The Fiji Women’s Rights Movement is pleased to announce the appointment of Tara Chetty as its new Executive Director. She replaces Virisila Buadromo, who left in November after 13 years with the organisation.
As FWRM’s Programme Director for the past two years, Chetty was seen by the Movement’s Governance Board as the most suitable candidate for the post following a stringent recruitment process.
Says Governance Board Chair Daiana Buresova: “We felt that Tara was the strongest contender for this position, given her academic credentials and her long history of involvement with the Movement. We have no doubt that she will carry out her duties effectively and add to FWRM’s national work, as well as its credibility as an esteemed feminist organisation in the region.”
A former Communications Officer for FWRM before leaving for the United States to pursue a Masters in Gender Studies, it is clear that Chetty has the confidence not only of the Board but also that of her former colleague, friend and mentor Buadromo.
Says Chetty’s predecessor: “I am absolutely thrilled to know that Tara will now be taking over the reins as the new ED of the Fiji Women’s Rights Movement. This is a critical time for Fiji, especially in its current transitional phase and I believe that Tara will not only meet expectations, but surpass them. She is well-versed with the dynamics of the organisation and is a passionate feminist and women’s human rights defender.”
Chetty is looking forward to the challenge of her new role: “We have an excellent team here at FWRM, and a strong organisation built on the legacy of the feminists who have comebefore us. I look forward to continuing the work for women¹s human rights with my colleagues here at the Movement, and in the the broader human rights community locally and internationally.”
Chetty will officially take up her new post in February, 2015.
Tara Chetty Bio:
Tara Chetty is a feminist activist from Suva, who has a long history of engagement with the Fiji Women’s Rights Movement. She was a former FWRM Management Board member, Young Women’s Working Group member and a former Communications Officer. Tara left the Movement in 2009, to pursue a Master of Arts in Women’s and Gender Studies in the United States, on a Fulbright scholarship. In the course of her academic research, she worked with the Women Human Rights Defenders International Coalition (WHRDIC), then based out of the Centre for Women’s Global Leadership (CWGL) at Rutgers University. After graduation in 2011, Tara returned to Fiji and human rights work in the Pacific, with the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) Pacific Regional Office.
She re-joined FWRM in March 2012, as Programme Director, before being appointed Executive Director in December 2014.
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