16 Feb 2005

Tongan lawyer promises to push for womens' rights if elected to parliament

3:06 pm on 16 February 2005

A Tongan Lawyer standing for the Vava'u electorate in next month's national election, says if elected, she will push for legislation to ensure women's rights are protected.

Vusenga Helu is one of 6 women candidates, standing against 58 men for the nine popularly elected seats in Tonga's national election on March 17th.

Ms Helu says she's concerned that the current all male parliament seems to forget that half the population is female.

She says women are just as capable of excelling in politics.

"The country as a whole, give it a little bit of balance. There's a different tension now, like some of the behaviour in parliament for example, and no we have to look after our interests, and this is the place where we should be in decision making and law making, some of us who are trained in law."

Vusenga Helu.