Tonga rejects convention on discrimination against women
Updated
Tonga's parliament has decided not to ratify an international convention outlawing discrimination against women. It voted 18 to 1 with 4 abstentions to not ratify the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, or CEDAW. The Tongan prime minister's office says he Legislative Assembly believed that to ratify CEDAW would cut across the cultural and social heritage that makes up the Tongan way of life, which is not based on individual rights and freedoms, but on the individual's relationship with the extended family and the wider community.
Presenter: Bruce Hill
Speaker: Tongan women's activist Betty Blake
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BLAKE: Well I did not expect the government to respect it, because parliament had endorsed CEDAW and it was left for Cabinet to takeover from there, but it took us with great surprise and very unfortunate and we're not happy. We're very much disappointed, because of government decision not to ratify CEDAW.
HILL: What do you think of their reasoning, they said that under CEDAW there would be implications for laws on abortion, they were afraid it could lead to same sex marriages and also led to Tongan women having the right to own land, which might be problematic under Tongan tradition?
BLAKE: It's that time women owning land, but it was misinformation and not really understanding what CEDAW was all about, because it would make laws for abortion and legally have laws for same sex marriage. But there is nothing in the convention that says so things and that's why it is very disappointing for us women, that we have been trying to take the awareness of CEDAW to people all over Tonga, to the grassroots to women in the communities, that government had come with such a decision, that create misunderstanding I can say and it's almost to me that government does not really know what CEDAW and what are the articles in CEDAW
HILL: Do you think it's simple ignorance as you're suggesting or could it be that there is some animosity towards the idea of women having an equal status with men?
BLAKE: It can be both, not accepting women, equality with men and just merely refuse to takeover, to accept women, so that's why it is very disappointing for us women, and especially that we have done awareness for quite some years in Tonga about CEDAW.
HILL: Do you think that Tongan custom and tradition can in fact allow for equality of women, do you think that CEDAW and Tongan tradition can exist in the same place?
BLAKE: Eh yes, it can, it can, because now that Tongan are very educational, that Tongan do know now of their rights, so there is no harm in that. And I think if I can speak from people in the community, people from the grassroots, they do see the equality, they do see the rights of women as equal to men. It's just a very small percentage of our people in our country who still refuse to accept equality.
HILL: What are you going to do now?
BLAKE: Yes, I think we have to talked with women, we have now ready to put out a press release, and also we are going to write and response to the CD decision that was sent out and from there on, we women had a lot to say. We are planning now to look more into our election of next year and women are now standing up to mobilise women to work for women and I think there is more understanding in women.
