In a bid to change the patriarchal and conservative view of gender in Fiji, Eta Tale Maisolomone Phillia Apa has put her hand up to be a contestant in the Miss Tebara 2022 pageant.
The 19-year-old is among seven contestants vying for the title of Miss Tebara at the Vodafone Tebara Carnival 2022, which is currently underway at Siri Park, Nausori.
Sharing motherly bonds with Lomaiviti, Miss Pak and Save is in the process of completing her secondary education degree with a major in Industrial Arts at university.
“In the society I come from, they still have a very traditional view about gender and I want to change that mentality,” she said.
“There’s this mindset that women only belong in the kitchen and men are supposed to do the hard work, but I believe that men can be very good cooks and women can be very good builders.”
She said she fell victim to stigma when she chose to study industrial arts.
“When they (some family members) found out that I was doing technical drawing in high school, they were very angry.”
Mrs. Apa said that being selected as a contestant was a surprise.
“I’m staying in the university dorm and when one of the girls from the hotel came to audition they said they needed more girls – so I volunteered, but I never thought I’d be chosen.
“I’m doing my best to prepare for the competition while completing my school work, while trying to do my studies and other activities in my free time between classes.”
She said her parents would travel from Vanua Levu to support her.
