There’s a call for the incoming Tonga government to appoint women to cabinet. This comes after none of the 11 women candidates succeeded in yesterday’s election, with most of them getting little support.

The new prime minister will have the right to add up to four ministers from outside the assembly. The Tonga Women’s and Children’s Crisis Centre’s Ofa ki-levuka Guttenbeil Likiliki says it’s good to welcome a new government under new terms but the absence of women in the parliament is unfortunate.

Tonga’s Women’s and Children’s Crisis Centre, says politicians lining up for next month’s election need to change their views on the status of women.

At a recent forum, many candidates claimed there’s no need for Tonga to ratify the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women, or to make changes to allow women to own land.

AS the world marks International Women’s Day tomorrow, a new guide aimed at providing policy-makers and advocates with ideas on how to promote more women in Pacific legislatures was launched in the Pacific.
The Guide was launched by the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat and the United Nations Development Programme Pacific Centre. Secretary-General of the Forum Secretariat, Tuiloma Neroni Slade, said in the Guide’s Foreword that “in the long-term, it is important that we continue to work with our Pacific communities to build greater recognition of the role that women can and should play as national leaders, including as members of our Pacific legislatures”.