Human Security Linkages

Diary of a Community Radio Campaign: November 25 – December 10, 2011

O7 December 2011

Members of the Association of Anglican Women are calling for improvements to community policing including regular night patrols in order for women and families to feel safe. This is high on the list of human security priorities together with equitable and affordable access to tertiary education for rural children, improvements to infrastructure including roads and transport services.

They highlighted their priorities as they joined the community radio broadcast at the Saint Thomas Parish Hall highlighting the need for improvements to.

They and women from FemLINKPACIFIC’s “1325” rural network in Labasa, as well as members of women’s civil society groups in Nausori continue to access the community media space including the community radio broadcasts which will continue until December 10 – World Human Rights Day.

Members of the Rewa Zanana Muslim League who reside in Kasavu, Vuci, Manoca and Koronivia communities met with FemLINKPACIFIC’s team at the Nausori broadcast site in Nausori taking the opportunity to highlight their peace and human security priorities they have also highlighted poor roads and public transportation:

“I live in Manoca and when I catch the taxi after shopping, the driver drops me off far away from my house and I have to walk so far with my shopping,” said Ruksana Bibi.

But this is more than about going shopping. As women in other rural communities have highlighted, poor roads make it harder for women to access health services and children to travel safely to and from school:

“We leaveve to go to the hospital about 6am and we spend the whole day there waiting to be checked. It’s also hard to travel or find transport on bad road conditions” said Zohra.

Coupled with poor water supply and electricity supply, the burden of daily work remains an ongoing barrier to accessing opportunities for education, employment and decision making: “We have power failure all the time and it is hard for the students when they are doing their studies in the evening,” Ruksana added.

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Sharon Bhagwan Rolls
FemLINKPACIFIC
Suva, Fiji Islands

Sent via BlackBerry® from Vodafone.

ENDS

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