A traditional ban in the Vanua of Qoibau on women drinking kava has grown into a national flashpoint, but Men Empowerment Network founder Paul Morrell says the wider debate is obscuring a deeper problem: a weakening family unit and a breakdown in everyday leadership and communication. Morrell’s comments, offered as the controversy spread from social media into mainstream headlines and political commentary, shift the conversation away from a simple rights-versus-tradition framing toward practical, family-centred solutions.
Morrell told reporters the issue was first raised online and rapidly amplified by media and political actors, allowing “extreme ideologies” to seize the narrative. He argued that what might have been resolved through direct consultation with traditional custodians has instead been turned into a polarising national argument. “What could have been resolved through a simple conversation has now stirred emotions nationwide,” he said, accusing both political opponents and advocacy groups of reducing a complex local decision to competing labels of patriarchy or cultural preservation.
At the heart of MEN’s response is what Morrell calls a “family lens.” He says the vanua’s concerns extend beyond gendered exclusion to observable household problems linked to late-night kava drinking by both men and women: parents drinking into the night, children neglected the next morning, and family routines disrupted. Rather than targeting women specifically, he suggests a set of community-wide measures—such as restricting kava consumption hours for everyone—would address the immediate harms while respecting traditional authority.
The Qoibau ban has also reopened questions about how Fiji’s constitutional guarantees of equality sit alongside customary village governance. Morrell acknowledged the constitutional principle that men and women are equal, but warned that blunt constitutional arguments applied without attention to cultural context could provoke unintended challenges across other institutions, including religious practices. “Navigating where constitutional law ends and traditional practice begins is complex,” he said, urging more sensitive engagement between state actors and vanua leadership.
Morrell further warned about the speed of social change surrounding kava use. He outlined how consumption patterns have evolved — from chiefly ritual use to widespread male drinking and now increasing use by women and youth — and said communities are still adapting to these cultural shifts. For MEN, the preferred approach is not legal enforcement but rebuilding leadership and communication at the household and community levels to restore balance and care for children.
As a structural response, Morrell has proposed establishing a dedicated Ministry of Family to ensure government policies across economic, social and cultural domains are assessed against their impact on families. He argued that current ministerial arrangements do not sufficiently address the interconnected needs of men, women and children. Meanwhile MEN’s grassroots work will continue to focus on training men and boys in communication and household leadership, which Morrell says would reduce the “need to seek connection elsewhere” and lessen behaviours linked to excessive kava use.
The Qoibau ban remains the immediate flashpoint, but Morrell’s intervention reframes the issue as a test of the country’s ability to balance constitutional rights, customary authority and the practical needs of families. His proposals — limiting kava hours for all, stronger community dialogue, and a possible Ministry of Family — offer an alternative pathway to litigation or political theatre in the weeks ahead.
Leave a comment