Women’s Social Status and Development in the Small Island State of Kiribati: A Case Study of South Tarawa in the Republic of Kiribati

by Lupe Lutelu Kofe Corcoran

A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements of the degree of Master of Arts

Development Studies Program Pacific Institute of Advanced Studies in Development and Governance (PIAS-DG) The University of the South Pacific Suva, Fiji May, 2006.

©Lupe L.K. Corcoran, 2006 DECLARATION OF ORIGINALITY

I, Lupe K. Corcoran, hereby declare this thesis is that of my own work except for those rightly acknowledged. I further declare to the best of my knowledge that the contents of this thesis have not been submitted for the award of any degree at any institution.

Lupe Kofe. Corcoran May, 2006.

i ABSTRACT

Women’s social status and development in the developing world is a vital component that is of significance to development. In fact, women’s social status in the developing countries is far too low compared to world standards. However, in the urban areas women and gender issues are more focused today than ever before. The thesis examines the major roles of women in Kiribati society in general and explores the struggles that women face in urban areas, particularly in South Tarawa. The research has discovered three major issues if women are to be involved in the development of South Tarawa in Kiribati. Firstly, women’s social issues encompass all social aspects of women’s life by traditional norms which hinder their contribution to development. Secondly, their late entrance into formal education has resulted in their relative absence from all levels of decision making. Finally, the economic and political representation of women at all levels is very poor. At the same time, better representation would be significant to their development in the areas of concern. Therefore, these problems are to be addressed properly. It is vital particularly since as development continues, women are major players in the process, especially by providing a healthy, honest, efficient and effective work force.

Development brings positive changes, which leads to progress and better living standards. However, in the case of South Tarawa development has brought about multiple problems to the urban dwellers, and especially to women. The increasing population of the urban areas has brought many problems, for example lack of clean drinking water, lack of proper housing, lack of sanitation and lack of proper dumping areas. These problems have a great impact on women, therefore hindering women’s development.

Issues of women’s improvement require an effort by everyone, including the government, non-government organizations and private sector. Significantly, there is

ii need to realize the importance of women’s contribution to the development of Kiribati as a whole. Therefore, development would be more meaningful to women when they are recognized and involved, despite traditional norms. There is a great need for adoption of sound policies for improving women’s status and development in Kiribati.

iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I wish to thank all those who offered assistance in different forms while I tried to complete this piece of work. I wish to convey my great and sincere gratitude to all for their help.

Firstly, I would like to acknowledge untiring and academic guidance provided by Dr. Manoranjan Mohanty, my supervisor. Thank you very much, for the advice and time you went through with me to complete this thesis. My sincere thanks to Dr. Mahendra Reddy and Professor Robbie Robertson of the Centre of Development Studies for their help and inspiration in completing this thesis. My sincere thanks also to Ms. Kesaia Paulo secretary, Centre of Development Studies and Salanieta Vakalala of the Postgraduate Affairs for their kind help and directions.

I am indebted to all my colleagues who in one way or the other contributed to the completion of this piece of work, kam bati n raba and to all in the SSED Postgraduate Committee for providing financial support for conducting field work in South Tarawa. To undertake the research cost a lot, therefore with sincere gratitude I thank the Committee for without their considerate financial support this thesis would not have been completed.

I wish to thank the respondents to the questionnaires because without their responses the survey would not have been possible. To the officials of Aia Maea Ainen Kiribati (AMAK) organization, namely Mrs. M. Riwata, the president for the women’s organization, Mrs. M Takanene, National Gender Officer, Mr. J. Collins the legal advisor and Ms M. Wilson the acting Women’s Development Officer for providing all the necessary information and documents. My sincere thanks to the officials at the Foundation for the People of the South Pacific (FSP) particularly, Ms. Komera Otea, project officer, and Ms. Erimeta Barako, project officer. To Mr. Borau Koina, Secretary to the Ministry of Internal Affairs; Mr. Batoromaio Kiritian, Examiner Analyst for the

iv Centre of Development Unit, Ministry of Education; Mrs. Jenny K. Tonganibeia, Statistics Officer in the Ministry of Finance and Mrs. Tinaai Iuta, National Nutritionist, Ministry of Health, for their cooperation and help.

I would also like to acknowledge the following people, for their edit expertise. Malo aupito Barbara Hau’ofa, from USP. Tekeinang Morimai and Pelenise Alofa kam bati n raba. And fafetai lava to Dr. Kuresa Tagai from Pacific Adventist University for your time. Kam bati n raba for your tolerance and patience.

Furthermore, I would like to acknowledge my family, especially my sister Mrs. Puasina Bott and husband Mr. Fred Bott, who in many ways contributed greatly by providing financial support for this study and also the encouragement to see it through to conclusion. Fakafetai lasi to my mother, Mrs. Seluia Fakaua, and members of my family, Talotalo Peniata and Ms. Watson Fakaua for their great support while conducting the survey in Tarawa, for without their assistance in providing for my needs this thesis would not have materialized. To my Solomon sister, Ms Selina Boso, for the encouragement and support that enabled me to complete this volume.

Last but not the least my sincere thanks to my dear husband, John Corcoran for his prayers and financial support, patience and understanding to complete this piece of work, ko bati n raba for everything. Not forgetting my three sons, Smith Bryce Corcoran, Mark Angus Corcoran and Virgil Allan Corcoran for their patience, understanding and support in times when I did not have time to attend to their needs, thank you very much for being accommodating, I love you all.

TO ALL KAM BATI N RABA.

v TABLE OF CONTENTS

DECLARATION i ABSTRACT ii-iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENT iv-v TABLE OF CONTENTS vi-viii LIST OF TABLE ix-x LIST OF FIGURE xi LIST OF PHOTO xi ABBREVIATION xii

CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION 1-15 1.1 Background 1-10 1.1.1 Rationale 10 1.2 Objectives 11 1.3 Research Methodology 12 1.4 Significance of the study 13 1.5 Structure of Thesis 14-15

CHAPTER TWO: CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK 16-36 2.1 Introduction 16 2.2 Conceptual Framework and Literature Review 17-32 2.2.1 Status of Women in the South Pacific Countries 32-35 2.3 Conclusion 36

CHAPTER THREE: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 37-47 3.1 Introduction 37 3.2 Conceptual Context of Methodology 37-39 3.3 Research Design 39 3.3.1 Source of Data 40 3.3.2 Method of Data Collection 40 3.3.2.1 Questionnaires 40 3.3.3 Research Questions 41 3.3.4 Sampling 41 3.3.4.1 Household Coverage by Gender 42 3.3.5 Coding, Tabulation and Data 43 3.4 Study Area 43 3.5 Research Limitations 46 3.6 Conclusion 46

vi CHAPTER FOUR: KIRIBATI AND SOUTH TARAWA: A BACKGROUND 48-65 4.1 Introduction 48 4.2 Geography 49 4.3 Demography 50 4.4 Society and Culture 53 4.5 Social Development 56 4.5.1 Education 56-59 4.5.2 Health 59 4.5.2.1 Life Expectancy 59 4.6 Economy and Women’s Participation 60 4.7 Government Policy towards Welfare and Development of Women in Kiribati 63 4.8 Conclusion 64-65

CHAPTER FIVE: RESEARCH FINDINGS AND ANALYSIS 66-88 5.1 Introduction 66 5.2 Research Findings 66 5.2.1 The Women’s Social Status and Development in South Tarawa 67 5.2.1.1 Sex Imbalances 67 5.2.1.2 Marital Status 68 5.2.1.3 Type of family 70 5.2.1.4 Religion 72 5.2.1.5 Female-headed households in Urban Centres in South Tarawa 73 5.2.1.6 Educational Status of Women 74 5.2.1.7 Nutritional and Health Status 75 5.2.1.8 Violence against women 77 5.2.2 Women’s Economic Participation and Status in South Tarawa 80 5.2.2.1 Employment Status 80 5.2.2.2 Women’s Participation in the Urban Informal Sector in South Tarawa 81 5.2.2.3 Occupational Status of Women in South Tarawa 83 5.2.3 Political Participation of Women in Kiribati 86 5.3 Conclusion 87-88

vii CHAPTER SIX: CONCLUSION AND RECOOMMENDATIONS 89-96 6.1 Research Findings 93 6.2 Recommendations 95 6.3 Implication of the Study 95 6.4 Future Research 96

BIBLIOGRAPHY 97-107

APPENDICES 108-116 APPENDIX A 109-113 APPENDIX B 114 APPENDIX C 115 APPENDIX D 116

viii LIST OF TABLE

Table 1.1 Social Indicators in Selected Developing Regions, 2000. 5 Table 1.2 Basic Human Development Indicators for Selected Pacific Countries, 1999. 7 Table 2.1 Educational Development Indicators in selected countries of the South Pacific,1999. 27 Table 3.1 Summary of Sample of Survey on South Tarawa by Centre 42 Table 3.2 Coverage of Male and Female-headed Households in South Tarawa by Centre. 43 Table 3.3 Population, Households and Density in South Tarawa’s Urban Centres, 2000. 45 Table 4.1 Population by Sex and Intercensal Growth Rates in Kiribati and South Tarawa 1931 to 2000. 50 Table 4.2 Population by Denomination 1931-2000. 56 Table 4.3 Trends in Tertiary Institutions Enrolment: in Kiribati by Gender, 1990-1996. 58 Table 4.4 Selected Human Indicators for Kiribati Population by Gender, 2000 58 Table 5.1 Sex Ratio in South Tarawa by Urban Centre, 2000. 67 Table 5.2 Rural and Urban (South Tarawa) population by sex according to the Census Period, 1985 - 2000. 68 Table 5.3 Marital Status for male and female-headed households per centre in South Tarawa. 69 Table 5.4 Percent distribution of resident population by Area and Marital Status , 2000. 70 Table 5.5 Family Type for households per urban centre in South Tarawa. 71

ix Table 5.6 Religion in Household Survey per Urban Centre in South Tarawa 72 Table 5.7 Female-headed Households Coverage per Urban Center in South Tarawa. 73 Table 5.8 Educational Level of Female-headed Households in South Tarawa by Urban Centre 74 Table 5.9 Diseases of Male and Female-headed Households in Urban Centres in South Tarawa. 76 Table 5.10 Reported Domestic Violence Cases in Bikenibeu Urban Centre, 1999-2003. 77 Table 5.11 Household responses for Reasons for Domestic Violence against Women in South Tarawa by Urban Centre. 78 Table 5.12 Employment Status of Male and Female-headed households in South Tarawa per Urban Centre 80 Table 5.13 Women’s Participation in Informal Sector Activity in South Tarawa per Urban Centre. 81 Table 5.14 Occupational Status of Women in South Tarawa Households per Urban Centre. 84 Table 5.15 Indigenous Population aged 15 years and over working in the cash sector by occupation and gender in South Tarawa, 2000. 85 Table 5.16 Trends in Male and Female-headed Households Income per Urban Centre in South Tarawa. 86 Table 5.17 Gender Differentials in selected top management positions in South Tarawa in Kiribati. 86

x LIST OF FIGURE

Figure 3.1 Study Area: South Tarawa Atoll in Kiribati. 44 Figure 4.1 Kiribati and the South Pacific . 48 Figure 4.2 The Republic of Kiribati. 49 Figure 4.3 Population Trend in South Tarawa 1931-2000. 51 Figure 4.4 Kiribati Population by sex 1921-2000. 52

LIST OF PHOTO

Photo 4.1 Kiribati woman spreads copra to dry in the sun. 61 Photo 4.2 Kiribati women cultivating babai. 62 Photo 5.1 Women selling at the market beside the road at Bikenibeu, Tarawa. 82 Photo 5.2 Local Market in Bairiki. 83

xi ABBREVIATION

ADB Asian Development Bank AMAK Aia Maea Ainen Kiribati CEDAW The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women FSP Foundation for the People of the South Pacific GAD Gender and Development GDI Gender-Related Development Index GDP Gross Domestic Product GEM Gender Empowerment Measure HIV/AIDS Human Immunodeficency Virus/Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome ILO International Labour Organisation KRERF Kiribati Revenue Equalization Reserve Fund NGO Non-Government Organisation PACFAW Pacific Foundation for the Advancement of Women SAP Structural Adjustment Programme STD Sexual Transmitted Disease UNDP United Nation Development Programme WAD Women and Development WHO World Health Organisation WID Women in Development

xii CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background

Never before have women and gender issues come into so much focus as they are today in the developing world. Gender inequity1 in terms of employment, education, health care, personal autonomy, decision-making and leisure has brought women’s issues under scrutiny as never before. Studies show that women’s social status and development in developing countries are generally poor in the areas of literacy, life expectancy and nutritional health. Not surprisingly, in most parts of the world, mostly in the Third World countries including the small island state of Kiribati, women today are fighting for equality as they have been treated unjustly and unfairly because of the restrictive elements of traditional norms, ideas and values.

Coupled with the existing problems of women’s issues in the various societies of the South Pacific region is the rapidly increasing urban population with its associated problems of poverty, disease and crime. The population trend shows that rapid increase in urban centres inevitably leads to the scarcity and limitation of resources. This causes problems to women as they shoulder critical life-sustaining responsibilities. Women play the roles as major agents of social reproduction and production and managers of households.

According to Rooney (1975) women make a major contribution to the labour force by gardening, fishing, weaving, collecting shellfish, helping build houses, running the home and looking after children as well as being involved in all ceremonial activities. As providers and sustainers of families they face the reality of limited resources that go hand in hand with the increasing population in urban areas. That is, the difficulties the

1 The power relationship that produces inequality in relationship between sexes.

1 women face in sustaining family welfare and wellbeing are intensified with population increase.

The scarcity of resources in urban areas means extra hours the women have to labour to obtain the necessities for the family’s basic needs as competition for resources becomes increasingly high. This makes it very difficult for women to improve their status. Lack of clean drinking water, safe sanitation, and proper housing to accommodate the rapid increase of population in urban areas increases women’s problems. For example, women in rural areas in developing countries walk long distances to fetch clean water for drinking, cooking, cleaning and hygiene purposes (United Nations, 1991:17). The task sounds exhausting and constitutes one of many responsibilities women have.

The questions this thesis seeks to answer are: - Firstly, what is the current social status of women in Kiribati? Secondly, what is the economic and political participation rate of women in South Tarawa? Thirdly, to what extent does gender inequality exist between men and women in South Tarawa? Fourthly, what efforts are being made to enhance the status of women in the study area? Fifthly, what measures to reduce violence against women in South Tarawa are being implemented? Lastly, what health deficiencies are women vulnerable to and what programs are being implemented to enhance women’s social status?

Currently, women’s social status compared to that of men’s in developing countries, has been exacerbated by the development process and is considered very poor. Traditional attitudes and prejudices against women’s participation prevail in economic, social and political areas and thus hinder women’s performance in the various public capacities. Traditional culture has been an impediment to women taking an active role in the economy for the last two decades (United Nations, 1991:17).

2 However, realising how important their status is in the development process, women globally, in the last two decades have continued to advocate the significance of improving their status focussing especially on narrowing the existing disparity between them and men in the areas of health, education, employment, economics and decision- making. For instance, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) was implemented on 3rd September, 1981 to remove all forms of discrimination preventing women in developing countries from achieving equal political, legal, economic and social rights with men and enjoying equal benefits of development. The Convention on the Political Rights of Women, the Convention on the Nationality of Married Women, and the Convention on Consent to Marriage, Minimum Age for Marriage and Registration of Marriages are attempts by different organisations including United Nations to help improve women’s status. In addition, ILO organized a number of conventions focussing on women’s situation (South Pacific Forum Secretariat, 1998). That is how women advocate the importance of their contribution to the development process.

Moreover, according to Litau (1993:1) there are often ‘disadvantages’ that women encounter under different settings and circumstances. She explains that the reason for the increasing interest in the status of women in the developing nations is a belief that when women’s status is improved, their contribution to reducing fertility and population growth in the South Pacific will be possible. For instance, in the United States of America (USA) fertility decline preceded improvements in women’s status (Ware, 1981 cited in Litau: 1993:1) but whether this will happen in the Pacific context is uncertain (Litau, 1993:1). This suggests that education plays a crucial role as a tool for improving women’s social status in the Pacific.

3 The poor and low status of women in the developing world affects limitations and barriers that thwart their progress. Women have limited access to formal education. Legal barriers limit their rights to land, credits and other services. Their traditional ‘chores’ are time-consuming. However, the women’s movement worldwide and especially in the South Pacific region, has been fast growing. Women in the South Pacific have felt the need for recognition and respect as important players and major contributors to the development process. Empowering them as a group would have more weight than each of them speaking as individuals.

Furthermore, legal barriers extend their boundary to include marriage spheres. In the Pacific region in particular Kiribati, once a woman is married to a non-I-Kiribati, Section 26 of the Constitution of Kiribati, states that Any woman who after the day prior to Independence Day marries a person who is or becomes a citizen of Kiribati shall be entitled, upon making application in such manner as may be prescribed, to be registered as a citizen of Kiribati (Trease, 1993).

According to Section 26 of the Constitution of Kiribati, when a Kiribati woman marries someone from another country he does not automatically become a citizen of Kiribati. The Kiribati woman’s husband has to apply to become a Kiribati citizen if he decides to stay with the wife in Kiribati. This law discriminated the legal rights of Kiribati women as citizens of the country. However, women in Kiribati face multiple difficulties within the married spheres. Once married her life changes drastically in terms of household chores, family obligations to bear and rear children and caring for parents and even parents-in-law (Trease, 1993). Women, with so many domestic and other duties, suffer in silence as tradition prevails. Reports in the East-West Centre (2000), claim that balancing work and family obligations has added greater strain on women. This clearly illustrates the differences in housework patterns between married women and married men globally. Household chores described as time-consuming include cleaning, cooking, laundry and grocery shopping, all of which not only overburden women but also show the inequality of home activity load between females and males at home in Kiribati. Whether women

4 have a paid occupation outside the home or not, they are still compelled to fulfil their family obligations.

Likewise, in the Pacific region, the expectations imposed on women are no different from the East Asian women responsibilities. Because of their inadequate participation in the work force due to spending most of their economic years nurturing children and attending to the elderly, the women’s economic activities appear insignificant and are not prized. However, in the Pacific region, there are a few observed changes in a few areas which affected women’s social status. The following table shows inequality between men and women in the social progress indicators in selected developing regions.

Table 1.1 Social Indicators in Selected Developing Regions, 2000

Region Life Expectancy Literacy Gender (Years) Parity Female Male Index Ages 15-24

East Asia and Pacific 71 67 1.0 Europe and Central Asia 74 64 1.0 Latin America and Caribbean 74 67 1.0 Middle East and North Africa 69 66 0.9 South Asia 63 62 0.8 Sub-Saharan Africa 47 46 0.9

Source: World Bank, 2003.

Table 1.1 shows the disparity overall life expectancy and literacy rates of males and females in developing areas for the year 2000. In Latin America and the Caribbean, East Asia and Pacific and Europe and Central Asia life expectancy rates between males and females show that females’ life expectancy rates are higher than that of males. The higher life expectancy of women denotes the improvement of services and better health

5 care provided for both men and women but especially to eliminate women’s health problems.

In the South Pacific region women’s status was and is confined to domestic duties and the home. When the missionaries arrived during the colonial period to the South Pacific, missionaries elevated the women’s status through the establishment of women’s clubs, which taught them domestic skills, while work outside the home was introduced to men (AusAid, 1998:12). However, Slatter (1984a) points out that colonial official observed and documented little on women’s economic and productive role during the colonial period, as they preferred women as more properly belonging to the domestic sphere. This belief has slowed the immediate appearance of women in public. Considerable efforts by women in pushing their status in the education, health, and the economic and political spheres have shown dramatic improvement in the last two decades. Women’s social status and development in the island state of Kiribati, particularly in the urban centres of South Tarawa, are similar to many developing countries. However, women are still experiencing gender inequality because of tradition, which advocates the male-dominant norm.

In the recent 7th Commonwealth Affairs Meeting in Nadi, Fiji, in 2004 the main focus of the women’s convention was to ‘fight for equality’. The women involved were from all over the world who are working together to fight for equal respect, responsibilities and opportunities as men enjoy. The Director for Nigeria’s Women’s Affairs explained that ‘women’s fight would be long and tough but it is better to make a start’ (The Fiji Times, 2004:8). Problems of women in developing countries are attributed to their ‘status’ in traditional society. Such meetings by the women’s movement worldwide happen so they could effectively address the gender disparity as a group instead of as individuals. As women works on their special needs and special interests, the main focus is to be respected and recognized by men as important contributors to the welfare and wellbeing of their families, communities and nations.

6 Gender inequality is demonstrated not only at the household level in terms of work load, food distribution, responsibilities and accessibility, but also at the national and regional levels. This explains the growing emphasis by the United Nations and similar organizations in raising ‘the status of women’ by involving them in development, often through programs and projects. Women in the South Pacific region have experienced similar problems as tradition is very much the dictator. The women in Kiribati are no exceptions. They face the same problems as the indicators of social progress in Table 1.2 explain their social status in terms of life expectancy and literacy. In Kiribati the life expectancy of females is higher than that of men. Interestingly, compared to many Pacific island countries such as Federated States of Micronesia, Marshall Islands, Palau, PNG, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu female literacy level in Kiribati is higher (Table 1.2).

Table 1.2 Basic Human Development Indicators for Selected Pacific Countries, 1999. Country Annual Life Expectancy Adult Literacy Population (Years) (%) Growth (%) M F M F

Cook Islands -1.8 71 74 93 94 Fiji Islands 0.9 65 69 95 91 FSM* 2.1 64 67 77 66 Kiribati 2.1 59 65 94 91 Marshall Islands 3.6 63 67 79 69 Nauru 2.4 55 62 95 95 Niue -1.0 74 74 98 97 Palau 2.4 64 74 94 88 PNG* 2.5 55 54 35 21 Samoa 1.2 65 67 96 96 Solomon Islands 3.3 64 66 39 20 Tokelau -0.8 68 70 92 90 Tonga 0.3 65 71 99 99 Tuvalu 3.0 64 70 95 95 Vanuatu 2.7 64 67 37 30 Source: UNDP, Human Development Report, 1999 x FSM - Federated State of Micronesia x PNG - Papua New Guinea

7 Table 1.2 also depicts wide disparities in some social indicators throughout the region. It shows that female life expectancy is 70 or more years in Cook Islands, Niue, Palau, Tokelau, Tonga and Tuvalu in contrast to Kiribati which has one of the lowest at 65 years. There exists a wide gender imbalance in life expectancy in all countries of the region except Niue and PNG, where both male and female life expectancy remains high in Niue and low in PNG. The same disparities also exist in female adult literacy as shown in Table 1.2. Female adult literacy is lower than that of males in all countries except Cook Islands, Nauru, Samoa, Tonga and Tuvalu. The remaining countries in Table 1.2, including Kiribati, show the existing dissimilarity between male and female adult literacy levels.

A high female literacy level shown in Table 1.2 also strongly indicates that the physical and fiscal constraints experienced in Kiribati have not hindered the education system from producing substantial results in enhancing women’s status. The 91 per cent female literacy in Kiribati denotes the increasing involvement of females in education compared to that of the past. Kiribati female literacy rate is very high (91 per cent) compared to the Solomon Islands (20 per cent), PNG (21 per cent) and Vanuatu (30 per cent). It explains that literacy in Kiribati has become an empowerment tool for the women in raising the standards of living and in enhancing their social status.

The population growth rate in Table 1.2 for Kiribati is the same as FSM, and is lower than most of the countries of the Pacific except Cook Islands, Fiji, Niue, Tokelau and Tonga. However, for Kiribati this is a grave threat to its environment, resources and land space. Besides, the increasing growth of population impedes the development of the women’s social status as they critically shoulder more responsibilities. Being major providers, producers and managers, the women are confronted with more problems as resources become scarce, the environment is degraded and more land is occupied with people and less for agricultural activities.

8 On the other hand, countries such as Cook Is., Niue and Tokelau experience depopulation because of the high rate of emigration especially to New Zealand. Tonga experiences low population growth (0.3 per cent) as does Fiji (0.9 per cent) whereas countries like Marshall Islands, Solomon Islands and Tuvalu have higher population growth rates in the South Pacific region. In fact, the Kiribati growth rate of 2.1 per cent is still higher and problematic due to the bulk of population living in South Tarawa. The land area of South Tarawa alone is 15.8 square kilometres and accommodating 36,717 of the total population is stretching it a bit too far. Undoubtedly, this will only compound the already existing problems of poverty, poor water quality, unsafe sanitation and lack of proper disposal of waste if the population growth rate does not decline.

Currently, the problems of shelter, overcrowding, lack of clean drinking water, poor sanitation, and nutritional problems are prevalent and will continue to increase if there is no decline in the present rate of population growth. There is also evidence that as the growth rate continues to increase violence may become a major social problem throughout the region particularly in South Tarawa. This includes violence against women which interferes with and reduces women’s capability to participate equally in the nation’s development. The violence can result in loss of working days and income and in reduction in women’s efficiency and productivity levels, which can invariably have a negative impact on the country’s overall development.

Consequently, the rapid increase in population growth rate is a problem not only in the women’s ability in achieving full provisions for their families, but also in achieving the sustainable development goals as the imposition of government decision and men’s traditional ideology hinder their full participation in the development process of the nation. In fact, women face enormous constraints in improving their status in developing countries because they are not represented in the decision-making since they have not been given opportunities to have formal education to acquire proper qualifications for national development positions. Therefore, it would be advantageous to the nation if the state bridges the inequality between men and women by implementing

9 policies which have a positive impact on the problem. It is the onus of the state to affirm human rights in all dimensions, including women’s rights.

However, this thesis examines women’s social status in Kiribati and South Tarawa in particular. For so long women in Kiribati have been marginalised in the everyday activities. For instance in the home, women are the last to eat during meals. The men and the children eat first; what ever is left from the meal prepared for the family is what women will eat. Whether the food is enough, women have to accept what is left, and if there is nothing left at all they will go without food in that particular meal or munch a biscuit to satisfy their hunger. In this case women do not have any food choices. In society, women’s position in the Maneaba is always at the back of men’s sitting places. Women are to be quiet during discussions of important matters. In addition to all of these, women implement and carry out whatever is decided in the meeting. The lower status of women in Kiribati society still prevails, despite the fact that many women are as highly educated and proved capable in the workplace as their men counterparts (Trease, 1993).

1.1.1 Rationale

This study focuses on the social status of women in Kiribati, especially on the urban centres of South Tarawa. It examines gender disparities, gender violence, women’s access to education, decision-making and employment, and their opportunities to enhance economic development in the nation. Specifically, it looks at the development processes, the impact of tradition on the role of women, and their aspiration for respect and recognition as a vital component of family, society and national survival.

This is of great interest because the emergence of women socially, economically and politically has been restricted by their traditionally assigned role as domestic workers. Coupled with this inequality in their social lives women globally and especially in Kiribati, have been deprived by tradition from many social aspects. Men’s hostility and

10 oppressive attitude, which derive from conservative, traditional ideas, is a major obstacle to the improvement of women’s social status and women’s participation in national development.

Mainstreaming women into the process of development and into all sectors of society is vital for the recognition of their seemingly unappreciated work and abilities. Their role as household managers and their participation in the economic and political spheres is critical in the context of sustainable development. Women play a vital role in society even though the surveys on their role, status, economic and political participation are partially studied. There is thus a greater need for a study to be undertaken focusing on women in development (WID) linking women and processes of development and the question of gender equity in Kiribati.

1.2 Objectives

The general objective of this study is to examine women’s social status and development in Kiribati with special reference to the women living in the urban centre of South Tarawa, the capital city of the Republic of Kiribati.

More specifically the study attempts to:

x analyse various social indicators such as education and health to examine women’s social status and the gender imbalance in South Tarawa. x examine women’s economic and political participation in the process of development. x study the rate of violence against women in South Tarawa, the degree of its severity and as an obstacle to women’s participation in development in Kiribati. x scrutinize the health and nutritional status and the mortality rate among women in South Tarawa.

11 x recommend measures that will address Kiribati women’s problems in terms of policies and action programs.

1.3 Research Methodology

In obtaining both primary and secondary data for this study, qualitative and quantitative methods were employed. Archival study, personal communication and group discussions, observations and case studies were the main methods of collecting data and information from the field. An outline of methods is presented here; the methodology is discussed in detail in Chapter 3.

Primary data, on the social status of women and their development in Kiribati, were collected utilising a structured questionnaire and interviews. The government officials, especially officials from the Ministries of Environment, Internal Affairs, Health, and Education were consulted to gather materials concerning women issues in Kiribati. In addition persons from non-government organizations (NGOs), particularly women’s organizations, were also interviewed. An Internet search was utilized to access recent reports and other articles and data relevant to the topic.

A further collection of primary information was obtained randomly from the households in South Tarawa, focusing on the three urban centres of Betio, Bairiki and Bikenibeu mainly through interviews. Altogether 75 households were surveyed. The questions, which were both open-ended and closed, focused on women’s social status, education level, economic participation, gender inequality, violence against women, and women’s role in decision-making and political participation. On the other hand, secondary information was gathered from an archival study. Various reports from government, NGOs, national as well as international, were consulted.

12 With regards to the gender inequality issue in this study, the following two methods were used as adopted by the UNDP to compare women and men’s economic and political participation in the different sectors. The first method was the Gender Empowerment Measure (GEM), which focused on the three key areas of gender inequality:

ƒ Political participation and decision-making power. ƒ Economic participation and decision-making power ƒ Power over economic resources The second method is the Gender-related Development Index (GDI), which adjusts the average achievement to reflect the inequalities between men and women in the following dimensions.

ƒ A long and healthy life, measured in terms of life expectancy at birth ƒ Knowledge as measured by the adult literacy rate and the combined primary, secondary and tertiary gross enrolment ratio. A group discussion was conducted to allow the women to share their views and to allow them to understand their roles and potential in the society.

1.4 Significance of the Study

This thesis aims to contribute to the existing pool of knowledge on women’s social status and development, in South Tarawa. For so long, women’s status, which has been handicapped by traditional norms, has deprived them from enjoying their freedom of choice. Thus, this study intends to take a holistic view, which can contribute to the existing body of knowledge on women’s social status in general, their roles as managers, educators, providers for the family and the linkages to the increasing problems and inequality trends in urban Kiribati, especially on South Tarawa.

13 Moreover, the thesis is an exposure of women’s current social status in a wider context compared to their status at home in Kiribati where land resources are a truly acute problem. Marine and other resources may be abundant but the rapid increase in the demographic growth rate will bring about their exploitation and depletion. This will invariably overburden women for the survival of families depends entirely on what women can provide. Therefore, women’s social status and integration to the development process is of crucial importance. As managers of households, they understand the needs of each individual. They are also in a better position for managing resources for future use as they have the knowledge of managing the day-to-day resources of their families.

Furthermore, the sensitive nature of women’s issues in Kiribati due to prescribed cultural norms that women cannot do away with, has rendered it impossible to conduct a detailed study on the issue. That is, the sensitivity of the topic puts this thesis in a very critical position in its attempt to provide information on Kiribati women’s status that will assist the Government and its departments in their decisions regarding women’s issues. It is envisaged that the information will provide a way for possible remedies to be formulated at both the macro and micro levels to redress the women’s problems nationwide. The significance of the study will therefore depend on its devising a mechanism such as policies to assist women not only to integrate socially but also to boost their status without widening the gap of inequality.

1.5 Structure of Thesis

The thesis is divided into six chapters. Chapter One introduces the topic and presents the overview of the research. It identifies the rationale of the research and the significance of the study. It lists the general and specific objectives that focus on the problem. It also provides the location where the study is conducted. Finally it outlines the methodology employed to collect relevant data and information.

14 Chapter Two provides a conceptual framework and literature review on the subject.

Chapter Three presents the methodology in its conceptual context. That is, it identifies the sources of information and questionnaire used to acquire the relevant data needed for the research. It explains the sampling size and the analysis methods used and outlines the research limitations.

Chapter Four provides the background of South Tarawa and the Republic of Kiribati where the study was conducted. The chapter basically focuses on the geographical structure, history and culture, demography, economy, and women’s development in Kiribati, but concentrating on South Tarawa

Chapter Five presents the findings and analysis of the data collected from the fieldwork. It also correlates the existing literature and establishes relationships with the findings.

Chapter Six not only presents conclusions but also draws broad findings and issues emerging from the research. While it also suggests recommendations based on the research findings, it provides some hints for future research in the areas of women’s political participation and gender discrimination in the workplace.

15 CHAPTER TWO

CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK

“The role of women is crucial in meeting the big crises of the world today.” (Fresco, 1985: 24)

2.1 Introduction.

Over the last three decades, gender issues have gained increasing importance and are critical in the world today but in particular the developing countries. Though generally women’s issues are too complex to be described clearly, efforts of various researchers, practitioners and advocates throughout the world are focussing on solutions to women’s issues. In fact, within academia gender studies have become a discipline in itself while gender issues have been incorporated into different dimensions of development studies to address the increasing complexity related to gender issues. According to Litau (1993), the main reason for the mounting interest in gender issues, especially the status of women in developing countries, is that the women’s status play an important role in the standard of living at all levels. Their considerable contribution is noted particularly in the reduction of poverty and their ability in reducing population growth. Thus women’s participation in the development process is essentially fundamental. That is, their role is the central element in solving the world’s increasing problems especially in the Third World countries.

This chapter focuses on the conceptual framework of the women’s role and on the literature that deals with their status and development in the past decades. The discussion revolves around the contemporary perspectives of women in development (WID), women and development (WAD), gender and development (GAD), and women’s social and economic status by uncovering the linkages between development and gender.

16 2.2 Conceptual Framework.

The development process aims at improving human lives in all dimensions. However, this process has failed to achieve its main objectives and has thus inflicted negative impact felt heavily by women in most parts of the world and in particular the developing countries. This failure not only increases gender inequality and disparity between men and women but also deteriorates the women’s status. Unfortunately, as the inequality gap between the two sexes widens, the sphere of poverty expands.

Litau (1993) explains that the impact of development has affected the status of women in terms of their ability to produce. The people, especially in the Melanesian region perceived formal education as being for the boys only. This left the girls uneducated and thus lowered their status in the community. Health-wise, the women were unaware of proper usage of medical assistance due to their low literacy status, which also affected their participation in the labour force. Women in development (WID) characterized a school of thought on women’s integration into the development process (Visvanathan, 2002). The perspective has limitations and deficiencies which excluded women in all aspects of development, yet the researchers (those studying women’s issues) see the essence of the approach as assistance to develop new strategies where women would be more involved. That is, this study uses the concept of WID to provide a framework on the women’s ability to improve their status. Building on the idea of WID, Boserup’s (1970) main focus was on the women’s participation in the economic development process. However, she realized that WID has deficiencies and differences in accommodating women in all dimensions of the development phenomenon. Hence the need to employ a more current and appropriate approach which encompasses the different dimensions affecting the improvement of women’s status.

Boserup (1970) analysed the changes that happened in traditional agricultural practices as society modernized. These changes had different impacts on the work done by both men and women. The changes are in three categories, which encompass the three dimensions of the women’s economic participation in agriculture. The first category

17 includes sparsely populated regions or rural regions where shifting agriculture is practised and women do the majority of the agricultural work. The next is in more densely populated regions where ploughs and other simple technologies are utilized, and because work is done by machinery, men accomplish more of the agricultural work Lastly, in areas of intensive, irrigation-based cultivation, both men and women share in the agricultural activities because the women frequently find the hard work overwhelming.

Boserup’s studies laid bare the unfair distribution of work amongst the two social groups by referring to the idea of WID. As technology advances, the men are always the first to use new and advanced technological ideas. However, according to Thaman (1988), advanced technology brings benefits and problems. It benefits the men as their work becomes lightened and work time is shortened, but the women are burdened more heavily and intensely as they are left to take care of hard labour, which the men leave for them to do. Interestingly, in the opinion of Rathgerber (1990) the new technologies were directed at the men rather than the women. Hence, the men were more involved in a region where ploughs and technologies existed while the women attended to manual work, which was always hard labour (Rathgerber, 1990). In the South Pacific, however, agriculture differs in task to the two sexes.

Slatter (1984a:1) reports research results which have confirmed that the traditional roles of women in Melanesian are distinct from those of Polynesian societies. Melanesian women are the principal agriculturalists while gardening in Polynesian is men’s work. However, the division may not cross all Polynesian countries so the generalisation must be applied with caution. For instance, in Bollard’s (1979:2) study of the Polynesian island of Atiu in the Cook Islands, the agriculture work is done by all members of the family, who use temporary huts for shelter and work together in their traditional plantations. Usually, though, the women are given lighter and tedious agricultural jobs apart from cooking and attending to other chores. The unequal distribution of activities across cultures fails to recognise that the women’s activities are time-consuming and are therefore left with less time to rest and thus improve their health status (Bollard, 1979).

18 The Micronesian agricultural system also differs in terms of the roles played by the two sexes and agricultural activities may differ on various islands. In the northern islands of Kiribati, the women are the principal agriculturalists whereas in the south it is the men although most of the planting, weeding and watering are still done by women. In reference to the Kiribati agriculture systems, Boserup explains what the women in Kiribati are facing. They do not have the opportunities that men have and according to Tekanene (2003), there are only 10 female extension agriculturalists in Kiribati. Moreover, the women’s participation as agricultural extension workers with the Ministry of Natural Resources Development does not receive much support because of cultural pressure, especially in the outer islands.

The Women in Development (WID) approach in Boserup’s studies advocates the participation of women in the development process as workers and producers. Boserup considers that as economies move from subsistence production to commercialization and large scale industries, the women’s productive activities have become marginalized. The WID was first used by the Women’s Committee of Washington DC with the primary emphasis on egalitarianism and development strategies and action programs. The main aim of the approach was to minimise the disadvantages experienced by women in productive sectors and to put an end to discrimination. This approach interweaves the women’s many unrecognized activities into the modernization paradigm in the light of women’s negligence by the Women in Development approach (Rathgerber, 1990).

Modernization is usually equated with industrialization where improved standards of living are experienced in the developing world. The WID approach emphasizes that through a massive expansion of the education system, a stock of well-trained workers and managers would emerge. This indeed would produce resourceful, qualified and knowledgeable workers, who in turn revolutionise not only the state, but also the essential agrarian societies into industrialized and modern ones. Therefore, with the growth of economies of these industrialized countries, benefits of modernization would ‘trickle down’ to all segments of society including our countries. However, it did not turn

19 out that way. Instead living standards deteriorated, disparities in wage factors widened, education and health failed to improve as a result of the unsuccessful trickle down model in the developing countries (Rathgerber, 1990).

In the industrial sector, the women’s status failed to improve. They continuously attended to tedious work, received very low pay and often suffered the effects of health impairing jobs due to their low level of education. Also, because of traditional practices, the women were less likely to benefit from the surge of educational expansion. This is confirmed by the enrolment statistics in both secondary and tertiary levels which show that lower female enrolment than the males (Rathgerber, 1990)

In the mid 1970s, the Women and Development (WAD) approach emerged as the WID failed to fulfil its primary purpose. The fundamental nature of WAD in relation to the WID approach is that women have always been part of development prior to the emergence of these perspectives. The integration of women into economic development posed a linkage to the maintenance of the economic dependency of the Third World and especially the African countries (Rathgerber, 1990).

In other words, the women have always been economic actors both in and out of the household. This defines that the women’s role is crucial to the maintenance of the societies they live in. However, the WAD failed to consider the full-scale analysis of relationships between patriarchy, the differing modes of production and women’s subordination and oppression (Rathgerber, 1990).

Furthermore, the women’s role as guardians of their children’s welfare also entails specific responsibilities to provide for them materially because they are managers, providers, nutritionists, health educators and teachers for both the family and the society (Crossette, 2001). Apart from their role in moulding their children’s characters, they were also entrusted with looking after the entire family’s welfare and well-being. This apparently makes the women’s role not only more crucial but also a lot more demanding

20 so that they are faced with multiple problems that could possibly hinder their enhancement in society.

Consequently, the women’s role and status have been the underlying factors of their problems in the world today, especially in the developing countries. When the women seek or find employment outside the home, for example, they often encounter difficulties which include discrimination, ill treatment and violence in the workplace.

A man’s status in society is traditionally the head of the family and a representative to the outside world. Rogers concluded that since the men are assumed to be the heads of households, all resources intended for the family are channelled to men leaving the women with nothing or little if any (Rogers, 1980). This creates difficulties for the women to provide for the family. The assumption then that the man is superior as the head of the family, serves to widen the gender disparity in terms of the distribution and access to resources between men and women.

Despite the fact that women perform most of the work, they generally lack access to markets, land and credit, which puts them in a difficult position to enjoy the benefits from their hard labour. The reason is that the nature and degree of inequality between sexes, was derived from a complex set of conditions within each society that determines the relative access of women and men to valued resources (Dixion-Mueller, 1993). For example, the women’s access to material goods, their personal freedom and entitlements differ from those of the men, who are the heads of the family in most of the Third World nations. This shows that tradition differentiates between the women and men’s accessibility to resources according to their status in society.

A third perspective on women and development i.e. Gender and Development (GAD) emerged in the 1980s as a result of the failure of the WAD approach and as an alternative to WID (Visvanathan, 2002). GAD is a socialist feminism perspective which unites the diverse feminist perspectives to draw its legacy from feminist activism in the women’s movements. Socialist feminism is one feminist perspective offering a holistic

21 view in all aspects of the women’s social life. This school of thought questioned the assignment of specific gender roles to different sexes, which has a fundamental implication for the women’s problems that is widespread in all societies today. At the same time it recognizes the women’s contributions inside and outside the household, including non-commodity production (Visvanathan, 2002).

The GAD perspective primarily interlinks the focus on the examination of the women’s inferior secondary roles. But according to Rathgerber, (1990) the question is who authorized the assignment of roles to women and men? GAD’s key focus, however, is to strengthen the women’s legal rights including their entitlement to inheritance and land to protect them from the male manipulation of the customary and statutory legal systems that has disadvantaged the women.

The GAD approach emphasizes the state’s duty to provide social services in promoting the women’s emancipation, and perceives women as agents of change rather than as passive recipients of development assistance. According to Rathgeber (1990), the focus is on strengthening the women’s legal rights, including the reform of inheritance and land laws. This implication is that modernization is considered as the underlying factor of transformation from the traditional way of male dominance and authoritarian attitudes to the encouragement of women to realize the democratic ways of survival and to offer alternatives to widen their choices. However, although in contrast, Scott, (1995) argued That progressive feminist critique of modernization theory finds it implicitly gendered and its characterization of Third World women distorted and detrimental, there are a lot said in its favour.

Moser, (1993) evaluated the ability of the approach to meet not only the women’s practical needs2 that require urgent attention, such as employment, health services and water-supply but also their most strategic needs,3 which demands the change of their

2 What women and men need to fulfil their established roles and responsibilities 3 Empowering women and changing their position in society.

22 subordinate status in society relating to for example, legal rights, gender-based division of labour and domestic violence (Moser, 1993).

The welfare approach is another perspective that Boserup made use of in formulating her ideas about the WID. She explained that the welfare approach focuses on the women’s reproductive roles, including programs to control population growth, which is viewed by some to be the primary cause of poverty in most developing nations. Litau (1993) recommends that the investment should be on the women’s education to effect a positive impact on slowing down both fertility rate and population growth. She explains that this will allow time for the women’s reproductive role to space out and so permit them to devote their economic years to raising the family’s standard of living and welfare.

Evidence today testifies to the fact that development strategies based on macro- economic theories, like structural adjustment programs (SAP), have also failed to solve the poverty problems in the developing countries. The SAP is the structural policy programs that are used to adjust activities to their efficiency level in the newly restructured economies. However, they have side effects, which makes the poor and underprivileged even poorer. In developing countries, the poorest of the poor live in both rural and urban households headed by women. These female-headed households struggle for access to sufficient nutrition, safe drinking water, shelter, basic education and primary health care (Ostergaard, 1992: 1).

Even though agriculture is a major economic sector in all the Pacific islands, very little has been written on women in agriculture. According to a survey conducted by Hau’ofa and Ward (1979), men have left the women to use the old local often lower valued farming system, while they use new technology for the production of cash crops for commercial purposes. In this aspect the Melanesian women are not the only ones that receive less benefit from the new technology than men, but if there is change to commercial agriculture its impact is felt by the subsistence farmers which are mainly women. As commercial agriculture is the primarily focus of men, they locate their garden

23 on prime lands near living places and this affects women because their home garden are pushed further out of the village thus increasing the distance, time and energy input for carrying products for home use, which in Melanesia is women’s duty.

A regional survey by Fairbairn-Dunlop, (1994a) of women in agriculture in the Pacific in the early 1990s shows that women’s contribution to the family units, in the semi-subsistence agricultural systems, is of increased importance as seen in their contribution to family food production and informal trading. She argues that agricultural training, cash cropping and export agriculture are mainly for men while the women are left out completely from these sectors (Fairbairn-Dunlop, 1994a).

In the Solomon Islands, however, the women have traditionally made a very large contribution to agriculture. According to Slatter (1984b), there is a broad area of agreement on the traditional roles of women in Melanesia as distinct from Polynesian societies. She further explains that Melanesian women were the principal agriculturalists but with Polynesians, agriculture is mainly the men’s role. Hau’ofa and Ward, (1979) further explain the basic difference between these two groups of people as firstly, Polynesian agricultural work belongs to men. Women are confined to domestic duties such as rearing of children, cooking, weaving and general housekeeping. However, the Melanesians do all what the Polynesian women do, plus the task of planting, weeding subsistence gardens and carting of products from garden to the house. Husbandry of pigs is also women’s work in the Melanesian context.

Although the men are the main agriculturalists in the Polynesian countries and females in the Melanesian, there are a few exceptions. In some countries the whole family work together in the plantation. But whatever the variations in cultures, countries and people, the fact remains that women do not receive the same opportunities as men do in the agriculture area. Liloqula (1989:180), points out that, women do have difficulties in gaining access to agricultural education.

24 In the climate of the current economic reforms, the urgency of addressing practical problems has overburdened women throughout the world in particular the developing nations, thus bringing their progress to a standstill to meet their considered needs. Empowerment is a newly used word, which represents the strategic needs to transform laws and structures that oppress women, through the bottom-up process of organizing around practical needs, (Ostergaard, 1992). Therefore, women’s empowerment is very important for enhancing their status in society.

Ostergaard, (1992) further explains that gender is the qualitative and interdependent character of both women and men’s status in society. Gender relations are constituted in the linkage between power and dominance that structure each characteristic by men and women. She further explains that gender division is part of a wider aspect of social division which is rooted in the production and reproduction roles that are reinforced not only by culture, but also religion and ideology that prevail in a society.

Ostergaard, (1992) further elaborates that cultural and religious attitudes, discriminatory laws and practices have resulted in the women having less opportunity to participate socially, economically, politically and environmentally. That is, there are numerous barriers that prohibit women from attaining equal status to their male partners. Since the women are often considered to have less economic value than men, they normally receive less than males when family resources are limited.

Further evidence of gender inequality, imbalance and uneven numbers of illiterates in most parts of the world is alarming and need addressing. Empirical data estimate that there are 854 million illiterate adults in the world, and out of this figure 544 million are women. Moreover, out of the 113 million children that are not in primary school, 60% are girls (UNDP, 2002: 22). The apparent and broad inequality in opportunities between females and males is greater in developing countries. Research suggests that the disparity often arises from many contributing factors, the most common being the parents’ perception towards the cost of educating a daughter and the return

25 benefits they anticipate (UNDP, 2002:22). In most cases girls marry either while studying or straight after studies, which simply means that the benefit would now go to the husband instead of the parents.

In fact, gender norms in a society are an underlying cause of inequality amongst the sexes. Education is vital for women in order to be able to read. The manifestation of such inequality puts enormous constraints on the ability of women to maintain their own health and nutrition as well as that of their children. Consequently, the women are less well-equipped than the men to take advantage of the better income-earning opportunities that have emerged, as observed in Africa. Apparently, the rate of illiteracy in Africa is high that is an underlying factor for the African women to be in secured and vulnerable to ill treatment, as they do not have equal opportunities compared to men in the education systems (United Nations, 1991).

Education, however, has been conceptualized to be the most critical element for both the national development and the women’s. Studies show the rates of literacy for people aged 15 years and above have increased in all regions of the world, most significantly among the women. However, nearly two-thirds of the world population are illiterate adults; and statistics show that women are still prominent among the illiterates in the world; most of whom live in the developing regions of Africa, Asia and Latin America (World Health Organization, 1996:9).

The United Nations (1991:35) highlighted in its report that education is a tool for women to overcome social prejudices, take control over their own lives and to assume a status and identity beyond child bearing. That is, they would not only cater for the children’s upbringing and concentrate on domestic work for the family, but would also earn money and much more. Undoubtedly, the women’s education has a higher return on investment in the socio-economic development of any society (ibid.).

26 So, in developing countries, there is a correlation between the status of women and their level of education as well as to their traditional place in the community. That is, the women are empowered and their status is enhanced upon the advancement of their literacy levels. This would help them not only to decide but also to control their positions. This infers that lack of educational opportunity is a major contributing factor in the nagging problem of unequal position of women in the society. In fact, the women face constant difficulties in securing jobs in the employment sector when they are not qualified. Indicators of education show the inequality experienced by women, and Table 2.1 shows a few selected countries of the South Pacific region that encounter inequalities in their education system.

Table2.1 Educational Development Indicators in selected countries of the South Pacific, 1999

Country % Population of adults Total Gross Enrolment illiterate

Male Female Male Female

Fiji Islands 5 9 80 83 FSM 23 34 71 71 Kiribati 6 9 67 69 Marshall Islands 21 31 72 72 Palau 6 12 83 84 PNG 65 79 30 27 Solomon Islands 61 80 38 31 Vanuatu 63 70 60 55 Source: UNDP, 1999.

Table 2.1 indicates that female illiteracy rates are high in many South Pacific countries. Disparity exists between male and female in South Pacific countries. This may be due to the practice, which is dictated by traditional culture, in which the males are entitled to formal education while the females are not. The 1999 statistics also indicate the existence of the disparity in literacy where the illiterate population for the females was higher than the males in these selected South Pacific countries. The deduction is that the girls were allowed to formal education very late. Also, reports show that when

27 Christianity was established, the girls were introduced to formal education, but their education was restricted more to domestic training (Trease, 1993).

There are several obstacles to the attainment of higher education by women. These include inheritance laws, legislation on land ownership and transfer, and social restrictions, which seriously limit their activities and aspirations (Dankelman and Davidson, 1988:15). World Health Organization (WHO) in its 1996 report highlighted that; Although women are increasing their presence in higher education, they still encounter major obstacles when they try to apply their education to social and economic advancement (WHO, 1996:9).

The inference is that despite the gained educational standard of women it is of little value because their social status hinders their full participation and contribution to the development process. A wide discrepancy still exists in the women’s literacy level, which according to Litau (1993), is relatively low in Melanesia. This difficulty consolidates the disadvantages faced by women and intensifies their powerlessness to compete for equal participation in development. Yet, education is one of the tools for change. In fact, it is considered the most important component in empowering women with the knowledge, skills and self-confidence necessary to participate fully in the development process. Further positive results of educated women are seen in their age of marriage, which tends to be somewhat later in their lives. This has further resulted in their tendency to have fewer children, thus helping fertility rates to slow down as well as improving their own health conditions. According to the Kiribati Census Report (2000), fertility rates in Kiribati declined slightly. In 1990 there was an estimate of 4.3 children per woman compared to 4.2 per women in the year 2000. The rate for the rural women was 4.4 children per woman (Republic of Kiribati, 2000).

28 According to the WHO (1996), health wise the women are the foremost providers of primary health care. Thus, their health is very crucial in fulfilling their daily ‘chores’. In the developing countries three-quarters of all health care is provided by the family, especially by women, whose roles extend from feeding and nursing their children to the fetching of water for the family, preparing meals to caring for the disabled or elderly and ill members of the extended family. On top of all these struggles, women also bear the brunt of family planning responsibilities (United Nations, 1991:16).

Gender inequality also appears in other forms. According to Kambel (1999:10), women and men are affected in different ways by the same things yet they do not have equal status. Women are the first to suffer when land degradation occurs and when water supplies are polluted because they are the main providers of food, fuel and water for their family. The burdens of environmental degradation and crises have always fallen on the women in the developing countries (Dankelman and Davidson, 1988:163).

Additionally, as globalization breaks barriers and introduces new technology to the Third World countries, population growth also expands to an unbearable number, thus increasing population related problems such as poverty, squatter settlements and environmental degradation. Rapid population growth is perceived as a symptom of unequal distribution of power and wealth as well as education opportunities. Efforts to control population growth by enforcing the use of contraceptives are heavily felt by the poor women (Karkal, 1996). Besides risk of dying, pregnant women also face major damage to their health (Dankelman and Davidson, 1988). The UNDP in its 2002 Human Development Report stated that; Worse outcomes for women in many aspects of human development result from the fact that their voices have less impact than men in the decisions that shape their lives.

29 The gender issue is further complicated by the increasing global population, which now has passed the 6 billion mark. At the current birth rates, this will double in 40 years’ time. A projected 876 million people will be added to the world population during the next decade, enough to populate a new India plus a new Ethiopia at their current sizes. This growth concentrates only in the poorest and most environmentally degraded countries, the countries that have the least prospects of being able to accommodate the rise (Korten, 1990). This poses considerable constraints on the women’s potential to provide for their families, given that the environmental systems are already stretched to their breaking point and a major proportion of the global population is already living in abject poverty. The people who are worst affected are the poor and the effects fall particularly harshly on the women, who make up a large section of the poor (Dankelman and Davidson, 1988:90).

Due to rapid population growth in developing countries, the unemployment rate has not shown any decrease. The percentage of population living below the poverty line has not declined despite substantial increase in the national income. For instance, PNG unemployment is on the rise, and a substantial proportion of people who are malnourished as a result of inadequate intake of calories, is due to the women’s limited abilities to find employment in order to feed the family (Litau, 1993). As many women are not literate they lack the knowledge of how to take care of families or prepare proper and balanced meals. To improve people’s lives there is a need for more educated women, better policies and more importantly, judicious implementation of current policies.

The International Labour Organization (ILO) explains that women comprise half the world’s population yet receive only one-tenth of the world’s income. To improve the situation, efforts by women’s movements worldwide as well as in the South Pacific region, have managed to get several laws favourable to women passed. These have positively affected women’s rights to property and protected against violence (Dankelman and Davidson, 1988).

30 The problem is further exacerbated by the rapid rate of urbanization, which has inevitably resulted in urban dwellers experiencing overcrowding, unhygienic conditions and poor sanitation, pollution, lack of clean water, improper waste disposal, environmental degradation and biased political decisions. The 1996 Human Development Report of the WHO indicates that often services are non-existent and opportunities for connecting to urban water sewerage and power supplies are poor in many developing countries. Consequently, there is an increased risk of both waterborne and food borne diseases, increasing poverty, a wider spread of different sicknesses which inevitably makes people dysfunctional. Obviously, dysfunctional will lower people’s income rate or no income at all for the family (World Health Organization, 1996: 11). The question then is where will they get their supply of food when there is no income?

The objective of the development process is to improve human living conditions in all aspects. It seems, however, that this process is worsening the conditions of the women in developing countries today as compared to three decades ago. Despite years of international Conferences and Declarations about women’s rights, in many cultures and in the most disadvantaged communities, unfortunately the women and girls have no power to reject unwanted and unsafe sex (World Banks, 2003).

To deal with gender issues, a few suggestions are cited in some surveys. Dixion- Mueller (1993) suggests that in order for the women to narrow the inequality gap that exist between them and the men, the women should seriously consider human rights and education. These concepts would empower them against violation by customary beliefs and practices. That is, the women should have the right to control their body from sexual and reproductive abuse and that they should have the sole right of self-determination, rather than being forced to (Dixion-Mueller, 1993).

Perhaps the women’s economic value is obvious in many areas where industries are established. In the early years of industrialization, especially in Latin America and the Caribbean and later in Africa, they often outnumbered the men. Since the institution of trade unions, male dominance worked closely with their counterparts in government

31 sectors, which resulted in keeping the women out of the industrial employment by a combination of job reservation and government intervention. These resulted in two- thirds of the work force being men (Rogers, 1982: 39).

2.2.1 Status of Women in the South Pacific Countries.

The gender biased problem has not only become prevalent in most sectors of societies, but more importantly, it has gained priority on the agendas for most of the world’s major organizations and institutions, resulting in extensive research and literature work on the women’s status and development. While numerous scholars have studied and written about the women’s status and development in Africa, Asia and Latin America, (Rathgerber, 1990) in the South Pacific region including Kiribati, a great deal of contemporary literature on the women’s participation in the economies of the island countries consists of studies in selected areas that concern the women (Afeaki, 1981; Bidesi, 1994; Lal & Slatter, 1982; Lakie, 1987; Pulea, 1980; Slatter, 1984 a&b; and Slatter, 1987). These studies cover agriculture, fisheries, manufacturing, handicrafts, services and self-employment, business and management.

According to studies undertaken in the Pacific region by Slatter (1983), Schoeffel (1986) and Kikau (1993) the women’s clubs and training for leadership, promoted by governments and international agencies, played a significant role in institutionalizing the women’s housework skills in educational programs. The women’s confinement to domestic work has had a limiting effect in the training of women for the market economy in fields such as agriculture and fisheries. In Kiribati, the women’s status in these areas is very poor due to cultural pressures. Hau’ofa and Ward (1979), in their analysis of the surveys in the area, explain that women play different roles in agriculture and fisheries. In Melanesia, the women do most of the subsistence agriculture while in the Polynesian region it is the men who do it. However, in some areas, Naikatini (1988) reports that though the women spend as much time as the men in farming, when there is agricultural

32 training only the men attend the one or two days training while the women attend to the farm and the family.

Generally, studies have shown that the problems the women encounter are universal in nature particularly in the Third World. These global problems are caused by tradition, lack of education and political norms, ideas and values which have placed the women in a position where it is hard and often impossible for them to make decisions for themselves.

Interestingly, however, the intensity of the problems in the Pacific region differs from those experienced in Latin America and Asia and other parts of the World. The major differences relate to the dissimilarities in the cultural and political background, educational level and ethnicity composition of a country. Religion also has great impact in shaping women’s lives in the South Pacific region, which include the Melanesians, Micronesians and Polynesians and each of which has its own cultural norms.

The women in the Melanesian group, which consist of Fiji, Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea (PNG) and Vanuatu, practically do all the work at home in addition to planting, carrying of water, fishing (within the lagoon zone) and collecting firewood for the family. Within Melanesia, the women in virtually all spheres of life play roles that are considered inferior or subordinate to those of the men’s. This obviously becomes the major underlying factor that hinders women from attaining improved status in society (UNIFEM, 1994).

One of the main problems in PNG is the difficulty in reaching rural women, who comprise 95 per cent of the nation’s population (UNIFEM, 1994:5). Power (1998) explains that while PNG is undergoing a loss of purpose and breakdown of traditional authority resulting in law-and-order problems that are becoming impossible to be addressed by the police, the burden on women is becoming heavier. In fact, rape is becoming frequently committed nowadays because strict penalties for the crime are no

33 longer enforced, while in the past it was a rare event because of the imposition of the death penalty (ibid.).

The economic transition from traditional to modernization created challenges especially for the poor nations. The challenge is for the poor to reach the standards of the rich. The concept of modernization posed critical problems in doing away with some of the traditional values of the South Pacific countries, especially Kiribati, if both the standards and status of women are to be fully recognised in the country.

Yet, most of the South Pacific countries are culturally oriented. For instance, Traditionally Kiribati has been, until recently advocating male dominance and authority. Fortunately, democratic practices have relaxed the force of culture domination in most Pacific countries including Kiribati. As an indication of the relaxation of cultural norms, the current trend of literacy in Kiribati shows a very dramatic rise in literacy rate for women over the last decade (Visvanathan, 2002: 21).

Moreover, the women’s social status in Kiribati is confined to domestic duties. According to Tekanene in PACFAW (2002), the women in North Kiribati are very active in agriculture. They use pits (swamp low lands) that are more fertile to farm babai (swamp taro). The agricultural activities involved are cutting copra, cultivation of babai, banana planting and other gardening activities. She explains the Aia Maea Aainen Kiribati (AMAK) awareness programmes in urging the women to grow their own gardens to assist women in supplementing food for their family. This has resulted in more balanced diets enjoyed by the few involved. The promotion of balanced diets is a fight against Vitamin A deficiency and problems that have resulted from depending on imported food stuffs by the locals. Besides, the women are also involved in carting coconuts from the bush to the village and cutting copra. The sunning and sheltering of copra is the women’s duty and this is done in home boundaries. However, where women are busy with home duties, their children take over. Tekanene further reports that women in urban areas in South Tarawa are very active market sellers. The food items include pawpaws, bananas, pumpkins, cabbages, breadfruits, babai, fish and other local food.

34 The Kiribati women’s health status is very crucial for a healthy family, reports Tekanene in PACFAW, (2002). Their status in terms of food in the home is defined as having just enough food from income earned by either a breadwinner-father or mother or any other member of the family. Most homes in Kiribati do not have proper piping for water, appropriate sanitation, good shelter, proper security and supportive networks. These together with cultural factors such as serving herself last, place a greater burden on the woman.

The practice of having the women eat last must be adjusted to meet their food requirements because the health of the family depend upon the health of the women as they are the chief players in planning what the family should eat. Eating last can sometimes mean a non-balanced diet for the women so that they often eat the same type of food, such as carbohydrate foods only, without protein. After all, protein is essential for the women especially to replace and repair worn tissues during both menstrual and pregnancy periods. Therefore, if the women continue to receive the usual unbalanced diet, they will eventually suffer from critical health problems including cardiovascular diseases, obesity and diabetes, to name a few. The message is that when the women are not healthy the family members also will definitely suffer health problems.

Domestic violence in Kiribati is also one of the contributing factors to the women’s poor health. Culture prevails even in urban centres, where the consumption of alcohol is high and men are at a liberty to treat their women violently. Over the years, domestic violence cases have continued to rise because culture condones the beating of wives and women by their husbands. So, the problems in Kiribati range from being the last to have a meal to being beaten up for no apparent reason.

35 2.3 Conclusion

In the Third World there is hardly any society today in which women enjoy the same opportunities as men do. There is almost no society in which women share the same access to resources as men do. Women experience inequality in the distribution of opportunities and resources (UNDP, 1995). The low status of women is a considerably critical concern in South Tarawa in Kiribati as is in the Pacific region. Kiribati women’s traditional roles, their health, education, economic participation and political stand are the major issues that need focus in order to enhance the women’s position.

In fact, trends in the world today show not only the imbalance of resource distribution, but also the disparity in economic participation between genders. This was due to western values and ideas, which were introduced to Third World countries especially the South Pacific countries by the missionaries during the colonial era. The inter-linkages of issues of women’s status reflected in different schools of thoughts attempt to provide an understanding of underlying causes of women’s concerns.

The Women in Development concept has had a tremendous economic, professional and political impact on the lives of women in general.

36 CHAPTER THREE

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

3.1 Introduction.

The research upon which this thesis is based entails both qualitative and quantitative approaches to acquire reliable data and information. Both approaches are relevant for particular understanding of the problem studied. This chapter focuses on how the research was conducted. It explains the research methodology employed and how the research was designed. An explanation of the study area and the limitations of the research are also mentioned in this chapter.

3.2 Conceptual Context of Methodology

Research is a sequence of steps observed by a researcher to discover new knowledge on a particular topic. Generally, it is obtaining what is unknown in a systematic and unbiased approach that has no boundary in what can be researched. Research generates new and reliable knowledge and therefore data should demonstrate new understanding based on reason and evidence (Walsh, 1996).

In any research, however, sampling is an integral component as it produces information which the researcher does not know about and intends to find out about people’s behaviours and attitudes within the study topic. Sampling is a matter of taking a small portion of the population in which a researcher is interested in to get the information about the entire population (Walsh, 1996). Sampling is divided into two types, firstly the probability sampling and the non-probability.

37 The probability sampling is categorised into four classes. The first is the simple random sampling where every individual has an equal chance of being selected. Next is systematic sampling where the researcher begins from the starting points in assembling frame in random and choosing every ‘N’ number of people. The third type is the stratified random sample, which divides a population into groups of strata depending on the sub- population for the study. The final is the clustered sampling which involves dividing a population into a number of units or clusters each of which contains individuals with a range of characteristics (ibid.).

On the other hand, the non-probability type, which is also known as purposive or judgmental sampling (Walsh, 1996), works by selecting a sample on the basis of knowledge of a population and the limited resources to obtain information. This sampling is further divided into two groups. First is quota sampling, which relies on availability of subjects. The second is dimensional sampling, which is simply an extension of quota sampling while convenience sampling is where the researcher interviews any available person (ibid).

The methods of research employed to procure information for this research on gender issues are the gender inequality issues and methods of measurement used by UNDP. The tools were specifically designed in a way that assesses the existing inequalities between men and women in South Tarawa. This research employed two methods for the purpose of obtaining necessary information and reliable data in view of the existence of gender inequalities in the dimensions studied. The first is Gender Empowerment Measure (GEM) which concentrates on the women’s opportunities rather than on their capabilities. The other is the gender development index (GDI) which calculates the average achievement that reflects the inequalities between men and women (UNDP, 1999a).

38 The Gender Empowerment Measure is confined to measuring opportunities of women in three main areas. The first is the women’s opportunity to participate in political activity in terms of participation as members of parliament and their involvement in decision-making. The second is the women’s opportunity to participate in economic activity measured by using indicators, such as women and men’s share in employment, access to credit and involvement in economic decision-making. The last indicator is the women and men’s control of available resources. These indicators are used to obtain reliable comparison of the women’s status compared to the men.

On the other hand, the GDI, which UNDP designed for measuring inequalities between men and women, measures the average achievements that reflect the inequalities between the genders in terms of life expectancy at birth, literacy rate and the income of households, all of which measured their standard of living. This method has been employed in this research to gain an insight into the current situation in the study area.

3.3 Research Design

The research was designed in such a way that the data and information required regarding the women’s social status and development in South Tarawa could be easily obtained. The questionnaire was purposely designed to obtain data that helps in determining the current status of women on South Tarawa. In the construction of the questions for the survey, substantial consideration of the indicators to be measured was taken into account. Therefore, by employing the UNDP methods of measurement to reach the target objectives of the research, the questions were specifically designed for obtaining reliable information and understanding of the women’s status in Kiribati

39 3.3.1 Source of Data

The research required the collection of both primary and secondary data for the area under study, South Tarawa in the Republic of Kiribati. Primary data were obtained by observation and investigation using three sets of questionnaires developed for the research as explained below. Secondary data, however, were collected from existing sources such as books, periodicals, journals, country census and monographs. In addition to these sources an extensive internet search was done for gathering current information on the topic. Other secondary data were collected during the fieldwork from government reports and other documents. The library of the University of the South Pacific was the central point of consultation of secondary data.

3.3.2 Methods of Data Collection.

Both structured questionnaires and personal communication were used in the primary survey.

3.3.2.1 Questionnaire

Prior to the survey, a structured questionnaire was prepared to elicit information of different kinds, of households. The questionnaire was generally aimed at household information and the measurement of the women’s social status at household level in terms of literacy rate, economic and political participation and the standard of living of each household surveyed.

The questions revolved especially around the women’s opportunities to make decisions that could be recognized not only at the household level but also at the community and national levels. The questions were also designed to get information not only on household income, which reflects the standard of living on South Tarawa, but

40 also on the women’s activities inside and outside the home. The questionnaires were answered, filled by the available members of the different households. A few were filled by the researcher by interviewing, and others were collected from respondents who needed to fill them at home.

This thesis deals with the questions on the issues of women’s inequality and their low status in the development process. The questions were so designed to get information on the various dimensions of the life of the women that are affected by gender inequality issues.

3.3.3 Research Questions

The research questions were primarily designed to get information on the role and status of South Tarawa women with regard to the development process in Kiribati.

The questions the thesis sought to answer were: - Firstly, what is the current social status of women in South Tarawa. Secondly, what is the economic and political participation rate of women in South Tarawa? Thirdly, to what extent does gender inequality exist between men and women in South Tarawa?

3.3.4 Sampling

Sampling is seen to be the integral part of any research. This study undertook a survey of seventy-five households in the study area. The sample was randomly selected in the three urban centres of Betio, Bairiki and Bikenibeu in South Tarawa. The total sample was equally divided into three urban centres, each covering 25 households. Every third household was surveyed. When the members of any household were absent or refused to participate in the survey the households were left out and the next house was

41 chosen in the survey. The sample was stratified on the basis of urban centres male and female household heads and data were obtained using a simple random sampling method.

The underlying reason for selecting South Tarawa is the fact that not only is it the only urban centre in the Republic of Kiribati but also because more than one- third of the total population of the country resides on South Tarawa, so that the population density with its increasing associated problems are more obvious in the urban centre than in the rural areas. The sample of twenty-five households in each sub-centre implies the different people residing in these centres.

Table 3.1 Summary of Sample of Survey on South Tarawa by Centre

Category Betio Bairiki Bikenibeu Total

Number of households 25 25 25 75 Population Coverage 176 201 177 554 Average household Size 7.0 8.0 7.1 7.4

Source: Household Survey, 2004

3.3.4.1 Household Coverage by Gender

The sample was further stratified on the basis of gender. One-third (25) of all households in the study were headed by women and two-thirds (50) by men (Table 3.2). The total female population covered in the study was 202 representing 36% of the total surveyed population (554).

42 Table 3.2 Coverage of male and female-headed households in South Tarawa by Centre

Coverage Betio Bairiki Bikenibeu South Tarawa

MF T MF T MF T M F T

Households 13 12 25 17 8 25 20 5 25 50 25 75 Population 117 59 176 124 77 201 111 66 177 352 202 554 Source: Household Survey, 2004. M-Male-headed F-Female-headed T-Total households

3.3.5 Coding, Tabulation and Data.

Data obtained from the field were suitably coded and transformed from the household survey questionnaire. These data were transferred into suitable tables, which are put in Chapter Five. These tables show specific information on the women’s status and their progress in their social, economic and political participation. Data collected from government reports on certain issues provided background information required for the analysis of violence against women and how government responded to women’s concerns in Kiribati. These reports were also useful in determining the trends in literacy and economic growth, as well as the population growth and how women’s health has been affected. They were converted to tables and relevant graphs and diagrams were prepared in order to reflect the women’s issues.

3.4 Study Area.

The study is focused on South Tarawa, the only urban centre of the Republic of Kiribati. As such, it is the hub of activities and draws population because of its better facilities, and so for the women it has become the centre of social, economic,

43 environmental and political difficulties and problems. Its population of 36,717 poses many difficulties and obstacles for the women in providing for the family’s well-being. . Figure 3.1 Study Areas: South Tarawa Atoll in Kiribati

(Source:Trease, 1993:126)

From the information the map provides about the atoll island of South Tarawa, it is easy to see the difficulties just by comparing the number of people and the small land mass. Firstly, the limited land area available for development is a critical problem encountered by many. Secondly, overcrowding and limited land resources posed other critical problems. These are aggravated by problems such as little or no clean drinking water, poor sanitation, lack of proper waste disposal and many other problems related to high population density. Under these conditions it is often the women who are affected the most because of their role and responsibilities for the care and well-being of their families.

44 However, rather than focusing on South Tarawa as a whole the study selected the three principal sub areas for the research: Betio, Bairiki and Bikenibeu. These are segregated string of islets joined by man-made causeways which form South Tarawa, the national capital of the Republic of Kiribati. The main sub-areas are attractive for different reasons. Betio, which is located at the western end of the island, is the one and only point of sea transportation and is therefore attractive to the incoming immigrants from rural areas who find such mode of transport affordable.

Table 3.3 shows the population of the three different urban centres in the study area. For Betio, being the most populated and with high density, the grave concern is the rapidly increasing population with its related problems. In the case of Bairiki, being the central urban centre has rendered it the most relevant focus of study. Bikenibeu, being the location of some government offices, is a large residential area as people wish to reside close to their place of work. Of the three sub centres of South Tarawa, Bikenibeu has the second largest population next to Betio (Table 3.3).

Table 3.3 Population, Households and Density in South Tarawa’s Urban Centres 2000

Urban Centre Population Number of Density of pop. Households (persons per sq km)

Betio 12,268 1,479 9,196 Bariki 2,664 307 5,893 Bikenibeu 5,613 700 4,728

Source: Republic of Kiribati,, 2002.

South Tarawa, the administrative and commercial centre, was chosen because most of the variables, which concern the research, are evident on the island; hence its relevance as the site for the study. The women’s problems are widespread in these urban centres, in terms of education, health, clean drinking water and unemployment, thus making it relevant as the site for the study. The emergence of the women’s inequality issues is more obvious in these urban centres than in the rural areas. Concentrations of economic and

45 political activities and the question of women’s participation in the capital of Kiribati are some of the reasons why South Tarawa was selected as the study area.

3.5 Research Limitations

The study has few limitations. Firstly, the unavailability of required data is the most serious limitation for an in-depth study. The researcher faced problems of finding required data while in the field and also while looking for secondary sources of information. During fieldwork, the researcher found that most of the offices and officials visited lacked the required information regarding women’s progress and status. Some information provided by the Statistics Office, in the Ministry of Finance, remained inadequate for the study.

Secondly, the research is limited to South Tarawa focusing on the three sub- centres, of Betio, Bairiki and Bikenibeu, excluding the villages located in between the centres.

Finally, time was a major constraint as the study areas were scattered and segmented creating insufficiency and other major limitations to this study. Funding was also another constraint in conducting the research.

3.6 Conclusion

The research was particularly designed to collect information regarding women’s socio-economic status and their participation in the development of Kiribati. However, in order to obtain the relevant information the employment of methodologies to suit the study was vital. The study faced constraints both in the field as well as the consultation of secondary sources. The major drawback of this study is the unavailability of data and information on women’s status and other related issues concerning women in

46 development in Kiribati. Therefore, the researcher could only gather primary data based on the household questionnaire in the context of South Tarawa.

The other major problem encountered was with government officials with a partial knowledge of the women’s situation. The unavailability of government officials for interviews was another constraint encountered. The absence of written data made the information incomplete and a definite challenge for further research to be conducted. The deficiencies impeded an in depth understanding of the subject under study.

47 CHAPTER FOUR

KIRIBATI AND SOUTH TARAWA: A BACKGROUND

4.1 Introduction

The Republic of Kiribati is situated in the Central Pacific, between 50° North and 12° South, and between longitude of 170° North 153° West (Fig 4.1). The neighbouring countries include Hawaii and Marshall Islands located to the North, French Polynesia to the southeast, Samoa to the South, Tuvalu, Tokelau and Cook Islands to the southwest and Nauru to the west. This chapter provides general background information on Kiribati and in particular on the study area, of South Tarawa. This chapter focus as briefly on its geography, demography, society and culture, economy and present government policy towards the women’s welfare and development in Kiribati.

Figure 4.1 Kiribati and the South Pacific

Source: Asian Development Bank, 1998a.

48 4.2 Geography

The Republic of Kiribati, an independent Micronesian country, sits astride the equator in the Central Pacific Ocean (see Fig 4.2). It consists of 33 reef strings of atoll islands, which are divided into three groups scattered across the central Pacific Ocean. The Gilbert Islands has 17 islands, all of which are inhabited including Tarawa atoll.. The Phoenix Islands consists of 8 islands, three of which are inhabited. The Line Islands comprises 8 islands, but only three are inhabited. Altogether the three groups make up 23 inhabited islands distributed over the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of 3.5 million square kilometres extending 2,505 km from north to south and 3,870 km from east to west. Yet, the three main groups have a total land area of only 810.5 square kilometres (Asian Development Bank, 1998a).

Figure 4.2 The Republic of Kiribati

Source: Asian Development Bank, 2002

49 The national capital Bairiki is situated on South Tarawa in the Gilbert group. Tarawa is one of the 17 islands that make up the group and a dominant urban centre of the Republic of Kiribati. As such, all administrative activities and functions are concentrated on this island. South Tarawa is made up of three major suburban centres (namely, Betio, Bairiki and Bikenibeu) and numerous villages within their boundaries.

4.3 Demography

The population of Kiribati has been rapidly increasing over the years. Statistics have shown the rapid increase in population since 1931, when it was about 30,000 to the year 2000 when it reached nearly 85,000. (Table 4.1)

Table 4.1 Population by Sex and Intercensal Growth Rates in Kiribati and South Tarawa 1931 to 2000. Kiribati South Tarawa Census Population Growth Population % Share of Population Period Male Female Total Rates Population Growth (%) to Kiribati (%) 1931 15,395 14,356 29,751 - 3,013 10.1 - 1947 15,762 15,751 31,513 0.38 1,671 5.1 -3.88 1963 21,460 21,876 43,336 2.02 6,101 14.1 8.20 1968 23,748 23,987 47,735 1.73 10,616 22.2 9.89 1973 25,606 26,320 51,926 1.68 14,861 28.6 6.73 1978 27,726 28,487 56,213 1.59 17,921 31.9 3.74 1985 31,660 32,223 63,883 2.00 21,393 33.5 2.77 1990 35,770 36,565 72,335 2.26 25,380 35.1 3.11 1995 38,478 39,180 77,658 1.42 28,350 36.5 2.21 2000 41,646 42,848 84,494 1.69 36,717 43.5 5.17 Source: Republic of Kiribati, 2002

50 As Table 4.1 shows, the population growth rate increased from 0.38 per cent in 1947 to 2.02 per cent in 1963 and then declined to stand at 1.59 in 1978. The decline was mainly due not only to the resettlement of the Phoenix settlers to the islands of Gizo and Wagina in the Solomon Islands and the relocation of the Banabans to Rabi Island in Fiji (Bailey, 1982) but also the separation of the Gilbert and Ellice Islands Colony in 1976 (Macdonald, 2001; Talu, et al, 1979). This decline was also as a result of the cholera outbreak in 1977, which took many lives. In 1978 through 1985 and 1990 the population continued to increase but in 1995 the growth rate again decreased to 1.42 per cent and then increased to 1.69 per cent in the year 2000.

South Tarawa has experienced a steadily increasing population since 1947 as a result of not only the natural increase but also internal migration from rural areas to urban areas. In 2000, the population of South Tarawa alone accounted for about 45% of the total population of Kiribati. Proportionately, more people are residing in the urban centre of South Tarawa. Figure 4.3 shows South Tarawa had a progressive population growth between 1947 and 2000.

Figure 4.3 Population Trend in South Tarawa 1931 - 2000 100000

10000

1000

100 Population 10

1 1931 1947 1963 1968 1973 1978 1985 1990 1995 2000 Year

Source: Republic of Kiribati, 2002

51 Interestingly however, there was a negative growth in the population of South Tarawa between 1931 and 1947. The decline in population in this period was due to the out break of World War II. More than 90 per cent of the total population of the country resides in the Gilbert Islands Group with the majority on South Tarawa. This creates a population density exceeding 2,324 persons per square kilometre. Such a population density poses a critical problem as the islands are extremely poor in natural resources with only seafood and coconuts to depend on for survival. Water shortages are common and contamination of the underground water table and problem of waste disposal are the major environmental concerns.

From colonization to independence South Tarawa has been the major centre for all commercial, academic, health, entertainment and administrative activities. The concentration of activities in the national capital became a major contributing factor for the influx of migrants from rural areas to South Tarawa. Figure 4.4 shows the trends in population by sex between 1921 and 2000.

Figure 4.4 Kiribati Population by Sex 1921 - 2000 45000 40000 35000 30000 25000 Male 20000 Female 15000 Population 10000 5000 0

21 31 47 63 68 73 78 85 90 95 00 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 20 Year

Source: Republic of Kiribati, 2002.

52 The female population between 1921 and 1947 was slightly lower than the male population. However, since 1963 the female population in Kiribati increased slightly over the males and it continues to increase over the years. Similarly, in South Tarawa there were 18,895 females compared to 17,822 males in 2000 (Republic of Kiribati, 2002).

The main reason for the higher number of females in the capital was that South Tarawa is the dominant centre of education, cash employment and most of the essential services attract rural dwellers, especially women, to relocate themselves to have access to these services. Most females came to South Tarawa simply to educate their children, seek wage employment, and explore better opportunities in order to support their families. While some managed to secure employment in government services, those with limited education engaged in the informal sector such as selling of local products, handicrafts and marketing of local food products. The women in Kiribati have been very active economically. Unfortunately, their contribution is merely confined to the provision of households needs.

According to the Asian Development Bank (1998a) Kiribati has continued to encounter communication and development problems due to its geographical isolation and remoteness. Its other major challenge relates to providing constant paid employment for the growing population, which is estimated to double in 15 years’ time. In response to the development problem, women began to perceive education as the major way out to the growing problems on the island.

4.4 Society and Culture

The Kiribati society and culture is unique and different from other Pacific countries. The society is made up of Micronesians and is often described as an egalitarian society. However, the egalitarian principles enshrined in traditional culture do not apply to gender relations. Being Micronesian origin they use various dialects, traditional authorities and customs. Therefore, land, being the most valuable resource, is always under men’s

53 control. According to Emberson-Bain, (1995) the women are to comply with and implement decisions made by men and do so in respect and submissiveness (Emberson- Bain, 1995: 48).

Kiribati culture places women’s important emphasis in the home. When women appear in public there are expectations required of them, to remain silent and act modestly. On the other hand men are officially the heads of the family and when they appear in public there are no expectations by the community, except to act as gentlemen. Therefore, when it comes to making decisions in the villages, men are always the ones to talk and decide on what to do. This is done in the meeting place, called maneaba. The maneaba system clearly explains women’s position in society, as hearers and doers but not decision-makers. They are allowed to attend community meetings at the maneaba, but traditionally they do not speak, and their sitting position is always behind the men (Trease, 1993:266).

Although changes have taken place over the years with women’s status, in the Kiribati culture women are still mothers, wives and daughters of families. The progress of women in the Kiribati society is hindered by some of the cultural norms that are still practiced in the outer islands as well as in the urban centres. Women’s right to land is one of the aspects that hinder women’s progress. Land in Kiribati is scarce and the population is increasing rapidly putting women in a more complicated situation where they do not have access to land. Therefore women in South Tarawa face many problems in relation to the usage of land resources (Trease, 1993:266-7).

According to Trease, (1993) the lower status of women in the Kiribati society still prevails today, despite the fact that many women have achieved higher education status and proved capable of working in the public sector. Trease, (1993) also points out the common practice in Government departments in terms of promotion as always men’s opportunities amidst the women’s higher qualification to that of men. Women were

54 culturally trained to be silent, therefore the values of being silent is still practised today in the workplace. Trease, (1993) urges the Kiribati women to develop confidence and speak up for their rights.

Over one and a half centuries, evidence of change in Kiribati is apparent. These changes came about as a result of European contact during the colonial era. Perhaps the most lasting and powerful change that has become dominant throughout Kiribati is Christianity. Christianity has become an integral part of the people’s culture and tradition in a religious framework (Republic of Kiribati, 2004). Apparently, it has restructured the people’s culture and tradition, in terms of their social lives, and has become a major contributing factor in the way the Kiribati people behave in society today. Religious groups have contributed a lot to the social development of the population, and they have contributed enormously in terms of education, as most of the schools are run by churches while only a few are government-run.

When Christianity arrived in Kiribati people adopted the belief that marriage is sacred to married couples only. Monogamy is the rule and sex performed outside marriage is forbidden. Christianity has grown dramatically over the years and this is clearly evident in the number of different denominations in the country. Table 4.2 shows the different denominational groups that are operating and currently contributing to the struggle for a better living standard in Kiribati.

55 Table 4.2 Population by Denomination 1990-2000

Denomination 1990 2000 % % KPC* 39 37 Catholic 53 55 SDA** 2 2 Bahai 2 2 Church of God 1 1 LDS*** 2 3 Others 1 1 Source: Republic of Kiribati,, 2002. *KPC: Kiribati Protestant Church **SDA: Seventh-day Adventist Church ***LDS: Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

4.5 Social Development

Both culture and Christianity have substantially influenced social development in Kiribati. One very important aspect of the Kiribati culture relates to the ‘extended family’ concept. This aspect of culture plays an important role in the lives of the people. Kiribati had Human Poverty Index (HPI) value of 13 which was lower than Marshall Islands, Federated State of Micronesia, Vanuatu, Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea (UNDP, 1999b). The extended family’s function conceals poverty within the community though the culture of sharing and caring and has become the responsibility of each extended family member to support and provide for the less fortunate relative.

4.5.1 Education

The arrival of Europeans in Kiribati saw the dawn of a new era especially when the natives began to learn to read and write in their native language. Christianity in particular was most influential in improving the literacy rate of the Kiribati people. Hiram Bingham from the Protestant American Board of Commissioners for Foreign

56 Missions was the one that gave the Kiribati people a written form of language (Talu et al.1979). The Kiribati people have continued to write and speak their language since.

Emberson-Bain (1995) highlights that during the colonial era, education opportunities in Kiribati were originally enjoyed by boys only. Girls’ education began in 1900 with the establishment of Christian mission schools. She explains that the type of education offered to girls was confined to a domestic oriented female curriculum that included sewing, cooking and weaving along with English and Arithmetic, which the wives of most missionaries adopted as their role in society.

The girls’ late entrance to education has inevitably delayed their rise to hold higher posts in the civil service and other paid employment sectors. Despite these difficulties, the girls’ literacy in Kiribati has improved dramatically compared to some Pacific Islands countries (Table 1.2). Previously, the boys had high economic returns when compared to the girls in terms of income generation. Interestingly, this has changed as a result of efforts by the girls to lift their status to a higher ground through acquiring formal education. In fact, empirical data reveals that the proportions of enrolment among girls have increased from 51 per cent to 52 per cent between 1985 and 1990, while the enrolment of male students dropped from about 49 per cent to 48 per cent (Emberson- Bain, 1995). One of the contributing factors to the girls’ progress in education is the parents’ willingness to invest in their daughters’ education recently.

57 Table 4.3 Trends in Tertiary Institutions Enrolment in Kiribati by Gender, 1990 -1996. Year 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996

Male 316 289 267 320 151 175 181

Female 206 255 256 381 200 249 256 Source: PACFAW, 2002.

Table 4.3 shows a constant increase in females’ enrolment at tertiary institution such as USP Centre in Kiribati between 1990 and 1993. However, in 1994 there was a decrease in the females’ enrolment and then increased further in the year 1995 and 1996. Table 4.4 shows the percentage of adult literacy rate as a result of women’s interest in improving their status by educating themselves.

The Human Development Report, (1999a) shows that globally Kiribati ranked 129th, ahead of Vanuatu, Solomon Islands and PNG, with its human development index (HDI) value of 0.515. According to the report the adult literacy in the country averaged 93 per cent while the combined gross school enrolment stood at 68 per cent. Adult literacy was estimated to be 93 per cent with the females slightly below this compared to several other Pacific Islands countries (Table 1.2).

Table 4.4 Selected Human Indicators for Kiribati Population by Gender, 2000. Adult Literacy Rate Life Expectancy (%) (Years) Total Urban Rural Male 94 61.2 59.7 62.3 Female 91 67.1 67.1 67.4 Source: The Republic of Kiribati, 2002.

58 Table 4.4 clearly shows the higher literacy rate of the Kiribati male population compared to females who have progressed substantially in their literacy endeavour. The women have seized on education as an important avenue they could rely upon to empower themselves in terms of decision-making and in controlling their own lives contrary to tradition which dictates that women are to be silent in any matters relating to decision-making and to comply willingly with any instructions given to them to perform. Although tradition restricts women’s rights in society, most have taken the initiative to strive for better education. This progress in the women’s lives has enabled them to compete for paid jobs and other income opportunities that were predominantly given to males in the past.

4.5.2 Health

4.5.2.1 Life Expectancy.

Table 4.4 shows that life expectancy is 61 years for men and 67 years for women in Kiribati. In the urban areas, it is 60 years for men and 67 years for women as compared to rural dwellers with 62 years for male and 67 years for females. Obviously, the women have a slightly higher life expectancy than men in Kiribati. The female life expectancy remains lower in Kiribati compared to many South Pacific countries (Table 1.2)

In Kiribati, a few factors affect the health of its population. The foremost is complete change in diet and lifestyle, which has resulted in the prevalence of health related problems especially on South Tarawa. Another factor is that almost each family household accommodates extended family members, according to the survey (2004), the average household size in South Tarawa is 7 (Table 3.1). Another point to consider is the different sizes of houses in urban areas. Seven can be a very big number for a Grade C house but not for Grade E housing. The overcrowded living conditions contribute to the spread of common health problems such as respiratory tract infections, diarrhoea, and

59 skin and eye diseases, which according to a 1994 report stood at, 108, 745, 16,782 and 10,849 cases respectively (Emberson-Bain, 1995).

The other fast growing health problem in Kiribati is sexually transmitted diseases (STD) in particular the deadly HIV/AIDS. The disease is prevalent due to the mobility of its population. A large number of Kiribati seamen, who work on overseas foreign vessels on contract basis, are possible carriers of STDs. The women become vulnerable to infection. Upon their return from working abroad, the men, married or otherwise, can pass the disease to their spouses or partners. Most institutions and organizations in Kiribati are now concerned and are trying to educate the communities to be aware of the disease, but more importantly how to prevent it. Government, non-government organizations and religious groups play a major role not only in educating the population, but also in advocating only one sex partner.

Besides, religious groups have also contributed greatly to the country’s welfare and well being. They train women not only to provide healthy balanced meals and be hygienic, but also to possess home-making skills to equip them to adopt healthy lifestyles and behaviours.

4.6 Economy and Women’s Participation

Kiribati is extremely limited in natural resources, yet the people have managed to survive in a harsh and fragile environment for thousands of years through simple subsistence production. (Republic of Kiribati, 2004). The Kiribati economy has long been a simple subsistence economy based on the resources from the land and the sea. People, especially in the outer islands, have survived through the years with a simple subsistence production of local foods such as babai (a swamp root crop), coconut and fish. The monetized economy, which also is an element of the Kiribati economy, exists in the urban centre of South Tarawa. The gross domestic product (GDP), which is a component of the monetary sector, has fluctuated over the years. The monetary sector was in its peak

60 during phosphate mining years, but slowly declined when phosphate mining ended in 1979. In 1993 the GDP per capita was US$488, which is the lowest compared to other countries in the South Pacific (PACFAW, 2002).

The subsistence sector is able to meet the basic needs of the population of Kiribati who live in rural areas. Both the marine and terrestrial environments provide resources for the people, but urban dwellers have depended entirely on a monetary economy for both the land and marine resources. In addition fishing equipment such as fishing nets and out boat engines are expensive, hence only employed people are able to buy. Fishing is an important and essential activity for survival even in modern Kiribati, so it’s crucial to acquire traditional fishing skills from the old people. After all, what Kiribati lacked on land is compensated for in its rich vast ocean. A supply of abundant fish provides an important nutrient to the nation’s protein requirement for their diet.

Coconut is an important resource and has multiple uses. Firstly, it provides copra exportation apart from domestic consumption. Besides these, chickens and pigs could also be raised and used for domestic consumption as well as for commercial purposes (UNDP, 1993). As an effort by government to diversify its products for local consumption and export, other product have been introduced.

Photo 4.1 Kiribati woman spreads copra to dry in the sun

Source: Teaero, T. 1989.

61 Newly introduced to subsistence farmers solely for commercial production is seaweed. This new product has offered people an alternative means of earning income. Kiribati also provides a large number of seamen employed in foreign vessels overseas, who assist foreign exchange through remittances to their families, thus boosting the country’s GDP. Kiribati Revenue Equalization Reserve Fund (KRERF) has also grown over the years since its establishment in 1956 (PACFAW, 2002).

Women in Kiribati have played an important economic role both at home and in the community. Undoubtedly, their home activities have extended to the commercial sector. According to Rokotuivuna (cited in Slatter, 1976), women have an important and real economic role to play both in rural and urban economy. This is in planting, harvesting, fishing, clothes and craft making, as well as in the menial and unrecognized chores. As they provide through subsistence production they also contribute to the exporting of products that are available to them. Women cut copra and at the same time perform most agricultural activities including the cultivation of babai (a tuberous root crop). Any surplus they make from such activities is sold to generate income for the family, thus assisting in making ends meet (Rokotuivuna cited in Slatter, 1976: 23).

Photo 4.2 Kiribati women cultivating babai

Source: Teaero, T. 1989.

62 More importantly, the women’s role in raising and moulding their children, cleaning, cooking and providing for family members is indeed their basic economic contribution, though too often they are not considered economic factors. Yet, they are also producers and trainers of labour who become productive human resources not just at home but in the outside world as well.

4.7 Government Policy towards Welfare and Development of women in Kiribati.

The government of the Republic of Kiribati has begun to recognize the vital contribution of women in helping to fulfil government’s policy for the nation’s development not only to become prosperous but also to achieve equitable distribution of resources among the people in line with the principles of good governance. Emberson- Bain (1995) also reports that the 7th National Development Plan of the Kiribati Government for 1992-1995 expresses the government’s recognition of women’s role as vitally important for development. It reads:

There is an increasing recognition of the role of women as equal partners and participants in the development process. The status and role of women to increase productivity have improved gradually over the years with more access to education and employment opportunities. The importance of I- Kiribati women’s contribution to national development is gaining wider acceptance considering their traditional roles in Kiribati context. To strengthen the national women’s federation (AMAK), training of young women and maintaining support to NGOs assisting women’s development, the sectoral strategies are a) improvement of communication with women b) greater coordination of women’s programs and provision of technical assistance, where possible c) assistance in the management of the national women’s federation (AMAK) to address priority needs and concerns for women and d) increasing access and opportunities in education, health, employment and participation in various levels of planning and development process (Emberson-Bain, 1995:51).

63 Furthermore, in the National Development Strategies (2004-2007), the government has an overall key policy for areas and issues that concern the population. The Strategies that emphasized the traditional ways of helping poor people are under strain, and inequity is apparent in the community. The government has in place strategies to assist in this issue. One, it develops partnership with churches and NGOs to identify people and areas of need and to work out ways of assisting them. The other, the government awards welfare benefits to the elderly people who are 70 years and older who are not actively able to earn income (Republic of Kiribati, 2003).

The National Development Strategies also suggests ways to mobilize not only the women but also the young people’s potential for self development and participation in the national development process. Government policies for such issues are firstly, to extend and connect formal, informal and vocational training activities into realistic preparation for adult life; secondly, to assist women and youth organizations with training and collaborative activities; and lastly, to promote sporting and cultural events and to provide appropriate public facilities (ibid.).

The Kiribati government is gradually incorporating women into the public sector framework realizing their potential that could be utilized for development purposes

4.8 Conclusion.

The Republic of Kiribati faces many development challenges. South Tarawa, in particular, being the nation’s capital and main urban centre, faces the most critical challenges. As the influx of rural dwellers to the urban areas intensifies, so Kiribati has become one of the South Pacific countries that exhibit largest number of population residing in an urban centre. In fact, the high population concentration on South Tarawa on limited space makes the town the most densely populated urban centre.

64 The strongest challenge on the atolls is their limited land for subsistence activities. This has pressurized urban dwellers to rely on imported foods, hence creating other problems associated with income generation. Not all urban dwellers are employed, yet, surviving on South Tarawa requires a stable income.

For women in unemployed families, life in urban Tarawa is a constant struggle as a direct result of a high population density coupled with lack of proper urban amenities. The situation pushes the urban dwellers to continuously exploit available resources to survive. In realising the great potential the women possess to contain the situation, the government has strategies and policies in place to develop the women’s potential to assist in the development process and most importantly, to assist the growing urban population to sustain resources and livelihood.

The next chapter looks at women’s issues in depth, and the areas that most concern women in South Tarawa, with particular reference to Betio, Bairiki and Bikenibeu.

65 CHAPTER FIVE RESEARCH FINDINGS AND ANALYSIS

5.1 Introduction

The women’s social status refers to the social disadvantages of women in different levels of education, health, politics and economic categories, yet, it is considered an essential component not only of their development but also the development of the nation. In Kiribati the women have been disadvantaged for long because of their being culturally labelled as domestic workers, thus the enhancement of their appearance in public sectors is hindered. Efforts to strengthen the weak areas of the women’s social status are vital to enhance the standard of living not only for women but also for all members of the family. The cultural status of women prevails in urban centres as well, causing them to have difficulties in their advancement even though already there is some progress in the area of education, health and nutritional status, which has made dramatic changes to the women’s lives, in particular their professional achievements.

This chapter focuses on the social, economic and political status of women and their development in the three main urban centres of Kiribati: Betio, Bairiki and Bikenibeu. It looks at the findings on the women and their status based primarily on the data derived from a household survey conducted. Finally it considers related issues that offer alternatives to improve the standard of living for women in these main urban centres.

5.2 Research Findings.

The findings are broadly discussed in three aspects of women in development: the general social status, the economic status, and the political status. All these are crucial components of gender issues in the urban centres of South Tarawa in Kiribati and are therefore examined closely.

66 5.2.1 The Women’s Social Status and Development in South Tarawa.

Generally, the women’s social status in Kiribati is linked with cultural norms. Data derived from the survey depicted the general information on women, their marital status and family type.

5.2.1.1 Sex Imbalances

According to the 2000 Census, the sex ratios for the urban centres show a higher figure of females per 100 males for the urban population. In Betio there were 103 females to a hundred males. Bikenibeu had the highest at 110 females per 100 males followed by Bairiki with 108. The statistics denote a higher female population than the males in all urban centres. In fact, the overall population data show that the female population has continuously changed over the years in Kiribati.

Table 5.1 Sex Ratio in South Tarawa by Urban Centre, 2000. Centre Male Female Total Sex Ratio No. of female per 100 males Bairiki 1278 1386 2664 108 Betio 6050 6218 12268 103 Bikenibeu 2668 2945 5613 110 Source: Republic of Kiribati, 2000

67 Table 5.2 Rural and urban (South Tarawa) population by sex according to the Census Period 1985 - 2000

Census Sex Urban Rural Total Males 10526 21134 31660 1985 Females 10544 21679 32223 Males 12529 23241 35770 1990 Females 12851 23714 36565 Males 13925 24553 38478 1995 Females 14425 24755 39180 Males 17822 23824 41646 2000 Females 18895 23953 42848

Source: Republic of Kiribati Statistics Office. Ministry of Finance, 2000.

Table 5.2 confirms the fact that the female population is higher compared to the males not only in the urban centres but in the rural areas as well. This may be due to the higher life expectancy of females than male population in Kiribati.

5.2.1.2 Marital Status.

Table 5.3 shows the marital status of male and female-headed households per centre covered in this research. The female marital status in the three centres in South Tarawa is very low yet the percentage of divorced females is higher than the males. This substantiates the trend that female divorcees prefer remaining divorced for the rest of their lives while men remarry. The most obvious contributing factor is that the women opt to remain ‘single’ for the rest of their lives than engage in de facto- relationships.

68 Table 5.3 Marital Status for male and female-headed households per centre in South Tarawa Betio Bairiki Bikenibeu Category Male- Female- Male- Female- Male- Female- headed headed headed headed headed headed % % % % % % Married 84.6 66.7 88.2 37.5 95.0 40.0 Divorced 7.7 16.7 0.0 0.0 0.0 20.0 Widowed 0.0 8.3 0.0 25.0 0.0 40.0 Single 7.7 8.3 11.8 37.5 5.0 0.0 Total 100.0 100.0 100. 0 100.0 100.0 100.0 Source: Household Survey, 2004

Table 5.3 shows a comparative picture of marital status for male and female- headed households in the three urban centres in South Tarawa. The proportions of married category are lower amongst the female–headed households than the male-headed households in all the three urban centres. In Bairiki and Bikenibeu, the female-headed households show greater proportions of single category of female, and widowed and divorced category respectively. While 63 per cent female-headed households in Bairiki are single and widowed categories, 60 per cent in Bikenibeu are widowed and divorced categories. A very high proportion of female –headed households (about 38 per cent) in Bairiki are with single women status. In contrast, very high proportions of female-headed households in Betio (17 per cent) and Bikenibeu (20 per cent) are divorced category women. The lower proportions of female in married category in Bairiki and Bikenibeu compared to Betio may be due to the fact that most of the female prefer to remain unmarried and take up employment in these centres where job opportunities are readily available as these centres are the administrative headquarters in Kiribati. The Table 5.3 also shows higher proportions of widowed in Bairiki and Bikenibeu and this may be due to the fact that women’s life expectancy is higher than men in Kiribati and they become widows when their husbands die.

69 For the country as a whole the 2000 Census report shows a five categories of the marital status for the entire population from the ‘never married’ to the ‘widowed’ as listed in Table 5.4; which presents the overall picture of the marital status of the population of Kiribati in both urban and rural areas. The table shows the disadvantaged proportions of the distressed women population in the separated, divorced and widowed categories were higher than the corresponding figure for the male population. About 9 per cent of the female population was in disadvantaged categories, compared to only 3 per cent of the male population. There also existed a wide differential between urban and rural areas. The distressed categories of the female population were about 8 per cent in urban areas compared to only 2 per cent in the rural areas. In contrast, the single women population was higher in the rural areas (63 per cent) than in the urban areas (54 per cent). In other words, the stable female category with a settled married status was only 37 per cent compared to high proportions of unstable female population (63 per cent) in urban areas.

Table 5.4 Percent distribution of resident population by Area and marital status, 2000

Category Total Urban Rural F M F M F M

Married 36.8 34.1 37.1 34.6 36.6 35.0 Never Married 54.0 62.4 54.2 63.2 53.8 62.5 Separated 0.5 0.4 0.4 0.2 0.6 0.2 Divorced 2.1 1.9 2.2 0.8 2.0 0.8 Widowed 6.6 1.1 6.1 1.2 7.0 1.4

Total 100 100 100 100 100 100 Source: Republic of Kiribati Statistic Office, Ministry of Finance, 2000 M=Male F=Female

5.2.1.3 Type of Family

Table 5.5 discusses the family type of the household surveyed. In the Kiribati traditions, the extended family is the most important category when it comes to survival

70 because of the assistance each member renders to the others. On the other hand, the nuclear family type is becoming popular over the years as an impact of modernization in South Tarawa, but the statistics show that the proportions of the extended family type are still greater than the nuclear type for two main reasons. The increase in the level of education is a strong influence in the families’ decision to keep their family size small to cater for family needs. The birth control awareness is the other factor in the increase of dependent family type which has contributed to the growth of nuclear families especially in the urban centres. In spite of the growing popularity of the nuclear family type, the extended family continues to exist.

The most significant role of the extended type of family is the fact that family members get support from each other in times of need. Thus, the extended family is the main contributing factor for the relatively low degree or absence of poverty in the community, due to the continued assistance extended by each member. This type of family reflects on the existence of close familial ties. Additionally, support and assistance provided by members of each family are based not only on traditional beliefs but also on religion. Religion has significantly replaced most of the traditional norms and has been practised since the arrival of Christianity in Kiribati.

Table 5.5 Family Type for households per urban centre in South Tarawa

Type Betio (%) Bairiki (%) Bikenibeu (%) N=25 N=25 N=25

Nuclear 40 36 32 Extended 56 60 64 Composite 4 4 4

Total 100 100 100

Source: Household Survey, 2004 N=Number of households

71 5.2.1.4 Religion

Various Christian denominations are listed in Table 5.6. As discussed earlier, Christianity plays a very important role in the lives of the Kiribati people, especially in contributing to the different aspects of people’s well-being. Christianity brought about some changes to the population, especially in the area of education. It also fostered the confinement of women to their domestic duties rather than duties outside the home. More importantly, though, Christianity brought an end to some evil practices such as killing to solve problems, it even provided alternatives. Prior to Christianity, people killed when they had disputes over land or other related problems, but Christianity taught them that it is wicked to take someone else’s life because it is contrary to Biblical principles of life.

Table 5.6 Religion in Household Survey per Urban Centre in South Tarawa

Denomination Betio % Bairiki % Bikenibeu % N=25 N=25 N=25

Roman Catholic 36 36 44 Protestant 28 32 36 Seventh - day Adventist 20 24 16 Later Day Saints 8 8 4 Jehovah’s Witness 8 0 0

Total 100 100 100

Source: Household Survey, 2004. N = Number of households

Most significantly, however, the importance of Christianity today is evident in the quality of services in the community. In the urban centres the facilities and services are different from those in the rural areas, for in urban centres the Christian groups contribute to services like health care and awareness to the community and education. Most of the women in their respective denominations have their own small groups. They not only help the disadvantaged women but also encourage and provide them with instructions about what to do to improve their standard of living while they struggle to survive in the

72 urban areas. Thus, women are urged to empower themselves through education to qualify themselves for some form of employment in the public sector.

5.2.1.5 Female-headed households in Urban Centres in South Tarawa.

As women are the main players in the family, their social status even on South Tarawa has been confined largely to domestic duties. However, they have recently become more independent due to the impact of formal education and are thus employable in paid jobs to support their family members independently.

Table 5.7 Female-headed Households Coverage per Urban Centre in South Tarawa

Centre No. No. of female- % of female- Total number Average of headed headed of female in number house households households surveyed of female holds households per surveyed household

Betio 25 12 48 59 2.4 Bairiki 25 8 32 77 3.1 Bikenibeu 25 5 20 66 2.6

Total South Tarawa 75 25 100 202 2.7 Source: Household Survey, 2004

Table 5.7 shows the number of female-headed households surveyed and the female population coverage in each urban centre.

73 5.2.1.6 Educational Status of Women.

Education is considered the tool for empowering women in preparing them to be competent in the economic activities of a nation. As such, education is a vital component for enhancement of the women’s status. The educational status of women in Kiribati has risen over the years largely because the women are now aware of the disparities between them and the men. However, in Kiribati large numbers of women are still deprived of the right to formal education due to traditional practices and beliefs. In fact, about 9 per cent of females were illiterate in Kiribati, compared to Nauru (5 per cent), Tonga (1 per cent) and Samoa (4 per cent) (UNDP, 1999). Yet, women need to be educated not only for employment but in order to look after the entire family with good ‘know how’ to feed and look after the elderly and infants.

Table 5.8 Education Level of Female Headed Household in South Tarawa by Urban Centre

Urban Total Centre No. of Educational Level (%) females Primary Secondary Tertiary No in Education households Bairiki 77 10 73 14 3 Betio 59 7 59 17 17 Bikenibeu 66 8 61 21 10 Source: Household Survey, 2004

Table 5.8 shows the different levels of educational attainment by females in female-headed households covered in the survey. The proportion of females who completed primary eduction appears the lowest in Betio while Bairiki has the highest. The secondary level seems to be the highest level of education most females attained during their years of formal schooling. The trend shows that education for most females goes as far as secondary level after which they drop out for reasons like getting married

74 or the parents no longer see any economic returns from educating their daughters beyond this level.

However, despite all that and their late entrance to formal education, the percentage of females who attained tertiary level shows an increase over the years to fill in the demands for paid jobs. It suggests the tremendous efforts the females have made to emerge in the public sector as qualified individuals needed for paid jobs. The data in Table 5.8 illustrates the changing perception that most women have today of education. Education is now a relevant part of life that women must also seek not only to empower themselves but also to qualify them to emerge in public to contribute in their own capacity to the development of the nation. After all, an educated female is the provider, the accountant, and manager of the family.

5.2.1.7 Nutritional and Health Status.

The nutritional status of a population depends entirely on the women’s nutritional knowledge. In fact, women are required to have some understanding and knowledge of what they are providing. The only way to do so is to educate women in order to provide the right diet and the right amount of food for the entire family. Table 5.9 shows some of the prevalent nutritional deficiency diseases that afflict some households.

75 Table 5. 9 Diseases of Male and Female-headed Households in Urban Centres in South Tarawa

Category Betio Bairiki Bikenibeu M F M F M F Anaemia 0.0 23.1 0.0 12.5 0.0 20.0 Blindness 16.7 0.0 5.9 37.5 0.0 0.0 Hypertension 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 20.0 Obesity 0.0 23.1 0.0 0.0 0.0 20.0 No Problem 83.3 53.8 94.1 50.0 100.0 40.0 Total 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 Source: Household Survey, 2004 M: Male-headed Households F: Female-headed Households

Table 5.9 records the types of prevailing diseases in male and female-headed households in the urban centres on South Tarawa. The table reveals that female-headed households in all the urban centres are affected by diseases such as anaemia, blindness, hypertension or problem of obesity compared to the male-headed households. A higher proportion of female-headed households was affected by anaemia and problem of obesity in Betio and blindness in Bairiki. Anaemia, hypertension and the problem of obesity are most prevalent in Bikenibeu.

According to Metai, (Ministry of Health, 2004) both diseases are prevalent in the urban areas and hypertension was very high in 1999 with 1046 reported cases whereas diabetes in the same year was 549. In the year 2000 hypertension declined to 814 patients and diabetes increased dramatically to 706 cases. The figures in the year 2001 continued declining for both, 671 and 564 respectively. Metai (Ministry of Health, 2004) explains that the figures are for both male and female. However the study found that the Ministry of Health has been working hard to make the population aware of the consequences of the diseases. The Ministry of Health has seen improvement in the programs carried out to eliminate or prevent vitamin and mineral deficiency-related problems. Programs ranged from providing Vitamin and iron tablets to children in schools and in clinics and workshops to train health workers to educate and make the population aware of the consequences. However, most of the female-headed households in the three urban centres responded that they had no major health problems. In fact, over 90 per cent claimed they

76 were free from any disease. The inference is that the general nutritional and health status of women in urban Tarawa is relatively good in this study. This is presumably a positive result of the health awareness programs that the health department has been conducting over the years, which has also made the public not only change their perception of their health as being important, but also realise the need to take precautions.

5.2.1.8 Violence against women

Table 5.10 shows the responses of the households on violence against women in the urban centre of Bikenibeu from 1999 to 2003. According to Tataua, (Police Department, 2004) the number of reported cases has increased by over 55 per cent in the urban centre during 2002-2003. It is envisaged that reported cases will continue to rise as more and more females utilise created avenues to deal with such matters.

Table 5.10 Reported Domestic Violence Cases in Bikenibeu Urban Centre, 1999 to 2003 Year Number of Reported Cases 1999 11 2000 5 2001 3 2002 8 2003 18 Source: Police Department, 2004

Table 5.11 shows the most commonly cited reasons for the existence of domestic violence in South Tarawa. The foremost cause of violence against women in the households was the high consumption of alcohol and conduct under its influence. It alone accounted for very high proportions of responses in the three urban centres especially in Betio at 56 per cent and Bairiki at 52 per cent, but at 40 per cent Bikenibeu is the lowest. Distrust, between men and women, is another reason for the increasing domestic violence. Men doubt the integrity of their women and become violent as a result. Other

77 reasons include extra-marital affairs, acts of prostitution by females, household financial burdens and unemployment of females.

Table 5.11 Household responses for Reasons for Domestic Violence against women in South Tarawa by Urban Centre Reason Betio Bairiki Bikenibeu % % % Influence of alcohol 56.0 52.0 40.0 Distrust 32.0 44.0 32.0 Unemployment of spouse 4.0 4.0 0.0 Korekorea (prostitution) 4.0 0.0 4.0 Extra marital affair 12.0 4.0 0.0 Women’s refusal to have sex 4.0 4.0 4.0 Stubbornness 4.0 12.0 4.0 Man’s authoritarian attitude 4.0 4.0 4.0 Influence of bad movies 0.0 4.0 12.0 Others * 44.0 56.0 40.0 No Response 20.0 24.0 36.0

Source: Household Survey, 2004 *Lack of Finance, Land disputes, fixed marriage, interference of relatives, selfishness, no food, differences in religious beliefs and divorce.

Unemployment is one of the reasons prompting domestic violence in urban South Tarawa. Table 5.11 shows unemployment of spouses as one of the reasons for domestic violence and 4 per cent of respondents in Betio and Bairiki stated unemployment of spouse as a reason. Lack of money for survival is always a woman’s nagging issue. Consequently, when there is not enough for the family women are constantly blamed for misusing resources, and this often leads to violence.

Alternatively the women could resort to korekorea (prostitution) when education is no longer an option. The young girls and divorced women resort to it to ease their financial constraints. In Betio and Bikenibeu 4 per cent of respondents stated korekorea as another reason for domestic violence against women. Similarly, Betio and Bikenibeu practise korekorea because of the nearness of these two centres to ports of entrance for foreign vessels and the regular airplanes which bring in some overseas people to Kiribati. However, although Korekorea is seen as another form of paid employment for females, it

78 is illegally operated and the government has been trying to regulate the practice. This has been one of the major social problems in the society of urban South Tarawa. Violence occurs in the homes where familial tension mounts as daughters engaged themselves in such an activity against their parents’ desires (Otea, 2004).

Extra-marital affairs, is another contributing factor for domestic violence against women in South Tarawa. In fact, 12 per cent of respondents in Betio cited extra-marital affairs as one of the reasons for increasing domestic violence in their home, yet for Bairiki and Bikenibeu such affairs are not really a problem.

Unfortunately, violence at home is still beyond the reach of the law. When a woman is beaten up by her husband the interference of law enforcement officers is not customary. In fact, police do not have the authority to impede the husband from beating his wife as there is no existing law against such act. According to the present legislation husband-wife matters are personal. They are culturally perceived. However, today women are aware of the human rights issues and are fighting for the law to recognize their rights in all dimensions of life. According to the legal advisor for AMAK, in Kiribati the women’s NGOs are taking up their concerns and their rights in their struggle for protection by the law against all forms of violence and abuse. Collins further explains that the AMAK has submitted recommendations for the amendment of the Criminal Procedure Code (Appendix D) for women to be protected from such domestic violence (Collins, 2004).

In general, however, the domestic violence cases are not reported to police (Tataua, 2004), but women who have understood their rights are reporting as indicated by the number of women victims presenting their cases to police and other appropriate authority. Previously, with no legislative protection at all females who had been physically abused did not report for the fear of neglect and rejection, but today they should not feel helpless. Usually, however, domestic violence and abuse is handled in the traditional way of requesting the husband to stop beating his wife by an arbitrator who is usually an elderly person of the families or a church minister.

79 5.2.2 Women’s Economic Participation and Status in South Tarawa.

The participation of women in the economic activities of Kiribati is far less recognized than the men’s. However, efforts by organizations and institutions to give greater recognition to the women’s economic activities are on the rise. In fact, there has been increasing efforts put together by small groups and individual females to elevate their activities to a level where the government has come to realise their important status in the development of the nation.

The struggle of women to be equally appreciated as men has been realized by the government, institutions and organizations concerned. According to the 2000 Census, 64 per cent of females were unemployed (Republic of Kiribati, 2000)

5.2.2.1 Employment Status

Table 5.12 Employment Status of male and female-headed households in South Tarawa per Urban Centre Category Betio (%) Bairiki (%) Bikenibeu (%)

M F M F M F

Employed 61.5 75.0 76.5 87.5 75.0 80.0 Self Employed 30.8 16.7 23.5 12.5 15.0 20.0 Unemployment 7.7 8.3 0.0 0.0 10.0 0.0 Source: Household Survey, 2004 M-Male-headed household F-Female-headed household

Table 5.12 shows that a greater proportion of employment is in female-headed households than male-headed in all the three urban centres in South Tarawa. Unemployment in male-headed households in Bikenibeu was higher than Betio. A greater proportion of self employed category was found in Bikenibeu than the other two urban centres. This trend may be attributed to as Table 5.3 shows that higher proportions of

80 female in Bairiki and Bikenibeu are in single, divorced or widowed categories, so they remain employed and self employed and look after their families of their own.

5.2.2.2 Women’s Participation in the Urban Informal Sector in South Tarawa.

In South Tarawa the women are involved in two types of economic sector activities. The first is the informal sector and the other is the formal category. Most women in the informal category are those with little education or no formal education at all or unskilled.

Table 5.13 Women’s Participation in Informal Sector Activity in South Tarawa per Urban Centre

Activities Betio Bairiki Bikenibeu % % % Informal Selling of food products 12 4 8 Baking 0 4 4 Sewing and selling 4 12 4

Total Informal 16 20 16 Source: Household Survey, 2004.

81 Photo 5.1 Women selling at the market beside the road at Bikenibeu, Tarawa.

Source: Teaero, T. 1989.

Table 5.13 shows that some women are engaged in the informal sector activities in the three urban centres. The women’s participation in the informal sector is higher in Bikenibeu at 20 per cent than both Betio and Bairiki at 16 per cent.

Most women in the informal sector sell food products in the urban centres. In Betio there were 12 per cent of women respondents who sell food products. Bairiki had the lowest proportion of 4 per cent. Moreover, sewing and selling of tibuta (traditional tops) is another informal economic activity which most Kiribati women are engaged in. The Table also shows that sewing is a popular practice in all the three urban centres. Its timing is flexible and is therefore very convenient as women attend to it after all domestic duties for the day have been accomplished. The proportion of women engaged in sewing and selling were high in Bairiki at 12 per cent.

82 Photo 5.2 Local Market in Bairiki

Source: Photo by Lupe Lutelu Kofe, 2004

5.2.2.3 Occupational Status of Women in South Tarawa.

Table 5.14 shows the percentage of women in various occupational categories that they have. As mentioned earlier, the inclination of most women is towards professional occupations. The popular categories of occupations in the urban centres in which most women are engaged include accountants, civil servants, medical profession and teaching. Teaching accounted for the largest proportions in Bairiki at 25 per cent and in Bikenibeu at 19 per cent. In contrast, Betio recorded large proportions of women as accountants and civil servants. It appears, though, that women do fit in well in places of their profession and the contributing factor is their skills and abilities acquired in managing and teaching their children with diligence and patience.

83 Table 5.14 Occupational Status of Women in South Tarawa Households per Urban Centre

Occupation Betio (%) Bairiki (%) Bikenibeu (%) N= 25 N= 25 N= 25 Accountant 1.7 0.0 1.5 Account clerk/cashier 15.3 5.2 6.2 Civil Servant 10.1 1.3 4.6 Medical Profession 3.4 2.6 1.5 Teaching 5.1 24.7 18.5 Others * 5.1 29.8 24.6 No Responses. 59.3 36.4 43.1

Total 100.0 100.0 100.0

Source: Household Survey, 2004. * Typist, Receptionist, Shop keeper, Launder, Computer operator, Baker, Sea-woman, Agriculturalist, Public Relation Officer and Travel consultant.

It has also been observed that females concentrate more in areas which involve caring and nurturing of children with an emphasis on household management. Table 5.15 reveals that a higher proportion of the female population are engaged in white collar jobs than the male population. In effect, the female population are engaged in four predominant types of occupation in urban centres, and these include teaching, the medical profession (doctors and nurses) and accounts clerks and accountants. The teaching profession, in Table 5.15, accounts for about 39 per cent of the total employment, is by far the most dominant type among the females, followed by accounting clerk jobs at 26 per cent, the medical profession at 22 per cent and accountants at 13 per cent in 2000.

84 Table 5.15 Indigenous Population aged 15 years and over working in the cash sector by occupation and gender in South Tarawa, 2000

Occupation Male Female (%) (%) Accountant 15.0 13.0 Accounts Clerk 22.0 26.0 Medical Profession 6.0 22.0 Teaching 57.0 39.0 _ Total 100.0 100.0 Source: Republic of Kiribati, Ministry of Finance, 2000

As demonstrated in Table 5:15, the women’s role encompasses many occupational professions, but the most apparent feature about the statistics is the concentration of women in the different professional occupations listed. Perhaps the women have decided with confidence that they would do better in nurturing and imparting relevant skills in areas considered to be the male domain. They could be given credit for their knowledge and skills in training, managing and providing for the family’s needs from day to day.

However, although some women have attained top positions, the different wages and salaries explained the disparity which still exists between men and women at all levels. Table 5.16 attests to the disparity in the weekly income between the female and male-headed households in the three urban centres. The average weekly incomes were lower for female-headed households than male-headed households in the three urban centres and also at South Tarawa level. Among the urban centres the income level in female-headed households was higher in Bikenibeu than Bairiki and Betio. The level of gender income inequality was highest in Betio followed by Bairiki. The gap between the female and male income level was lowest in Bikenibeu (Table 5.16).

85 Table 5.16 Trends in Male and Female-headed Households Income per Urban Centre in South Tarawa. Urban Area Households Average Gender Income No. of households Weekly Income (AUS$) inequality (ratio female to male Male- Female- Total Male- Female- Total income) headed headed headed headed Betio 13 12 25 209.5 104.3 159. 0 0.50 Bairiki 17 8 25 172.3 117.5 154.8 0.68 Bikenibeu 20 5 25 164.0 136.0 158.4 0.82 South Tarawa 50 25 75 178.7 114.9 157.4 0.64 Source: Household Survey, 2004

5.2.3 Political Participation of Women in Kiribati.

According to the 2000 Census, the women’s political representation in Parliament was only 5 per cent. It explains the strong influence tradition has in suppressing women in their political advancement. The household survey, 2004, shows that 100 per cent of female-headed households did not participate politically at all. However, Table 5.17 shows some selected top management positions which the women occupied.

Table 5.17 Gender Differentials in selected top management positions in South Tarawa in Kiribati Public Service Male Female (%) (%) Office of Beretienti 67.0 33.0 Public Service Office 57.0 43.0 Maneaba Ni Maungatabu 95.0 5.0 (House of Parliament) Judiciary 100.0 0.0 Source: Republic of Kiribati, 2002.

86 The statistics in Table 5.17 attest to the fact that the women’s political participation is very low compared to that of the men. It simply depicts the reality of the women’s position in a country where tradition prevails. However, while the government talks about the changing status of women, it is rather unrealistic as women are still perceived as unsuitable for political positions. They still receive less than the men do in salaries despite equal qualifications and experiences. The women’s participation in the Beretitenti’s (president’s) Office amounts to only one third compared to two-thirds of men. In the public service office the female’s participation is also lower than male.

The Maneaba Ni Maungatabu (parliament) shows a very big gap between female and male participation. In the judiciary there exists an absolute inequality with zero proportion of female participation. However, while traditional norms have contributed a lot to the low percentage of the women’s political participation, their late entrance to formal education is another factor to the low percentage of females in decision-making positions. Yet, the formally educated females have proven that they are able to perform well by interlinking their primary roles with their public services. The relative lack of women in public services and decision-making positions is a concern that women are fighting for, so it is no surprise that women are entering the political sphere to make a difference to their political status.

5.3 Conclusion

The women’s economic activities in the three urban centres in Kiribati have been significant. Indeed, policies have been amended and restructured to include the women’s activities that contribute to the development of the nation. Nevertheless, although the economic status of women has been significantly acknowledged, their political status and participation is still far too low compared to other Pacific countries in the region.

87 In other words, the problems of gender inequality are obvious and still prevail. The traditional status of women in Kiribati is a strong setback in their struggle for equal opportunities and distribution of resources.

88 CHAPTER SIX

CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Tradition and gender issues are the underlying causes of the women’s problems in the South Pacific region and in particular on South Tarawa in Kiribati. The women and gender issues have become a stronger focus today than ever before as a result of negative impacts of development on women. And so it should consider that not only are the status and development in urban areas in the South Pacific far too low compared to world standards but also the gender inequality gap is generally broad in urban centres compared to rural areas.

Moreover, the rapid increase in the population of urban centres has also contributed tremendously to the growing problems that women face in urban areas. South Tarawa, the main urban centre of the Republic of Kiribati, has been experiencing a rapidly increasing population as a result of urbanization. As the population increases land availability and resources are becoming limited and scarce. As they do not have the same rights as men do, this poses many problems for the women as they struggle to have full access to land and other resources in executing their various responsibilities. Despite their struggle, however, tradition prevails abandoning the women with their problem of limited access to land and other natural resources, due to their status in society.

Today, all over the world and even on South Tarawa, the women are armed with the knowledge of their rights as humans; fight for equality and for their rights to control their lives. In fact, their struggle for equal work, equal wages, and equal access to available resources, equal opportunities and equal rights continues. Meanwhile, women are continuously placed under the mill as familial, kinship and social ties continue to expect them as their duty to take on an increasing number of household members as the result of internal migration. For this reason, the women have developed health problems that have never been experienced before in urban areas in Kiribati. Yet, feeling the

89 stronger sense of responsibility, the women persistently work long hours in order to have a decent living.

The first chapter provided the background of gender issues and its impact on women in particular. The problems that women face in the world today are increasing compared to three or four decades back. In fact, the women’s social status is very low compared to men. In the South Pacific where tradition prevails the women’s social status is still the same and no equality exists. Hence, the women’s feelings of being traditionally underpinned in their own society, which does not advocate gender equality. Their strong dependency on men for security actually illustrates not only their weakness but also the position they are in, in their society.

Few studies have been carried out not only on the social status of women but also on the resulting social and development problems they encounter in Kiribati. Tekanene (2003) is one who has produced a report on the women’s social status based on secondary data, and although other institutions and organizations have also published reports on women’s status, there are really no systematic studies that have been conducted. Despite the fight for equality, though, women’s problems have long been shelved, and are reaching a critical level, especially in the urban centres of Betio, Bairiki and Bikenibeu on South Tarawa.

Although the objective of this study is to examine the women’s social status and their participation in development in South Tarawa, it also examines the social aspects of the women’s life and how they improvise with traditional norms. It has been observed that their empowerment through education and health status is reflected in the various positions in the public sector in spite of their negligible economic and political participation stemming from their relative lack of appropriate qualification. So, the women are struggling to reach levels in areas in which they are not represented. The struggle may take long but it will eventually achieve its objective when the time is right. Methodologically, the research was based on both primary and secondary information. Archival study, personal communication and group discussion, observations and case

90 studies were the main methods used for collecting data and information. Structured questionnaires were also prepared and a survey was carried out in South Tarawa.

Moreover, this study adopted the Gender Empowerment Measure (GEM) and Gender-related Development Index (GDI) methods employed by the United Nations Development Program, to better focus on aspects of the women’s status on South Tarawa. The GEM deals not only with the political and decision-making power, but also with the economic participation and decision-making power over economic resources. Secondly, the GDI focuses on health, knowledge and standard of living. It is envisaged that life should be long and healthy, and this is appraised in terms of life expectancy at birth. Knowledge is assessed by the adult literacy rate together with the combined primary, secondary and tertiary gross enrolment ratios. Lastly, a decent standard of living is measured by estimated earned income.

In addition to the secondary measures used, there were other group discussions and women’s consultation, which were observed to share in the women’s understanding of their roles and potential in the society.

Even more significant is the aim of the study which is to make a contribution to the existing body of knowledge not only on the women’s social status and development but also its impact on the Kiribati women, particularly those on South Tarawa. Tradition prevails in both rural and urban areas, and therefore the study is vital to women in their search for equality to help them ease the grip of the tentacles of their current status- related problems.

The various approaches to the women’s development reflect similar approaches that are relevant to South Pacific women and in particular women in the urban centres on South Tarawa. The women’s social status and development in literature reflect the inequality and disparity that have prompted governments, institutions and organizations, especially the women’s organizations to battle against poverty and social problems amongst women in developing countries particularly in the Pacific region.

91 One of the main issues dealt with in this thesis is gender inequality, which occurs for diverse reasons. The traditional dependency of women on men in all aspects of life is one strong contributing factor. However, whatever the causes are, different countries and regions have different approaches to the issue.

This research, particularly designed to collect information regarding women’s socio-economic status and their participation in the development of South Tarawa in Kiribati, was not without difficulties. The unavailability of data and information on the women’s status and problems was the biggest hurdle while in the field. The only relevant and sure data were the ones collected during the survey and household questionnaires which were analysed in the context of South Tarawa. The limitations of available literature on the topic combined with the unavailability of officials and incomplete information offer little reference to the women about their status and development.

South Tarawa, the capital of Kiribati, is the only urban centre of the country. As such, it is an easy choice to study with its many variables and obvious constraints even before the actual research was conducted. The study area has limited land and natural resources. Against these physical constraints it is easy to see the multiple problems associated with urbanization and the rapidly increasing population whether through natural increase or through migration from rural to urban areas.

So, South Tarawa is facing critical development challenges today as urbanization together with the influx of rural dwellers continues. In fact, the high concentration of the population on South Tarawa with its limited space makes it the most densely populated urban centre in Kiribati. Because the people cannot continue with subsistence occupations due to limited land space, a new lifestyle is imposed on them so that they are compelled to rely on imported foods, thus creating lifestyle health problems.

92 The data collected from the fieldwork were classified into different categories about women on South Tarawa. The first category is the general information on the women’s status and development, which includes their marital status, family type and religion of households in the survey. These suggest the women’s status at the household level. The next category is the women’s social and development status which comprise education, health, domestic violence and employment. This section demonstrates the discrepancy not only in the life expectancy of men and women but also in adult literacy rate of women.

6.1 Research Findings.

The findings of this study illustrate how Kiribati women’s social status is very much wrapped up in traditional norms, even if in their struggle to rise above many obstacles, they have evidently shown improvement in a few areas. Health is one area in which the women have demonstrated some progress. However, although their life expectancy is higher than the men’s, it is still low compared to other Pacific countries. Another field of improvement is education. It is only recently that they have been granted the liberty to pursue formal education which helps to explain their absence from decision- making offices and from higher management levels in the public sector.

The women’s economic participation is an interesting one. A greater proportion of employment is in female-headed households than male-headed in Betio, Bairiki and Bikenibeu. The study findings show a significant involvement of women especially in the informal economic activities. However, because they are not recognized as being worthy of inclusion in the economic system, their input is not valued. All these are a strong portrayal of the women’s economic status on South Tarawa. What is more, whatever yardstick is used to measure performances it should include all dimensions of activities.

93 The findings also substantiate the women‘s relative lack of participation in the political arena. In fact, according to the 2000 census the women’s representation in politics was only 5 per cent. Needless to say, their low political status impacts negatively on women’s progress. Perhaps their late entrance into formal education has contributed to this but the obvious dominant reason is that culturally women are regarded as mere domestic workers. Yet, there is a definite need for serious consideration to involve more women in decision-making so as to have their invaluable input in the political development of the country.

The study shows the literacy rate of women in Kiribati as improving rapidly. However this has not allowed women to significantly improve their public image. It seems that regardless of how Kiribati women try to prove their capability, they are still treated according to traditional norms, and they are always under men’s authority.

In this study violence against women is one major factor that has contributed to women’s marginalised status. There is no legal law for women’s protection against such acts as beating. The study substantiates the fact that violence in South Tarawa violates women’s choices. Tradition prevails and women’s marginalisation is perpetuated by traditional norms such as exclusion from decision-making or speaking up in meetings and other important matters. Women’s position in the Kiribati tradition has always been at the back of men and it is still practiced today in South Tarawa.

As Kiribati women particularly women in South Tarawa seek solutions to improve their social status, this study finds that they were allowed to enter formal education very late. That confirms that this is one of the many contributing factors for women’s marginalisation and lower status compared to men in South Tarawa. Efforts at improving women’s standing are being thought about and talked about, but very little is being implemented. It will take time for Kiribati men to realise how important women’s input is to the development of the nation.

94 6.2 Recommendations

The women’s social status and development on South Tarawa cover three areas that need deliberation. The first is, the women’s social status, which encompasses education, health and violence. Each of these needs proper study and analysis and its progress so far carefully monitored. The women also need protection from all forms of violence and discrimination, and this necessitates the strict enforcement of the law. Secondly, the measures of economic activities must spread out to a wider range of activities so that the women’s activities that generate income for families are also included in the economic measures. Lastly, the political involvement of women is vital for sustainable development. A woman is more careful in deciding what to do than a man is. For instance Mrs Helen Clark in all the effort to join forces with America to fight terrorism she chose to remain unattached as a result New Zealand is free from terrorism targets. Therefore, with their special quality of careful decision management the women are already eligible to participate in political activities. The traditional values should be waved aside in order to allow women to be involved more in this field. The onus is on the government and other authorities to execute these recommendations if the status of the women in Kiribati is to improve.

6.3 Implication of the Study

The survey is focused on the women’s social and development status, their economic and development status and their political and development status in the urban centres of Betio, Bairiki and Bikenibeu, excluding the clusters of villages in between. Therefore, the findings reflect the women’s conditions only in these three centres. There is thus a need for another study to be conducted covering these urban villages. Reflecting on the data analysis of the survey, there were certain questions directed to the officials, households and women’s organizations. However, in the officials’ questionnaire the main problem was that the officials were not able to answer all the questions prepared due to

95 their limitations in some areas of the research questions. The officials left some questions unanswered.

6.4 Future Research

If there is to be another survey focusing on women’s issues, it would have to centre on the clusters of villages between the urban centres of South Tarawa. These villages are within the vicinity of the urban areas and the results will be of great interest. That is, whether the findings would be much different or not is the fascinating part of it. After all, this survey dealt with the three main urban centres and disregarded these numerous villages, so the data reflects the women’s social, economic and political status and development only in the three urban areas of the study area.

Finally, although the women’s issues in Kiribati are very sensitive because of culture, detailed studies of the women’s intimate status are impossible unless the I- Kiribati women themselves understand the significance of this study. This study would have been better equipped to design proper and relevant mechanisms if women will cooperate and willing to provide information required for a detailed study in the future.

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107 APPENDICES

108 APPENDIX A

SET I - Household Survey Questionnaire

Locality/Ward: Date:

This survey is to obtain information relevant for this study. However the information that you provide will be kept confidential and will be used for study purpose only. .

Please put a tick (¥) where necessary.

General

A) Questionnaire No:

B) What religion do you belong to?

1. Roman Catholic 2. Seventh-day Adventist 3. Protestant 4. Latter Day Saint 5. Others (Specify)

C) Gender of head of the household? . Female 2. Male

D) Total number of members in the family 1. Male 2. Female 3. Children (Below 15 years)

E) Please fill in the details concerning the female members of the family in the table below.

Number Age Level of Employment Type of Earnings Marital of (15yrs formal Status occupation Status Female(F) and education (+) (Weekly) (*) above) $ F1 F2 F3 F4 F5 F6 * Single (S), Married (M), Divorced (D), Widow (W) + Not working (N), Working (W)

109 Household Information

F) What is your family type? 1.Nuclear 2.Extended 3.Composite

G) What type of employment of the head of the household? 1. Salary earner 2. Self-employment 3. Wage labourer 4. Other (specify)

H) If you are self- employed what type of economic activity you are involved in? Please fill in the table below: Types of economic activity How many hours do How much do you receive you work for? in the activities that you 1 2 are engaged in? 3

I) What are the types of activities and work time inside home by female as well as male? member? J) What is the total household income (weekly) from all sources?

K) Who decides on how to spend your family income? 1. Husband 2. Wife 3. Others (Specify)

110 L) How much do you spend weekly on? 1. Food $ 2. Travel expenses $ 3. Education $ 4. Water supply $ 5. Electricity $ 6. Rent $

M) How many meals you take a day? 1. One meal 2. Two meals 3. Three meals 4. Other (specify)

N) When having meals, what method or style of eating do you use? 1. Male first 2. Children first 3. Female last 3. All at one time

O) Does any female family member suffer from the following nutrition deficiency disease? 1. Goiter (Swelling neck) 2. Anaemia 3. Blindness 4. Other (specify)

P) Is there any female member of the household engage in any community activity? 1. Yes 2. No

111 Q) If yes, then specify the activity?

R) Is there any female member of your family participate in political activity such as Member of Parliament / legislative body / local Government body? 1. Yes 2. No

S) If yes, then specify her position and affiliation?

T) Is there any female member of your family who is seeking for a job? 1. Yes 2. No

U) If yes, then how long has she been searching for?

Domestic Violence (Question for women members of family only)

V) How frequently, do you experience disputes in the vicinity of your neighborhood? 1 Frequently 2.Occasionally 3.Rarely 4. Not at all

W) Do you or any female members of your household experience differences with spouse? 1. Yes 2. No

112 X) If yes, what form of domestic violence did you female member of the household experience? Y) Do you feel secure when you are at? 1. Home . Yes No 2. Work Place Yes No 3. On the Street Yes No

Give reasons for your answer to the above question: 1. 2. 3.

Z) Identify three major types of violence / crime that take place in the community against women? 1. 2. 3. `

AA) List 3 main reasons that cause violence against women? 1. 2. 3.

Thanks very much for answering the questions.

113 APPENDIX B

Table 5.12 Occupational Status of Women in South Tarawa by Urban Centre Occupation Betio Bairiki Bikenibeu Teacher 3 17 11 Receptionist 0 4 0 Account Clerk 9 3 4 Lecturer 0 2 1 Nurse 2 2 0 Typist 1 0 0 Cleaner 1 2 0 Custom Officer 0 1 0 Cashier 0 1 2 Sea-woman 0 1 0 Registry Clerk 0 0 1 Civil Servant 6 1 3 Laundry Shop 0 2 0 Shop Keeper 1 3 1 Computer Operator 0 2 0 Public Relation Officer 0 0 1 Agriculturist 0 0 1 Clerical Officer 0 0 1 Medical Doctor 0 0 1 Accountant 1 0 1 Baker 0 1 0 Travel Consultant 0 0 1 Student 0 7 8 No Response 35 28 28

Total Women 59 77 65

114 APPENDIX C

Reasons for Violence in the Society

Reasons Betio Bairiki Bikenibeu Total Under the influence of alcohol 14 13 10 37 Jealousy 8 11 8 27 Woman unemployed 1 1 0 2 Korekorea (pros) 1 0 1 2 No Food 2 0 0 2 Having an Affair (Commit Adultery) 3 1 0 4 Women refuse to have sex 1 1 1 3 Man's Authoritative Attitudes 1 1 1 3 Influence of bad movies 0 1 3 4 Stubborn Woman 1 3 1 5 Interference of relatives in husband and wife's problems 0 1 0 1 Fixed marriage 0 1 0 1 Lack of Finance 0 1 0 1 Talking to men 0 0 0 0 No trust between husband and wife 0 1 0 1 Dress code unacceptable 3 0 0 3 Too proud (have high position while wife not working) 0 3 0 3 Land Disputes 1 0 0 1 Selfishness 0 1 0 1 Disagreement/Argument 1 1 1 3 Differences in Religion 1 0 0 1 No Response 5 6 9 20 Divorced 0 0 4 4 Total 43 47 39 129

115