FUNAFUTI (Pacnews) — Women in Tuvalu are calling for more training to allow them to contribute at the national level.
Speaking at a national workshop on democracy and the media, the president of Tuvalu National Council of Women, Katalaina Malua, said women are ignorant of the machinery of government, parliament and even how the media operates. She said even civil societies in the country do not fully appreciate the workings of the media through which they can make their voices heard.
Although TNCW representatives are involved in various national committees, such as the overseas scholarship selection committee, the AIDS task force and the National Bank of Tuvalu boards, Malua said they could be involved in high-level decision-making process of government.
The coordinator of the Tuvalu Association of Non-Government Organizations, Annie Homasi, said this issue was highlighted in the recent increase in salary of parliamentarians.
Homasi said the public was not consulted in the increase and labeled the move as undemocratic.
She said parliamentarians involved in the salary review committee, were the same parliamentarians “wearing a different hat” in a separate committee that endorsed their own recommendations.
