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A Comparative Analysis of Women's Political Activity in Pacific Island

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A Comparative Analysis of Women's Political Activity in Pacific Island THE EXCEPTION, NOT THE RULE: A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF WOMEN’S POLITICAL ACTIVITY IN PACIFIC ISLAND COUNTRIES Jean Drage Victoria University of Wellington An examination of overall trends in women’s political participation in twenty- one Pacific Island states shows that, apart from Guam, women’s electoral suc- cess is very low when compared with international figures. Using the concepts of supply and demand to examine why this is so, analysis points to traditional and cultural constraints as key factors that restrict women’s participation. How- ever, at the same time there is evidence of a considerable groundswell of women’s political activity in nongovernment organizations and community groups. ALTHOUGH IT IS MORE than one hundred years since women gained the vote in New Zealand, many of the women who live as our closest neigh- bors in the Pacific region have not shared the same basic human right. For many of our Pacific Island sisters, the right to vote and the right to be elected as political representatives are relatively recent events. It is only over the last forty years that some Pacific Island women have had the opportunity to participate politically as voters and candidates; for others it is even more recent. And their success in gaining elective office has been minimal. Comparative research at an international level into the extent of women’s participation in representative government and political party activity shows that, despite some improvement in the last decade, women are still pro- foundly underrepresented. As this article will show, for women in the Pacific region the picture is worse. In most cases they have yet to see evidence Pacific Studies, Vol. 18, No. 4--December 1995 61 62 Pacific Studies, Vol. 18, No. 4--December 1995 of the acceptance of women’s role in political activity within their own societies. These facts have attracted very little attention from political ana- lysts and this inattentiveness promotes the continued invisibility of Pacific women. The New Zealand South Pacific Review Group summed matters up well in their 1990 report on the South Pacific when they claimed that “Pacific women are a neglected human resource.”1 My own research looks at women’s political participation in the countries of the Pacific within the context of their political structures and asks why women have had so little electoral success. Information on women’s involve- ment as elected members of legislatures, as candidates, as voters, and in women’s organizations has been gathered and examined. In this article I dis- cuss the circumstances that contribute to variations in participation as well as the barriers to greater involvement in order to provide some understand- ing of women’s position within these communities. I start with the big picture: the figures on women’s political representa- tion in national and, in some cases, local governments. I then consider these figures within an analysis of factors influencing political participation, such as political party activity, attitudes toward human rights, and cultural bar- riers. Finally, I consider current policies and women’s activities that are pro- moting women’s interests and involvement.2 The area covered in this research spans the twenty-one island groups of the Pacific area from Palau and Papua New Guinea in the west, the North- em Marianas in the north, French Polynesia in the east, and Tonga and New Caledonia in the south. In many areas information on such things as recent election results is minimal.3 The Number of Women in Pacific Island Governments When compared with the politics and population size of other regions of the world, twenty-one governments in an area occupied by about six and a half million people is significantly high. Furthermore, the Pacific region dis- plays uniqueness and diversity with respect to political status and structure (i.e., the formal context under which the various island governments oper- ate). These polities range from independent states, territories of larger countries, associated states, and a commonwealth, all except one with some form of parliamentary or presidential government. Few of these govern- ments have ever had women members. As Table 1 shows, of the twenty-one entities in the region, just over half had elected women representatives as of 1995; in the majority of these, however, only one woman has ever been suc- cessful in winning a seat in the legislature. The only exception to the rule is Guam. Women’s Political Activity in Pacific Island Countries 63 TABLE 1. Women’s Political Representation in National Legislatures in Pacific Island Countries, 1994 Year All Women Were Eligible to Legislative Year of Vote and Stand for Seats Women Elected Latest Country Legislative Body Availablea No. % of Total Election Micronesia Northern Marianas 1965 23 2 9 1993 Palau 1965 32 0 0 1992 Guam 1931 21 6 29 1994 FSM 1965 14 0 0 1991 Marshall Islands 1965 33 1 3 1991 Kiribati 1967 39 0 0 1994 Nauru 1951 18 0 0 1992 Polynesia Tuvalu 1967 12 1 8 1993 Western Samoa 1991b 47 2 4 1991 Wallis & Futuna 1961 20 2 10 1992 American Samoa 1957 40 1 3 1992 French Polynesia 1953 41 0 0 1993 Niue 1960 20 1 5 1993 Cook Islands 1957 25 0 0 1994 Tonga 1960 30 1 3 1993 Melanesia Fiji 1963 71 3 4 1994 New Caledonia 1957 36 0 0 1989 Vanuatu 1975 46 1 2 1991 Solomon Islands 1967 47 1 2 1993 Papua New Guinea 1964 109 0 0 1992 Sources: Based on information cited in the country-by-country discussion. Suffrage dates from Peter Larmour, “A Foreign Flower? Democracy in the South Pacific,” Pacific Studies 17, no. 1 (March 1994): 54-56. Note: Tokelau, a dependent territory under New Zealand administration, is not included in this table as it does not have a directly elected national legislature. Nevertheless, discussion of Tokelauan developments forms part of the subsequent analysis of women’s political activity. a In most instances all available seats are included, whether elected or appointed, whether in unicameral or bicameral houses. b Before universal suffrage there were two seats for which some women (i.e., those on the Individual Voters roll) could vote and stand for election. Because of the large area covered in this research, a descriptive country- by-country overview proceeds from each entity’s geographical position in the Pacific rather than its political structure or colonial experience, although affiliation with other countries, either in the past or at present, will be noted where appropriate. 64 Pacific Studies, Vol. 18, No. 4--December 1995 Micronesia At the northernmost point of the Micronesian islands in the Pacific region, the Northern Marianas has two women representatives at this time. In the 1993 elections Malua T. Peter, a former Board of Education member and women’s affairs officer, was elected, as was Ana S. Teregeyo (who had al- ready had one term in office).4 These were the first women candidates to gain election since some initial success by women about fifteen years earlier. Following a lengthy period of colonial rule, first by the Spanish, then the Germans, after them the Japanese, and finally the Americans, a referendum strongly approving a Commonwealth of Political Union with the United States, held in 1975, led to self-government. Strong interest in this referen- dum resulted in a growth in political activity, and a small group of young, educated women formed the Saipan Women’s Association (SWA) to stimu- late meaningful political dialogue on the issues involved. As McPhetres observed, “In a traditionally male-dominated society the emergence of the SWA as a political entity was an almost revolutionary event.”5 This activity translated into success in the 1977 elections, the first to be held under this new constitutional arrangement, when two women became members of the legislature. However, this success was short-lived; although each of the polit- ical parties of the Northern Marianas endorsed a woman candidate in the 1981 elections, neither was elected. Palau has no elected women representatives in its national legislature, despite a record number of women candidates standing for the most recent elections in 1992, four for the senate and one for the vice-presidency.6 There has been a traditional reluctance among Palauan voters to support women because of a belief that politics is men’s business. Although it gained inde- pendence only in 1994, Palau has since 1980 had a bicameral legislature made up of a House of Delegates, comprising one delegate from each of the sixteen states, and an elected Senate of fourteen members. The president and vice-president are also elected at national elections, although the cabi- net is appointed by the president. Before the 1992 elections, two women had been appointed to the cabinet, Dilmeii Olkeriil, minister of community and cultural affairs, and Sandra Pierantozzi, minister of administration. Pierantozzi went on to be the first woman candidate for the vice-presidency, in the 1992 election, but she was unsuccessful. All states have separate con- stitutions and a governor, with some being elected and others chosen on the basis of their traditional status. In 1992 Theodosia Blailes, the first woman governor, was elected in the Angaur State.7 And of four women candidates who ran for state seats in 1980, one was successful.8 Guam, an unincorporated territory of the United States, stands out in Women’s Political Activity in Pacific Island Countries 65 stark contrast to the rest of the Micronesian group, as it has the highest number of women elected to any Pacific Island government, representing 29 percent of the legislative membership. This success has been long-term; the first two women were elected in 1954.
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