Petition in Support of CEDAW Featured
Nuku'alofa, 26 May, 2015. The supporters of CEDAW in Tonga is doing their best trying to sell to the public the need for the country to ratify this UN Convention.
Despite the multiple petitions, protest marches and strong oppositions from anti-CEDAW led by church leaders, the pro-CEDAW camp compose mainly of several non-government organisations is preparing a petition to Tonga Legislative Assembly in support of the controversial convention.
Public debates on CEDAW dominate the lives of ordinary Tongans for months not to mention the political implications and the uproar on media. While church leaders are able to mobilize the 95% + Christians nation, Tonga governmen remains commited to CEDAW as confirmed by the Minister of Internal Affairs Hon. Vakata to the media on Friday 22 May 2015.
'Ofa Guttenbeil-Likiliki a key women advocate stated in an interview with radio New Zealand yesterday Monday 25 May 2015 that there are plenty of people who do support the empowerment of women.
According to Guttenbeil Likiliki, 13 NGOs have come together under the Civil Society Forum to show their support for CEDAW even though the group doesn't have the resources of local churches which have mobilised against CEDAW. As such, representatives from these NGOs will sign the petition.
"More strategically we are coming together as heads of organisations that work on the ground, that work with vulnerable groups, that work with women who are not your average privileged Tongan women who have access to all her social, economic, political and cultural rights. We work for the women who have no say, who are voiceless" said Guttenbeil-Likiliki.
The pro CEDAW petition will be submitted to Parliament sometime this week as Tonga Parliament will be officially opened by His Majesty King Tupou VI on Thursday 28 May 2015.
14 comments
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Everyone has a right to their own views, interpretation and opinions regarding CEDAW..and I respect those who support CEDAW for that . What am concerned about is what they are selling to the public , focusing on the " not your average privilege women to their social , political ,economic and cultural rights "..we are all entitled to those rights in one form or another..Is CEDAW a solution or more a threat to our society ? .. What's is so wrong with treating women in Tonga nowadays that CEDAW is very much needed ?..Domestic violence ? , abuse of women ? , rape ?..etc , Isn't that all well defined under our laws in Tonga ?...what more is needed ?..death penalty may be ?...social and cultural rights ?..aren't women held in high regards in our traditional and social aspects ?..economic and political rights ?..we are all the same under the law ..or you rather want a special seat in Parliament reserved only for women ? ..but does that go against the very idea you are promoting in equal status ?..or is it the lame excuse the Government is using ?..ratifying it just to show the world we support it ....which we have always been doing here..we ratify it and they use it as a stepping stone to pushing and force feeding us with what they want.
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Let's take violence against women as an example. None of those women advocate of CEDAW has explicitly stated how CEDAW is going to stop the violence (eg. man beating wife etc.). Is CEDAW going to take the form of a policeman or robot or ninja, and be in every house to make sure that violence doesn't happen? or is it going to be another piece of paper sitting in a Minister's or lawyer's office collecting dust while people continue to beat one another? While CEDAW brings a whole lot of unwanted "rights" with it, there is no guarantee that the violence will stop. People break the law all the time, and what makes 'Ofa Likiliki & co. think that CEDAW will make any difference?? I can see in my crystal ball a man lifting his hand to slap his woman, and the woman shouts "stop, CEDAW is here" ...... I'm sure the man will be so scared of CEDAW that he runs and hides under the bed !!!!!!!! ......... the moral of the story is: just because CEDAW has some attractive, fancy and fashionable words like "elimination" , "discrimination" etc. etc. does not mean that people will automatically obey it. It may bring funds to organisations like WCCC but it cannot stop people from being violent.
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Faka'ofa mo'oni ha si'i mate 'a 'Ofa Likiliki ha 'aho ka e 'alu hake hano mokopuna 'o taki atu ha ki'i manu totolo ki falelotu ko e mali he 'oku tau'ataa'ina pe ia ki ai. Tau fakatauange ke tuku a 'ofa mo e kau fefine 'ai pa'anga he 'oku fe'unga 'anoa pe lao 'o Tonga mo 'ene Konisitutone ke fai 'aki hotau fakamaau'i.
Malo -
'Ofa Likiliki claims that they are working for the women who are voiceless and the women who have no say. My question to Mrs Likiliki is this - where was she when the voiceless Katalina 'Ali's man was stolen from her? where was she when the father of Katalina 'Ali's children was stolen from them, leaving them with no father? where are these children's rights for a complete family with a father and mother? Suddenly Mrs Likiliki is an expert in solving people's marital problems, forgetting the social and psychological damage she inflicted on innocent lives. What a hypocrite. Is that how you people work? you create problems to solve problems? Shame on you for selling your country to the devil in order to secure project funding for your so-called crisis centre. Can you Mrs Likiliki reveal the statisitcs on the number of young mothers you encouraged to take their husbands to court and they ended up going back to their husbands? How many wives filed charges against their husbands (courtesy of WCCC!!!) only to return begging the Police to cancel the charge as they still love their husbands? I suggest that if you want to solve marital problems, do it the traditional Tongan way (fakalelei fakafamili that involve the 'ulumotu'a, the faifekau and community leaders), and not run to court every time there's a domestic argument between husband and wife.
Take your CEDAW with you and move to another country. Tonga is definitely not for your kind.