Gender Sensitive Parliaments in Fiji

This book explores the relationship between an introduced gender equality rule and broader gender sensitivity in the Parliament of the Republic of Fiji. Key concepts of gendered institutional transformation – commitment, capacity and will – are contextualized from a Fijian gender politics perspective to uncover the extent to which actors and processes of this parliament are gender sensitive. Very little of the global research on gender sensitive parliaments has focused on the Pacific region, despite significant investments from international organizations towards gender sensitive parliamentary strengthening. This investment is often predicated on the assumption that the international actors who have been instrumental in defining the norm are best placed to entrench it in local contexts. The case study of Fiji provides an in-depth analysis of the challenges faced in establishing the roots of cultural political change required to achieve truly gender sensitive parliaments.