International Women’s Day (IWD) 2026
This global advocacy day is observed on March 8 every year. It is significant for Diverse Voices and Action (DIVA) for Equality, as it affords opportunity to share the work of committed feminists and activists in the Pacific and beyond, raising awareness of gender justice and human rights, and celebrating grassroots women-led organisations advocating for justice. This day promotes gender equality and supports the human rights of all women and girls and LGBTQI+ people in Fiji and the Pacific. While acknowledging the challenges that women face daily, DIVA for Equality also celebrates the contributions of feminist groups led by Pacific women.
DIVA for Equality is a LBTQ+ led organisation, so our top priority is to ensure that the lives and contributions of lesbians, bisexual women and gender diverse people are front-and-centre in all women’s organising, and that we are never silenced or marginalised in wider society, nor social movements. That we are feminists and work on all issues of all women, does not negate the specific work for LBTQ+ women and gender non-binary people in Fiji and the Pacific. Risks are high, and the courage of LGBTQI+ activists should be recognised, especially in this time of closing civic space, regression on longheld gains for gender justice and human rights, and in the face of rising fascism trying to roll back women’s human rights. We will never go back, and we are clear on International Women’s Day, and every day.
As we have made the case to wider feminist movement sisters and wider development justice institutions and government, please do not assume that the concerns, contacts and conditions are the same for straight Pacific women, as for Pacific women and people with diverse sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, and sex characteristics (SOGIESC). We share resonance, but our life conditions are distinct, and we face higher risks of violence, discrimination and stigma.
DIVA underscores the importance of feminist embodied justice and interconnections between human rights, gender justice, and sexual and reproductive health rights (SRHR) – linking them to social, economic, ecological, and climate justice. Systemic patriarchal issues continue to fuel gender-based violence and discrimination against women, girls, and gender non-binary individuals in the Pacific. As a lesbian, bisexual and queer-led organisation, we proudly stand with all women and girls and gender diverse people, on International Women’s Day, and every day.
Launch of the Pacific Women Lead SOGIESC Guidance Note
The Pacific Women Lead SOGIESC Guidance Note will be launched at the end of the month in an online webinar organised by Pacific Women Lead and consultants, Kris Prasad and Noelene Nabulivou. This Guidance Note is groundbreaking because it comes from the Pacific feminist LGBTQI+ movement, working with the largest gender justice programme in the Pacific, Pacific Women Lead. The result is a useful, pragmatic support document for the over 300 organisations in Pacific Women Lead and others seeking advice on how to address SOGIESC and universal human rights issues in their work. We have a long way to go for justice, but we have ongoing wins along the way.
Women Deliver Conference 2026
“We will never go back, and we are clear on International Women’s Day, and every day.”
DIVA for Equality, along with the Pacific Islands Feminist Alliance for Climate Justice, We Rise Coalition, and other feminist movements, will lead the Pacific delegation to the Women Deliver (WD) Conference in Narrm, Melbourne, from April 27–30, 2026. DIVA’s longstanding focus on Human Rights, Bodily Autonomy, Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights, and ending violence against women emphasises the urgency of this work. At Women Deliver 2026, DIVA will participate in plenaries, an exhibition booth for the 17 Pacific Urgent Demands Campaign, coconvene the First Nations/Indigenous Women’s Pre-Conference on April 26, and participate in various sessions linking Gender Justice, SRHR, and SOGIESC, as well as Gender & Climate Justice.
WD2026 emphasises the importance of substantive, resourced First Nations, Indigenous, and majority South women’s leadership, and DIVA has many sets of work to engage with and strengthen outcomes from the largest global meeting for women. Noelene Nabulivou, DIVA Executive Director, is the Regional Steering Committee Chair-Oceania Pacific, for Women Deliver 2026, and a plenary speaker. As well as the wider leadership, DIVA is accompanying and working with over 35 diverse women human rights defenders and activists from across the Pacific region, among over 150 scholarships provided by WD2026 to women across the region. A team of 5 DIVA staff and many further network members are travelling to Narrm, and we also have a ‘Nadi to Narrm’ grassroots inclusion Hub convened with AWID, connecting with the Australian team during the Forum, from Fiji, and elsewhere globally. Join us in our social media updates over the coming 2 months.
The Pacific delegation’s presence aims to amplify the voices of Pacific Feminists globally and to address the urgency of the climate crisis in small island states. Engaging women and frontline communities is crucial for meaningful change in local and global crises, especially on issues of gender justice, SRHR, and SOGIESC. Intentionally, DIVA brings together grassroots-led and wider activist movements and networks in the Pacific and globally, fostering liberation, ecological balance, and justice for all. To change everything, we need everyone. Participation in WD2026 is a useful strategy for cross-movement coordination.
New DIVA LBQ Scholarships Initiative
The DIVA Fiji LBQ Scholarship Committee was established following a Fiji LBQ Meeting in September 2025. It is designed to address socio-economic challenges, discrimination, and stigmatisation in accessing education for lesbians, bisexual and queer women, trans-masculine people, and transgender men. The initiative aims to support individuals seeking to complete a range of courses, from plumbing and agriculture to diving instructor training, tourism-sector employment, second-chance schooling, and more. The committee includes representatives from each DIVA Hub and DIVA for Equality staff. According to DIVA’s 2019 research, only 1 in 5 LBT women and gender non-conforming individuals complete tertiary education, indicating systemic exclusion from mainstream education and a lack of awareness of available training and development opportunities, and scholarships. DIVA has always prioritised practical support for the networks, but this is the first time to organise formal scholarships for at-risk and marginalised LBTQ+ women and people in Fiji. DIVA is now organising regular online meetings to share scholarship updates and course information and provide necessary financial support. Educated LGBTQ+ women and people can help themselves and each other, support biological and created families, and work for change. We are actively fundraising for this work. Contact us if you would like to
donate, all amounts welcome.
First Aid Courses: DIVA and Red Cross Training as a Feminist Response to the Climate Crisis
Fifteen lesbian, bisexual women, and gender non-binary individuals from DIVA’s Western-side hubs, along with five DIVA staff members, participated in a two-day First Aid and CPR training facilitated by the Fiji Red Cross at the DIVA Community Center in Nadi, Fiji. The training aimed to build essential life-saving skills for effective emergency response in communities. First Aid and CPR are critical tools for grassroots communities, particularly in climate justice and disaster risk reduction. In crisis situations, these skills can make a lifeor-death difference, especially in Pacific nations like Fiji, where medical resources are limited. Equipping diverse women and LBT individuals with emergency response skills is a vital response to the climate emergency. This training challenges the notion that LBQ women and gender-diverse people are merely victims, emphasising their roles as leaders and protectors in crises. Preparedness empowers grassroots communities to take action and support each other. DIVA will continue to offer this important training over the coming years, in commitment to gender justice and human rights in the Pacific, and to prepare for disasters and rising climate-change-related loss and damage.
Fiji Crisis Preparedness Support, Mutual-Aid Style: with Needs Identified by Women-led Networks
Crisis Preparedness Support and Mutual Aid Identified by DIVA Networks: DIVA for Equality’s urgent action response focuses on crisis preparedness and mutual aid for DIVA LBQ Hubs, Women Defend Commons Network, National SRHR Coalition members, QAQA: Fiji Grassroots Young Feminists Networks, Poverty to Power networks, Agroecology networks, Feminist freeshop recipients, and Just Fixes program. This initiative addresses urgent needs and safety concerns for DIVA staff and activists, especially in high-poverty urban areas and remote regions of Fiji.
Women from DIVA networks actively work on social, economic, ecological, gender, and climate justice, but face significant challenges that limit their engagement and impact, affecting their lives and wellbeing. Women and gender non binary individuals are particularly affected when seeking resources for their daily activities or accessing basic services. Women put forward to DIVA many urgent requests for food rations, WASH, biodiversity protection, SRHR, health, economic justice, crisis preparedness, and loss and damage response. DIVA prioritises these requests, including LGBTQI+ people, providing practical support for those unable to access state resources, to ensure justice and human rights. We listen deeply, so that the experts from the grassroots community can be heard and their daily and structural needs filled, over time. Mutual aid arises from trust-based relationships, long relationships, and knowledge of our lives, priorities, and human rights concerns. On International Women’s Day, we celebrate the work of committed womenled and LGBTQI+ led groups across Fiji and the Pacific, from informal urban, rural, and maritime areas. Women’s paid and unpaid work sustain communities and societies. Diverse women must be represented in formal local, national, regional, and global leadership, as we are already in informal leadership, everywhere!
