7 Cyclone Winston: Catholic Women’s Faith …
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and generosity, to give of oneself to others. These values are also expressively Christian. iTaukei women, especially married women, see their lives as that of service
to their families, communities and the church. In so doing, the women act out of
loloma (love, compassion and care for others) and see the maintenance of harmony
and relationships as dependent on their actions. This is what makes women central
figures in family and community life—their centredness is in their giving (Tarabe
2015; Meo-Sewabu 2015).
Tokou women value their families deeply and their responsibilities in their homes
towards their husbands and family are their priority. Similarly, in Meo-Sewabu’s
study of rural women in Lau, most of the women “felt their role was to keep their
husbands happy by doing everything to the best of their ability and many asked for
spiritual help to remain humble and accept that they were there to serve” (MeoSewabu 2016, p. 105). One woman “felt that the happiness of her husband and her
family is dependent on her. This sense of responsibility urges her to draw upon her
spiritual strength to persevere with the marriage” (ibid, p. 108). So women are acting
subjects and take pride in their indispensable roles in relation to the home and family.
At the same time women’s multiple contributions are often unseen, unrecognized,
and taken for granted by men.
Though women are central to the management of households and the upbringing
of children, men are recognized as head of the household and women are subject
to their decisions on most matters. Then again, a woman can influence her husband
and Meo-Sewabu points out (pers comm 2020) that if one wants to initiate change
in a village, one goes through the women. They are skilled at finding appropriate
ways to approach their husbands to broach a topic. The husband will then hopefully
advance the issue among the men. But women do not generally have direct access to
decision-making in Fijian villages.
As Tarabe points out, women “are usually placed at the lower end of the indigenous
Fijian’s social strata” (2018‚ p. 37). And she notes that “much of the major decision
making at the traditional village institutions is carried out by men … as a patrilineal
society, major decision making is done by men” (Tarabe 2020‚ p. 36). What access
a woman may have, depends on her status: if she is married into the village, she
has lower status and fewer rights than if she is of the village clan (Tarabe 2018).
If she is of the chiefly clan, her status is highest. Even then, if a woman is present
at a meeting, as a representative of say the Village Women’s Group, she still would
not necessarily freely engage in a discussion but would need to wait to (possibly) be
asked to speak (Tarabe, pers comm 2020). It is not generally acceptable for women
to speak out publicly in village community situations.
The high figures of Gender Based Violence in Fiji, as elsewhere in the Pacific,
indicate serious structural gender inequalities that mean many women are subject
to their husbands’ coercion and control, as evidenced in the 2012 UN Report on
GBV during the floods in western Fiji, discussed earlier. These different perspectives
highlight the many layers, complexities and ambiguities in iTaukei women’s status
and roles in relation to men in community contexts. Therefore, the point we stress
is that women are never passive victims but always acting subjects who consciously
navigate and negotiate the options available to them.
127
and generosity, to give of oneself to others. These values are also expressively Christian. iTaukei women, especially married women, see their lives as that of service
to their families, communities and the church. In so doing, the women act out of
loloma (love, compassion and care for others) and see the maintenance of harmony
and relationships as dependent on their actions. This is what makes women central
figures in family and community life—their centredness is in their giving (Tarabe
2015; Meo-Sewabu 2015).
Tokou women value their families deeply and their responsibilities in their homes
towards their husbands and family are their priority. Similarly, in Meo-Sewabu’s
study of rural women in Lau, most of the women “felt their role was to keep their
husbands happy by doing everything to the best of their ability and many asked for
spiritual help to remain humble and accept that they were there to serve” (MeoSewabu 2016, p. 105). One woman “felt that the happiness of her husband and her
family is dependent on her. This sense of responsibility urges her to draw upon her
spiritual strength to persevere with the marriage” (ibid, p. 108). So women are acting
subjects and take pride in their indispensable roles in relation to the home and family.
At the same time women’s multiple contributions are often unseen, unrecognized,
and taken for granted by men.
Though women are central to the management of households and the upbringing
of children, men are recognized as head of the household and women are subject
to their decisions on most matters. Then again, a woman can influence her husband
and Meo-Sewabu points out (pers comm 2020) that if one wants to initiate change
in a village, one goes through the women. They are skilled at finding appropriate
ways to approach their husbands to broach a topic. The husband will then hopefully
advance the issue among the men. But women do not generally have direct access to
decision-making in Fijian villages.
As Tarabe points out, women “are usually placed at the lower end of the indigenous
Fijian’s social strata” (2018‚ p. 37). And she notes that “much of the major decision
making at the traditional village institutions is carried out by men … as a patrilineal
society, major decision making is done by men” (Tarabe 2020‚ p. 36). What access
a woman may have, depends on her status: if she is married into the village, she
has lower status and fewer rights than if she is of the village clan (Tarabe 2018).
If she is of the chiefly clan, her status is highest. Even then, if a woman is present
at a meeting, as a representative of say the Village Women’s Group, she still would
not necessarily freely engage in a discussion but would need to wait to (possibly) be
asked to speak (Tarabe, pers comm 2020). It is not generally acceptable for women
to speak out publicly in village community situations.
The high figures of Gender Based Violence in Fiji, as elsewhere in the Pacific,
indicate serious structural gender inequalities that mean many women are subject
to their husbands’ coercion and control, as evidenced in the 2012 UN Report on
GBV during the floods in western Fiji, discussed earlier. These different perspectives
highlight the many layers, complexities and ambiguities in iTaukei women’s status
and roles in relation to men in community contexts. Therefore, the point we stress
is that women are never passive victims but always acting subjects who consciously
navigate and negotiate the options available to them.