Contest elections just as men

MANY people appreciate the United States of America’s President-elect Joe Biden’s decision to choose Kamala Harris as his running mate.
It took 131 years for women to be allowed to vote and another 45 years for African-Americans to be allowed to vote.
Kamala Harris, who is no stranger to breaking new grounds in US politics, was the first person of colour to serve as a attorney-general and was a well-known politician as former president Barrack Obama.
In Papua New Guinea there are no barriers as in the US.
There is no racial discrimination against any race and every citizens over the age of 18 is allowed to vote.
After independence in 1975, only men were mandated to represent their people in parliament while women were regarded as mere housewives.
But this is no longer the case because the world has changed a lot.
Few women were elected to parliament in the past and laws were amended to allow women to be active in decision making.
The looming Bill to create reserved seats for women in parliament is equal to promotion of segregation.
God created women equally, giving dominance to other creatures and women should exercise their democratic rights just as men to enter parliament.
The creation of reserved seats for women might impress neighbouring countries and the wider global community that women are subordinates.
Perhaps will rarely participate in higher profile decision making processes.
In PNG, the oppression and vicious cycles of gender-based and sexual violence from men have forced women to believe that their decision-making powers and influence are inferior.
That trend has changed.
There are women who have been elected to high positions therefore women should not consider themselves inferior.
I believe women should contest the elections just as the men instead of creating reserved seats for them.
If women are given prominence as what Biden did with Harris, the world including PNG will progress into societies that are free of violence, discrimination and suppression.

Jeffsatu Lypin Lokait