Women in politics programme filmed for TV

On Thursday morning at 10am CITV was the venue for filming a panel discussion for television on the topic of “From the home to the House.”
It was a discussion on increasing the number of women in parliament and it is part of a Gender related project undertaken by Cook Islander Lisa Williams- Lahari. The project is funded by UNIFEM Pacific as part of the Women in Politics support to the Region. The half hour footage will be sent to Pacific TV stations to air. The hope is that it will be aired along with a quarter hour gender related documentary being filmed in Tonga.
Lisa was one of three local women to tender for the project and while she was awarded to project, she decided to include the other two women and make it a joint project.
On the panel were Political Reform activist with Mou Piri Teina Mackenzie, representing the National Council of Women the Development Economist and former MP Vaine Wichman, CIP’s Gender Champion Tourism Minister Teina Bishop and Deputy Clerk of Parliament Tupuna Rakanui. The facilitator was Tangata Vainerere from the office of the Pacific Legislatures for Population and Governance.
Lisa told the Times the initiative was actually a Tonga -Cook Islands collaboration adding synergy to the coincidence that in November 2010 the Cooks and Tonga held their general elections just a week apart and the results were similar in that women candidates did poorly. This program looks at the reasons why, and the challenges to be overcome.
That’s why it’s called “ From the Home to the House.”
Lisa said there were several issues of interest.
1: Last year’s NCW consultation with women showed that women wanted special measures. The question was is that a true reflection of the public mindset, given so many leaders and women themselves, are against ‘positive’ discrimination?
2: The wake up call for those advocating women in politics came on election night. What is the next step in terms of preparing for the next elections?
3: Next door in Tahiti the 50% parity law ensuring half the candidates put up by political parties are women is in place, and next door in Niue, Government Minister Jacobsen says her entry into politics happened because of the common role voting system. Is it realistic for us in the Cooks to say change will come naturally and, as the Prime Minister said, in its own time?
4: It is strongly felt at all levels that no special measures are needed as women are their own worst enemy and need to sort out themselves to get into the House. Is that a reality or just more of the rhetoric of denial and a tactic to keep us in our place?
An important issue is the call to empowerment. The Cooks as a member of the Commonwealth Parliamentarians, which supports special measures as a way to accelerate numbers.
Another is the challenges of culture. For instance how do we move past the cultural view of woman’s place being in the home as the rock of the family, not in the ‘House’ of Parliament? Cultural respect allows male leaders and elders to stand up for nomination at party level, stopping the women and young women from pushing themselves forward, and forcing them to go independent.
As to role models for women, the common call after the elections is to do it the Aunty Mau way. But while respecting her success, is that the only way to do it? (This could lead then to the alternative ways, which allow you to introduce special measures, national seats -- which then opens up political reform. The thing to remember is that Aunty Mau is a role model for all political leaders, not just women. None of her male colleagues raked and baked their way into parliament. However, promoting the Aunty Mau model for political leadership encourages conforming to a very tight set of guidelines. We are living in times of social change and putting expectations on young ladies to be groomed for decades as MPs with that singular life goal is disconnected from the reality that there are young women who might take the path to parliament via some life mistakes just like George Maggie! And also that no one at 10 or 15 or even 25 has their career path locked and loaded which makes the role of youth parliaments and women’s parliaments so important.

By Charles Pitt

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