17/09/18

Q&A: ‘Women leaders must fight gender bias in the system’

Nazhat Shameem Khan - photo
Nazhat Shameem Khan Copyright: UNclimatechange/Flickr

Speed read

  • 女领导人可以改变系统,推动机会平等
  • 障碍是固有的,改变它们是一项正在进行的工作
  • 斐济有助于使更多的妇女进行气候谈判

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[SYDNEY] Women in high positions must change the system so that every girl and woman can experience equality of opportunity, saysNazhat Shameem Khan, Permanent Representative of Fiji to the UN in Geneva and the country’s ambassador to Switzerland.

生于苏瓦移民parents of Indian descent, she has had a stellar career as a lawyer, a judge and a diplomat. In every position she worked to remove thebarriers girls and women face,无论是使斐济公共检察官办公室更具包容性还是获得性别行动计划通过as chief negotiator for Fiji’s presidency of the23政党年度会议(COP23)联合国气候变化框架大会

“作为女性领导人,我们的工作是查看该系统,看看它是如何在女性实践中工作的”

Nazhat Shameem Khan

She spoke toscidev.netabout her sheltered childhood, her struggle to get a job despite having a law degree from Cambridge University, her experience with gender and racial bias as an Indo-Fijian woman and harassment and bullying at the workplace.

From Suva Grammar school to Cambridge University and the UN, your achievements have been remarkable. What inspired and motivated you through this journey?

我是四个女儿之一,我的父母真的看不到女儿放心,他们的想法将无法实现。我认为这是我成长的激励因素。我很幸运地去了一个好学校有来自世界各地的孩子,这使我意识到变得孤立的危险。

其次,阅读是一种激情在我的家人。我重新ad fiction, immersed in this world of imagination. While my father read philosophy and history, my mother, who was a school teacher, read self-improvement books for teachers. This constant intellectual stimulation helped me understand that there is a whole world to be explored, that life is an adventure, and that each of us has a role to play in it.

Thirdly, my choice of studying law at the university was very motivating. I discovered very early that law is not just a profession but is also an instrument for social change. If as a lawyer you don’t strengthen society by creating better mechanisms for access to justice then you are not a good lawyer.

Lastly, I accepted the position at the UN because the timing was perfect, and it fitted in with what I liked to do. It gave me the opportunity to translate international人权,斐济景观的规范和价值观。

您在法律职业中遇到了哪些障碍,在1980年代是一个非常以男性为主的职业?您是如何克服它们的?

1983年,当我回到斐济时,我认为我可以选择想要的工作。但是,由于我的印度斐济背景,我面临性别偏见和种族歧视。有一次,坦率地告诉我,有空缺,但它们是为非印度起源而保留的。另一个,我对自己的意图结婚并生孩子的意图受到了疑问。在一次采访中,我被问到我是否有男朋友。

我之所以选择起诉,是因为公共起诉局长(DPP)办公室是唯一为我提供工作的地方。对我来说,这是一个唤醒的呼吁,无论您的教育程度或能力如何,种族主义和性别歧视的影响以及歧视的交叉性都将真正排除您发现自己的潜力。

How did you overcome the cultural, institutional and legal challenges that make women, especially in developing countries, feel disempowered?

我不得不说这些障碍是固有的,永不消失。这是一项正在进行的工作。作为DPP办公室的第一位女性雇员,我不得不经常证明自己并克服障碍,包括骚扰和欺凌。因此,当我成为公共诉讼主任时,我对自己说,这是消除系统内部偏见的机会。在我的手表上,我不想让另一个女人经历我的经历。到我在1999年离开董事职位时,我们已经通过删除系统中的歧视,例如改变我们采访人们的方式并改善促销过程,以确保当有人休产假时,我们已经设法拥有50%的女性员工。他们不会处于不利地位。

As women leaders, it is our job to look at the system and see how it works in practice for a woman. I think understanding that discrimination translates itself into stereotypical thinking, which then creates the barriers that we have to deal with. This is the conversation that we have to have more of and certainly we are having that more here in the Human Rights Council.

您是斐济总统COP23总统的首席谈判代表。是否需要在气候行动和气候治理中更有效地代表妇女?

COP23最重要的结果之一,斐济真正感到自豪,是性别行动计划。它是为各个国家设计的,以使更多妇女进行气候谈判,并确保他们内部培训和支持妇女成为气候谈判者的能力。例如,斐济的“太阳能妈妈”计划,与Barefoot College在印度,是赋予性别能力,可再生能源和气候行动的绝妙典范。

气候变化在太平洋地区所做的另一个良好结果是,在许多父权制社会中,妇女现在在适应计划中发表意见。正在修改文化,​​因为我们现在需要与妇女咨询和children。This business about substantive equality is an unexpected outcome of how we respond to气候变化。I find this to be the silver lining in the cloud of climate change.

当外交官是什么感觉?您如何平衡工作和家庭的需求?

外交官的工作是全天候的。它还涉及许多跨大洲旅行。它已经满了,但我别无其他。外交官工作的一个非常重要的部分是个人关系。我认为外交官必须是一个外向的人,但我必须说这对我来说并不自然。我已经担任了10年的法官,并且作为法官,必须做的完全相反。我真的必须学会成为一个外向的人。

我很幸运能得到我丈夫的完全支持,后者最近退休,担任沃达丰斐济首席执行官,并加入了日内瓦。没有他的支持,我无法做任何事情。当我出庭时,他会放弃一切并照顾一个生病的孩子。现在,我们的女儿是律师,我们的儿子是英国的工程师。

For young girls aspiring high in the Asia Pacific region, what would you say?

我会说没有什么是不可能的。如果您真的对某事充满热情,请立即设定达到目标的步骤。会有一百万的人告诉你你做不到,你不应该这样做,否则你应该待在家里。如果您想待在家里,请成为最好的家庭主妇。

不要灰心,也不要拒绝做自己认为最好的事情。如果您遵循决心的道路,您将到达那里。当您达到目标时,永远不要忘记年轻女孩开始这次旅程时的情况。您应该对自己说,您将确保更改系统,以便每个女孩和每个女人都能体验到您没有的机会平等。

Th是由Scidev.net的亚洲和太平洋桌子生产的。