22 reserved seats an insult to women

AS a woman, I have been closely following the creation of 22 re­served seats in parliament for women.
The recent passage of the bill brings the dream closer to reality.
However, instead of being jubilant, I am rather saddened and insulted that we, women, should seek to enter parliament through the back door.
Have we forgotten that women make up roughly 52% of the po­pulation of PNG?
If we can mobilise and canvass the entire female vote, we are capable of voting in 109 female members of parliament.
What we need is for the so-called female leaders, who have been so passionate in advocating for special privileges, to instead show some pride and integrity in our gender and in our ability to compete on a level playing field like a few of our women (Kidu, Rooney, Abaijah and Clowes) and other great women in the world had done instead of resorting to an easy and undignified method to enter parliament.
We need to mobilise and consolidate female votes as well as win some male votes to ensure victory.
No reliable survey was conducted to gauge the views of the entire female population of the 22 reserved seats instead of being swayed by a small group of frustrated and failed political aspirants with no real leadership qua­lities who are vigorously campaigning to enjoy the perks and privileges accorded to MPs.

Shirley P. Kendekali
Port Moresby