A Fijian women's rights group believes national stakeholders have failed to take constructive action to stop a convicted rugby player from participating in local competitions.
Fiji's Amenoni Nasilasila attacks against England during the Cape Town Sevens. Photo: Mike Lee - KLC fotos for World Rugby
Former Fiji 7s player Amenoni Nasilasila - who is serving an eight-year jail term for raping a 24-year-old woman in 2018 - has continued to play for the Fiji Corrections Service team in Fiji Rugby Union organised tournaments.
Crisis Centre coordinator Shamima Ali says women's rights advocates were hoping that the public outcry as well as Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama's stance on uplifting women and girls, would help address the issue.
However, Ali says they've been calling out for all parties involved to stop Nasilasila from playing but nothing seems to happen.
"We had thought it was International Women's Day and the Prime Minister is in the country and he has talked about uplifting women and girls that some action will be taken,'' Ali said.
"Even the Minister for Women, Rosie Akbar, has called this out, but she's the government, we thought she would take some action and talk to the Prime Minister about this.
"So what we're going to do now going to now is go the next level, writing officially the Corrections Commissioner, the FRUand of course to the World body," she said.
Nasilasila was jailed for eight years in 2019 for raping the woman at Olosara, Sigatoka on 22 December, 2018.
Photo: VNP / Daniela Maoate-Cox
"He is a convicted rapist and it is beyond belief that the Fiji Corrections Service has allowed him to play in the Wardens side - he is not a warden, he is an inmate," Ali said.
Two prominent sports personalities in Fiji, Culden Kamea publisher and Managing Director of onlne rugby publication Taivovo, and TV sports commentator Satish Narayan in a video blog and an opinion column voiced their support for letting Nasilasila play this month.
Ali expressed shock at Kamea's support for convicted rapist and she didn't expect the same from Narayan.
She urged both men to talk to organistions like hers before talking out.
"I really didn't expect it especially from Culden Kamea because Culden and us at the Crisis Centre have worked together on the Uprising 7s and so on and the whole idea for us to work in-partnership was to end violence againsr women and girls, and that is rape and domestic violence and so on, and for someone who is often so level-headed that was a bit of shock,' Ali said.
"And, even some onewho is a TV sports commentator and a prominent man in our community...it is about rugby over rape, that is what I call it," Ali said.
Narayan lamented in his column that the convicted rapist would easily been the best player on the park at the Olympic Games last year had he not gone to jail.