Western Province is working towards getting a Policy for Women well documented as wider Community Consultation has recently been conducted at main towns and Centres across the Province from a team of Women in Gizo and a UN Women rep in Honiara.
One such Meeting was conducted last Tuesday in Munda where some fifteen participants from both men and women were consulted and briefed about the intentions and objectives of the policy paper. The afternoon sessions did attracted huge discussion.
Guest speakers together with their counter-parts in the UN Women explained to participants that Western Province must have its new Women’s Policy and this can only be done through such Consultation to draw inputs and using the experience, know-how and relevent local knowledge available in the different community a proper women’s policy is then be drawn and designed.
Lisi Wong from the Women’s Desk in the Western Province said the consultation are far too important because ther are making sure that the process is moved to another level of commitment.
She told participants that it was very important holding such Consultation as it then allows the public through Consultation to make direct contributions.
“We collect these information which are then be used for the drafting process to begin, continue and completed’. She said that to have a policy for Women it is critical wider Community Consultation is important.
She said the Province plans to have a proper Document ready before 2021, “so we will use these Consultation visits as important information gathering processes before the drafting stage.The Western Province does not own a proper Women’s Policy Document at hand.
They hope to cover a good cross section of stakeholders and partner organizations in the Western Province such as Elders, Church Leaders, Youth and Women’s representative.
Relevant topical issues were raised such as ‘women in leadership, the role of Women in public life and general perception that Women must always rise up to the challenges.
In Munda the meeting did attracted a good number of representatives from the community and discussions touched on the relevent topics why the Western province must work towards introduced for a new Women’s Policy workerable which must be likeable to the wider population.
The workshop was funded under the United Nations Peace Building Project in Solomon Islands.
The team later travel to Seghe in Marovo as part of similar Consultative workshops there.
