Health Minister Rosy Akbar says we need to break the barriers that are stopping women and young girls from maximizing the opportunities available to participate in sports at any level.
While launching the Vodafone Women Senior League soccer competition, Akbar said traditional perceptions of gender role and stereotyping attached to women's abilities have influenced the rate of women's participation in sports.
She says we need to work together to break these barriers.
Akbar stresses that sports has always played an important role in Fiji and it has enormous potential to empower women and girls.
She adds young female athletes are generally healthier and have a lower prevalence of overweight and obesity throughout life, reducing their risk for other diseases, such as diabetes and heart diseases, which continues to affect the children as young as 12 years.
Akbar adds that over the past decade, more and more opportunities for females to become involved in sports have arisen and female sports participation is greater than ever.
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