Minister for Women, Children and Social Protection Sashi Kiran has strongly condemned a social media post making allegations against two women Members of Parliament, saying such attacks must not be tolerated and should be publicly denounced.
In a statement, Ms Kiran said the post, which tagged the Leader of the Opposition and Opposition parliamentary chambers, crossed a line and amounted to defamatory and derogatory treatment of women in public office.
“A social media post making allegations against two women Members of Parliament must not be tolerated,” Ms Kiran said.
“The post that tagged the Leader of Opposition and Opposition parliament chambers should have been denounced by them. They should ask this supporter to take this defamatory post down and defend women in parliament from such derogatory language.”
“Both women MPs are bold and strong women who have endured personal attacks in cyberspace in the past and emerged stronger,” she said.
“I urge all keyboard warriors to cease their personal attacks on social media platforms and let the police do their work.”
She said the focus should remain on unity and nation-building rather than personal abuse.
“Our focus should be on addressing issues together as a nation, supporting each other through these challenging times and building a better Fiji for the future,” Ms Kiran said.
The Minister has also called for urgent intervention by authorities, urging the Online Safety Commission and the Fiji Police Force Cyber Unit to investigate such posts and hold perpetrators accountable.
“I call on the Online Safety Commission and the Fiji Police Force Cyber Unit to urgently look into posts like this and take the perpetrators to task,” she said.
Ms Kiran also appealed to media organisations to exercise care and responsibility when reporting on such matters.
“We need more women in parliament, and attacks like these will only discourage women from entering public life,” she said, warning that unchecked online abuse undermines efforts to promote gender equality and inclusive leadership in Fiji.
