Noelene Nabulivou

Noelene Nabulivou (born ) is a Fijian activist and spokesperson on climate change, sustainable development, and gender equality. She is the co-founder and political advisor for Diverse Voices and Action for Equality (DIVA), an organisation that promotes climate justice, reducing violence against women, human rights, and LGBTQ rights.

Life Nabulivou grew up between Perth, Australia and Fiji. In Perth she was involved with small anarchist collectives, migrant and indigenous groups, and public arts projects.

In the religious and machismo-infused culture of her home, Nabulivou, who is the daughter of a Methodist minister, did not come out as lesbian until she was 35. She recalls that being openly gay did not seem a possibility for her generation, and in Fiji same-sex marriage and adoption by gay couples remains illegal. She describes ongoing discrimination and homophobia in her daily life.

Diverse Voices and Action (DIVA) For Equality In 2011, Nabulivou cofounded Fijian human rights organization Diverse Voices and Action (DIVA) for Equality, which she has continued to work for as political adviser of special projects.

DIVA carries out public education on LGBT and women's rights, creates safe spaces for them, and works with LGBTQI and female builders to ensure that people in those groups have safe stormproof shelter with sanitation facilities such as tap water and toilets. Violence against women in Fiji such as corrective rape occurs at some of the highest per capita rates in the world, giving urgency to DIVA's mission of building transitional and permanent shelters for victims away from their abusers.

Due to climate change, Fiji has seen reduced agricultural production; for example, bees must travel further and produce less honey due to a shortage of flowers. Fiji has also been battered by the intensifying tropical cyclones (such as Cyclone Winston in 2016) and sea level rise, which have forced dozens of coastal communities to evacuate. For Nabulivou and DIVA's gender and climate justice mission, this is a feminist and LGBT issue, as those already marginalized and impoverished face violence and uncertainty in the aftermath.

DIVA has assembled a network of about 600 women, forming "Women Defend the Commons", referring to the ecosphere and biosphere, which are held in common by all humans. The group takes part in activities such as planting of mangroves.

Awards

International Women's Health Coalition Joan B. Dunlop Honoree, 2020