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by PATRICK
KAIKU
Recognise women’s leadership
THE lack of political representation
of women’s interests in PNG reflects not only the lack of
political will and awareness by the country’s male leadership but
to a certain extent, it is a lack of appreciation of some noble
Melanesian traditions and should therefore prompt Papua New
Guineans to look at the cultural justifications towards greater
representation of women.
If Parliament is enmeshed in its indecisiveness towards promoting
equal representation, it is now incumbent on enlightened
provincial leaders to take the lead in lobbying for that
recognition.
In some PNG societies and provinces, the direct intervention in
the political system would not be a new concept if it concerns
equal gender representation.
Formal recognition of women leadership in provincial governments
that adhere in one form or another to the matrilineal tradition
could be one aspect of that intervention.
Provinces such as New Ireland, Milne Bay, East New Britain and
West New Britain have that as part of their heritage and identity.
The justification for this urgent action would not only be to
promote greater gender balance in the modern political institution
of the state; it should also be seen as the means of preserving
the unique tradition of matrilineal influence in PNG lest this
valuable part of our identity is lost in the pervasively
corruptive big-men style of leadership.
In a multi-cultural society like PNG’s, there exists the National
Goal and Directive Principle 5, which sanctions the people “to
foster the Papua New Guinean forms of social, political and
economic organisations as the tools for achieving the social,
political and economic development of Papua New Guinea”.
It further calls for the dynamism and creativity of Papua New
Guineans in the application of the respectable traditional ways of
life for the task of development.
Based on hitherto experience, the integration and realisation of
Papua New Guinean traditional political arrangements into modern
politics is far from being a reality.
For one, it seems the very process of identifying the useful
“traditional ways of life and culture” is apparently less
illustrious.
The total absence of any known traditional political institutions
in PNG’s modern political system is indicative of the very nature
of the present national political mentality, which is increasingly
biased towards the national level, formal institutions and
processes of the inherited Westminster model.
Little wonder, the short-lived “election fever” after every five
prolonged years of political inactivity seems to be the only arena
where the people’s participation in politics and public opinion is
demonstrated.
The obsession with the “big picture” is not the ordinary
villager’s problem; it is a symptom of the increasing collective
preoccupation with the status and extravagance associated with
national-level politics.
In its wake, leadership focus and political energy continues to
fail the very productive social capital and legitimate traditional
elements of PNG culture at the sub-units of our society.
The result is the nation loses the plot through the ignorance of
the noble traditions that had held our diverse societies together
in the pre-colonial era.
In recent years, one serious attempt to incorporate practical
traditional institutions of government into the formal arm of the
State has been through the 1995 Organic Law on Provincial
Government and Local Level Governments (OLPG & LLG).
That reform exercise saw provisions for the inclusion of three
chieftaincy representatives (who are always men) in the
composition of the provincial assembly.
However, the OLPG & LLG is defective in this instance in that it
presupposes that all provinces/societies in PNG are common in
terms of chieftainship and traditional leadership, thereby
reinforcing predominant elements of male influence into noted
matrilineal societies.
What does matrilineal culture
indicate of women leadership?
Take for instance New Ireland, which
undisputedly stands out as one society where women have had
relative influence since traditional times.
Since clan affiliation and hence, land ownership was traced
through the feminine descent or the lineage of the women, it
entailed some symbolic value that women were the basis of the
clan.
This matrilineal basis of clan affiliation in turn defined
membership rights and obligations with reference to the principle
of descent.
In New Ireland society, women’s reproductive and biological worth
towards determining the size and therefore survival and prestige
of the clan, gives effect to their respectability in their
respective communities.
It is not uncommon even today to see women in New Ireland having a
greater say in decision-making or influencing inter-clan relations
through their knowledge of land history or past migratory
movements of the clan and custodians in the transmission of oral
traditions of the clan.
Even some noted male secret societies where the secrets of the
clan are entrusted had origins that can be traced to the
mysticisms associated with innate feminine qualities or the
spiritual realm associated with female superstitions.
For example, one clan grouping may trace its origins and rituals
through oral tradition accounting the feats of a central
protagonist in the form of a powerful matriarch who would have
braved all the elements and perils to found a territorial abode
and establish the original population base of the clan, its name,
symbols and guardian benevolent spirits.
These symbols could be celebrated today in the songs, dances or
art such as masks or carvings.
Some critics would argue that this was mere tokenism in the sense
that real decision-making powers in traditional times were
concentrated in the hands of the men, especially the
physically-endowed fighter-leader class (usually brothers of the
women clan leaders or men who had proven themselves in certain
levels of accomplishments). That argument is valid in so far as
the male leader was a solitary being living in a constant state-of
war and competition.
Peace-time scenarios and the existence of humans in permanent
communities would otherwise mean that warrior credentials would
have subscribed to the source of clan affiliation and hence, the
relative influence
that women imparted.
However, leadership in some matrilineal societies was sometimes a
shared responsibility, where the male brothers of women were
delegated the responsibilities of the clan by virtue of their
physically pronounced oratory skills, money resources, knowledge
of customs and genealogy, land matters, and amount of controlled
land.
What could be done?
Women representation and the formal
inclusion of the matrilineal tradition of women leadership can be
given prominence in the formal arm of the provincial government.
Given the premise that provincial government and provincial
administration are responsible for good governance of their
provinces, the onus is now on national and provincial leaders to
take the lead in lobbying for recognition and a blending of the
noble values and structures as enshrined in their cultures.
It would, in fact, be a continuation of what has been conventional
practice.
Towards negotiating for the integration of matrilineal influence
in the formal Western State system, it could preferably begin with
increasing the numerical composition of women in the provincial
legislatures.
In this arrangement, provinces such as New Ireland could see
amendments to relevant sections of the OLPG & LLG and other
relevant election laws.
These amendments would legally give recognition to constitutional
quotas/provisions reserving seats in the provincial legislature
for women.
The quotas would for example provide mandatory reservation of half
the provincial assembly composed of qualified women
representatives from developmental sectors and constituencies
within the province.
Through either amendments to current constitutional provisions in
the OLPG & LLG or national legislations that govern the
composition of the provincial assembly and elections, provinces
with the traditions of matrilineal influence should be given some
leverage and relative autonomy to facilitate the empowerment of
women in their provincial jurisdiction.
Woman leadership would in turn nurture the virtues of humility,
social cohesiveness and order that have been part of these
societies since times immemorial.
*The writer is a cadet research officer
in the Political and Legal Studies Division at the National
Research Institute.
 
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