Queen Camilla has used her time while on tour in the island nation of Samoa to highlight the the work being done in the country to end domestic violence against women
The Queen joked about the King “toiling” long into the night as she addressed Samoan women to tell them they can “turn their hands successfully to any task that must be done”.
Speaking at a CHOGM Women’s Forum, the Queen delivered a speech from the stage in which she quoted from a local proverb. “I was delighted recently to come across the wonderful Samoan proverb: E au le Inailau a Tama’ita’i,” she told an audience, which included the Secretary General of the Commonwealth Baroness Scotland and the Prime Minister of Samoa.
Camilla also used the event to highlight the work being done in Samoa and other Commonwealth nations to end domestic violence for women around the world. She told the women gathered in the room that they had the power to shape their own destinies and improve their communities.
Camilla added: “With apologies to the men in the room, I thought that we might make this our motto today. “According to a legend, a competition was once held between men and women in a village to thatch the roof of the house of Chief Tautunu.
“Although they started at the same time, the women finished their side first, as they had laboured through the night, while the men slept. As one whose husband is often toiling into the small hours, long after my head is on the pillow, I should stress there are plenty of exceptions!
“But the moral of the proverb is: Women will turn their hands successfully to any task that must be done; and will work hard until it is completed.” The Queen, who had been welcomed to the forum by a Samoan band and a young man blowing a conch shell, was introduced to the stage by Jude Kelly, founder of the Women of the World Foundation.
After sitting on the stage to listen to others talk, the Queen delivered her own short speech as heavy rain fell outside. “As we gather to discuss our theme, “Advocating for Women and Girls in the Commonwealth”, we have a gigantic task ahead of us, for which we all – male and female – will need the same spirit that inspired those women thatchers,” she said.
“It is this: to end domestic and sexual violence across the Commonwealth, now and forever.”
Quoting what she described as “shocking” statistics showing 30 per cent of women across the globe had been subjected to either physical or sexual violence in their lifetime, most of which were at the hands of a partner. “Faced with the vastness of the issue, it can seem almost impossible to know where to begin,” she said.
“Yet our Commonwealth’s 75-year history offers hope, inspiration and – crucially – solutions. Leaders from around the globe are willing to meet, as equals, and to have difficult, and constructive, conversations.”
Calling for practical steps to make all homes, workplaces and communities safe for women and girls,” she added: “We know that abuse can be prevented and ultimately eliminated, but only if we work together until that task is completed.
“That is our commitment – to each other, to the Commonwealth and to the generations to come.”
