Interfaith Search Fiji representative Dr Rajesh Maharaj said the discussions at its monthly meetings had centred around the mention of women in scriptures and why they should be respected so much. "All religions say we must respect women and treat them equally but the message is not going through in many circles," Mr Maharaj said. "A lot of education is needed in our communities; we need to instill these good values in our young children from a very young age."
Personally, it makes me wonder what part of the current system ingrains children to see the differences of gender. It's parents, communities, media and everything else that says "you are different so you must be treated differently".
Although above it all, we are different. We have different gendered needs, maybe that's what should be taught. That while there are differences, people should be judged on personality, merit and experiences not gender. To some, this is common sense, but to others "our culture tells us otherwise".
I guess in that sense I'm glad Interfaith Search has said something. Addressing the misconceptions is a step in the right direction, isn't it? It's not as if culture doesn't change.
We could blame science for pointing out the differences between gender, or the whole human rights movement, but to be fair, there's a lot of ways that women and girls suffer because of culture.
FGM is a practice not called for in the Koran but has developed through culture. It's terrible, inhumane and just all round a bad thing to do. 92 million girls have had that affect their lives. Culture did it.
And then there's accessing education. When in a patriarchal society, girls aren't expected to get jobs or do much else out of the home. So she says home. She learns what it means to be a mother, a wife; no necessarily a person. In all honesty, it's fine if a woman prefers to be a housewife, but she should be given the same opportunities as her male counterparts. She should be allowed to determine her interests, which involves access to primary education. That in itself is an MDG.
That's why it's good that everything is being raised within the community. Mainstream education isn't going to be sufficient to address the issue, especially if the ideas about gender differences are stuck in their heads. Typically, in class one, children don't see ethnicity or gender. The ideas develop as their parents lay down the rules, as they are influenced by more forms of media. They become the walking, talking stereotypes unless allowed to do otherwise.
They are only children, after all.
