FEATURE

Nabulivou gets credit for defending women’s rights - 1-Dec-2008

SATURDAY, November 29 was International Women Human Rights Defenders Day, a special day to recognised the work of those who fight for the rights of women.

This year Fiji-based feminist, human rights activist and peace builder Noelene Nabulivou (pictured below) is one of the women’s human rights defenders being acknowledged in a special publication being released as part of the 2008 Global 16 Days of Activism Campaign.

Joining the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence Campaign, members of the International Coalition on Women Human Rights Defenders honour 16 women human rights defenders who have endured all risks and dangers to pursue their activism.

And according to the activist from Women’s Action for Change (WAC) network the 16 Days Campaign theme ‘Human Rights for Women, Human Rights for All UDHR60’ is important because it calls and claims solidarity and sisterhood with all women human rights defenders, globally.

“Our work impacts deeply and personally on every individual activist so it‘s not really important who is on the campaign posters,” says Nabulivou.

“Reflected in the 16 faces are a myriad of defenders in Iraq, Nicaragua, Burma, Bougainville, Tonga, Guam, Democratic Republic of Congo, the Phillipines, West Papua, USA, Jamaica, South Africa, the Solomon Islands, Fiji and every other country on earth all working against all forms of gender based violence and toward true equality for women and girl child. All carry the movement, and all need our solidarity and care,” she adds.

Who are women human rights defenders?

Women active in human rights defence who are targeted for who they are as well as those active in the defence of women’s rights who are targeted for what they do. Simply, it pertains to human rights activists who are women, as well as other activists who also defend women’s rights.

In every region of the world, many women human rights defenders - whether they are women, men, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or any other sex - often find their rights violated, enduring different forms and degrees of violence.

Perpetrators of the violence are not just those from the state. Many incidents of violence against women human rights defenders have been documented as committed by people from the community and family members who view the work of these women human rights defenders as contradicting social norms.

Aside from the general forms of violence they face together with other defenders such as threats, restriction of freedom of opinion and expression, restriction of association and assembly, arbitrary arrest, abduction, torture or murder, women human rights defenders especially experience sexual assault, rape, or other forms of sexual violence.

They face attacks, which specifically target their sexuality as a form of punishment for their advocacy.

Each of these 16 women human rights defenders marks a day of activism against gender violence - from November 25, the International Day against Violence against Women until December 10, the International Human Rights Day.

They represent the many other women human rights defenders we honour each November 29, the International Women Human Rights Defenders Day.

On these days and every day, we pay tribute to the courage of all women human rights defenders who risk their lives in defense of their rights, and the rights of others.

The publication notes: “Noelene is a Pacific workshop facilitator, trainer and community
educator, with experience developed in diverse spaces in rural, remote and urban Pacific areas.

As Coordinator of Women’s Action for Change in Fiji, much of Noelene’s advocacy focuses on rights of women and young people.

“Women defenders in Fiji are challenged because we work on human rights and equality in small, complex post-conflict spaces. Rising evangelical and right-wing nationalist groups challenge hard-won gains from recent decades,” she says.

“We face trauma of years of coup d’états on the whole community, and in particular on women human rights defenders ourselves.”

“Each subsequent coup sees still more of us targeted in subtle and overt ways.” 

“WAC ensures that unpopular issues such as rights related to sexuality, abortion and
sex workers, as well as religious fundamentalism, indigenous masculinist politics, and Fiji’s.

warrior culture and militarism are challenged,” says Nabulivou.



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