding in the Aftermath of the ‘Good Governance’ Coup . 179 Gender Politics and Circumstance: Some Contingent Conclusions . 217 Bibliography . 229 v In memory of Amelia Rokotuivuna vii Maps and Illustrations Maps 1. Map of the Pacific Islands 13 2. Map of the Fiji Islands 15 Illustrations 2.1. Cooking classes held at the YWCA. 45 2.2. Building plans for the YWCA showing the external design. 47 2.3. Amelia Rokotuivuna and fellow ATOM member Akuila Yabaki 50 sorting letters that were protesting about nuclear testing. 2.4. YWCA Platform for Public Affairs Advocacy. YWCA 3rd National 56 Convention Report, 10–13 September 1976. 2.5. Fiji’s NGO delegation examining the UN International Women’s 61 Year Conference Program before travelling to Mexico City. 5.1. Democracy is For Fiji: FWRM’s ‘frangipani’ poster. 151 5.2. and 5.3. WAC performing Bats and Birds in a rural school. This 154 play aimed to show school children how different communities can live together cooperatively. 6.1. Fem’Link’s expanded operations in 2009. 183 6.2. New FWCC premises opened in 2006 and constructed with 183 AusAID funding. 6.3. WAC Theater member working with pupils of Veuto Primary 209 School on conflict management. ix Acknowledgements The research presented in this book was shaped in profound ways by my discussions with the early generation of gender activists who worked in Fiji in the Independence era and by one woman in particular, Amelia Rokotuivuna. I encountered Amelia as I started out on this research journey. At that stage she was semi-retired. Her health was failing. But she still retained her reputation as a radical. Indeed I had seen a few instances of this as I moved around Suva in the preceding months. I was intrigued by her, but hesitant. When we finally met I was inspired by her commitment, her intellect and her warmth. Amelia became a figure central to the story I was weaving. She did more than assist my work as an informant. She provided me with an anchor. From her recollections, and her later generosity in entrusting me with the entire Fiji YWCA archival record, I was able to develop an understanding of the motivations which underpinned women’s advocacy in the period when things became ‘political’. This allowed me to ‘situate’ my examination of gender advocacy in later periods as the motivations of activist women shifted both in response to Fiji’s tumultuous post-colonial history and the changing geopolitics of the region. Amelia’s influence on the story I develop in these pages has been profound. I was fortunate to meet her and to be trusted by her. I profoundly regret that she did not see the first completed draft of this book before she passed away in 2005. I am sure there are things in it that would have made her unhappy. Nonetheless, the joy of ‘giving back’ my manuscript would have been worth opening up my work to her piercing critique. I am thankful, however, that with publication comes the opportunity to ‘give back’, if only a little, to the many others who have so kindly assisted the development of this book. The ranks of Pacific experts at The Australian National University are legendary and I was immensely fortunate to begin this research in their proximity. Two figures amongst that population, Margaret Jolly and Greg Fry deserve my greatest thanks. Their example as committed, honest and rigorous researchers has helped me to understand with clarity, what it means to be a scholar. In addition to their ongoing mentorship in career- related matters, I value knowing them both as dear and generous friends. As much as anything, this book is the product of their unwearying encouragement. My colleagues within the field of international relations and political science both at the ANU and, since 2009, at the University of Queensland, have provided me with a strong basis of professional support. I have greatly valued their willingness to seriously engage with my work and to defend the importance of my research agenda. To this end I am profoundly indebted to Chris Reus-Smit, Heather Rae, Paul Keal, Jacinta O’Hagen, Katherine Morton and Gavin Mount xi Situating Women: Gender Politics and Circumstance in Fiji with whom I worked at the ANU, and Richard Devetak, Roland Bleiker, Tim Dunne, Gillian Whitehouse, Andy Hindmoor, Melissa Curley and Frank Mols, at UQ. I have been privileged to work amongst such diligent and accomplished people who continually provide great inspiration to achieve. I am grateful to Ewan Maidment from the Pacific Manuscripts Bureau (ANU) for microfilming the YWCA archive originally in 2002, and to Kylie Moloney who later arranged to digitise this collection in 2012. Thanks are also due to the Education and Multimedia Services, College of Asia and the Pacific (ANU) for preparing the detailed maps which appear in the introductory chapter of this book. This research would not have been possible without the cooperation of many women and men in Fiji who indulged my requests for interviews with great generosity and who frequently spent many hours explaining the local terrain of gender politics in great detail. Thanks in particular to Claire Slatter, Peni Moore, Sharon Bhagwan Rolls, Dianne Goodwillie, Ruth Lechte, Tupou Vere, Nisha Buksh, Peter Sipeli, Carlos Perera, Gina Houng Lee, Viri Buadromo and Luisa Tora for their eagerness to assist during field work and the interest they have shown in my research. In addition, I am profoundly grateful to those in Fiji who in the ten years since I began my work in the country have become research collaborators and friends. My heart skips a beat when I now disembark from my plane at Nausori Airport and think about continuing discussions with my Suva- based colleagues: Sandra Tarte, Claire Slatter, Ashwin Raj, Peni Moore, Asenati Liki Chan Tung and Alumita Durutalo. I am immensely grateful to Carolyn Brewer, described to me as the best copy- editor at the ANU, Mary Louise Hickey, also working at the ANU, and Sara Meger, currently located at the University of Melbourne, for helping me navigate all the technical issues that are involved when one turns a manuscript into a book. I thank those associated with the Pacific Studies series at ANU E Press and particularly Margaret Jolly and Stewart Firth for locating the financial resources to fund some of this work. There is plenty to ‘give back’ when a project such as this is completed, and more than anything I feel indebted to my family. Without their practical and emotional support, my ability to complete this research and bring it to publication would have been seriously tested. My parents have shown unswerving faith in me and a pride in my achievements that inspires me to continue. My beautiful children, Angus and Olivia have endured my frequent field-work-related absences with stoicism beyond their years. My partner Gavin has continued to support my career even when our daily juggling routine becomes mired in complexity and competing obligations. His love, patience and continued encouragement have been invaluable and are never taken for granted. xii Abbreviations and Acronyms ACP-EU African Caribbean Pacific-European Union Accord ACS Adi Cakobau School ACWF All China Women’s Federation ACWIN Action Centre for Women in Need AIDAB Australian International Development Assistance Bureau (later AusAID) ANU Australian National University ATOM Against Testing on Muroroa AusAID Australian Agency for International Development AWID Association for Women’s Rights in Development BPA Beijing Platform for Action CCF Citizens’ Constitutional Forum CEDAW Convention For the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women CSR Colonial Sugar Refineries CWGL Center for Women’s Global Leadership DAW N Development Alternatives with Women for a New Era DFID Department for International Development ECREA Ecumenical Centre for Research Education and Advocacy ESCAP Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific FHRC
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