THE Ba Province Soqosoqo Vakamarama has visited a total of 108 villages in the Western Division to receive submissions for the Constitution Commission.
Ba Province Soqosoqo Vakamarama member Losana Derenalagi said although the Constitution Commission had moved on to the Eastern Division, they still wanted to make a submission from the women of the Ba Province.
“We’ve gone to the interior parts of the west from Sigatoka right down to Rakiraki and also to the islands and we have been educating the women about the constitutional process and also asking them what they want to submit to the Commission, Mrs Derenalagi said.
“So far they have raised a lot of issues and many of them are common to what other women groups have raised like equal representation in parliament, equal gender rights and rights for those with disabilities.
“One of the submissions that we will also be making is that we want the commission to clearly define in the constitution what the role of the military is,” she said,
Mrs Derenalagi said the group had also listed social justice as a submission because of the issue of providing basic needs for those in rural communities.
“Many of these women are in need of basic necessities like proper supply of water and the availability of services like health and education. This is one of the things that many of them have raised with us.”
Meanwhile, the National Council of Women Fiji has also been paying visits and conducting civic education at various villages and communities in the Western Division.