25 January 2013 Tonga's International Women's Day National Planning Committee (IWDNPC) met for the first time today, to discuss preparations and proposals for marking this year's International Women's Day.
International Women's Day (IWD) is held on 8 March each year to acknowledge and celebrate the achievements of women, and to bring attention to the issues that still face women today.
The Women's Affairs Division of the Ministry of Internal Affairs hosts an event annually to mark IWD. For the past two years, the International Women's Day National Planning Committee (IWDNPC) has facilitated events funded through the AusAID program, and had the support from various centers against Domestic Violence (DV).
In?view of?the upcoming submission to Parliament of the Family Protection Bill and associated community consultations,?the Secretariat is considering collecting?real life stories of domestic violence victims. ?Based on the UN theme, The Gender Agenda: Gaining Momentum", the Secretariat of the IWDNPC has adopted the 2013 theme, Real Stories, Real Women: Stories of Victims of domestic Violence to guide the work of the Committee this year.
Ms Polotu Fakafanua-Paunga, Deputy Director and Head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs' Women Affairs Division said the, "For the planning this year, the Secretariat is looking for?assistance from the Media, Judiciary, Police and the Canters."
"This event is an opportunity to show our respect, appreciation and pride in all women in Tonga."
Various women, including political, community, and business leaders, leading educators, entrepreneurs, and television personalities, are usually invited to speak at various events on the day.
This year,
the Secretariat is also planning to include a Workshop for Journalists on specialized
domestic violence reporting. This would be an added value to
journalists' skills which will include, greater public awareness of DV, changed
attitudes towards abusive behavior, and more so of recommendations for the new
Tonga Family Protection Bill.
Members of the IWDNPC include representatives from:
1. Secretariat & Chairperson: Ministry of Internal Affairs,
2. Development Partners/Missions: Australian High Commission; New Zealand High Commission; United National Development Programme, AusAID
3. Media: Matangi Tonga, Tonga Broadcasting Commission (TV/Radio Tonga),
4. Government Ministries: Ministry of Health, Ministry of Police, Ministry of Information and Communications, Crown Law Department, Ministry of Internal Affairs (Women's Affairs); Ministry of Justice
5. Women Groups: Langafonua ?a Fafnie Tonga, Ma'a Fafine mo e Famili;(MFF); Tonga National Centre for Women and Children (TNCWC), Women and Children Crisis Centre (WCCC)
6. Community Representatives
The IWDNPC will meet weekly to plan and coordinate the implementation of the national marking of international women's day.
For further enquiries, please contact Luisa Toetu'u, Tel No: (676) 27 099 Mob No: (676) 77 49211 Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
ENDS
Issued by the: Ministry of Information and Communications, Nuku'alofa, 2013. Tel: +676 28170 | Fax: +676 24861 Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
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