10 Jun 2013

Perform well to get equal support, says Fiji sports group to women

8:06 am on 10 June 2013

The head of the Fiji Association of Sports and National Olympic Committee says sportswomen need to perform well if they wish to gain greater support.

The comments from the Chief Executive Officer, Lorraine Mar, follows concerns raised by the Fiji Women's Rights Movement and Diverse Voices and Action for Equality about the disparity between the treatment of sportsmen and sportswomen.

Ms Mar says it is difficult for women, particularly in rugby and football to get the kind of support given to men.

"I think it's a chicken and egg situation where women need to perform well or as well as the men, say in terms of rugby, if we look at rugby in Fiji in particular, men's rugby, is, on the international stage, perform very well and therefore get the media publicity all the time."

Lorraine Mar says despite the disparity between sportsmen and sportswomen, there are efforts including those of the International Olympic Committee to encourage women to get involved in sport.