By PNG Echo.
On International Women’s Day yesterday the media were invited to a business women’s breakfast at the Gateway Hotel, Port Moresby. Their purpose was to promote publicly the achievements of these women. Do a little bragging on their behalf, if you like. Under the circumstances, you’d expect that they’d be welcomed and treated with the respect they deserve, wouldn’t you?
But no, with breathtaking disdain there was absolutely nothing there to accommodate media (most of whom were female) and a request by one journalist for a glass of water was refused as the waitpeople fell over the reporters huddled at the back.
What a shabby way to treat a coterie of invited professionals from whom they expected good press – especially the women, considering what day it was?
FAMILIAR TERRITORY
As a female journalist, this disdain is personally familiar:
Paying my own expenses, I travelled to Port Moresby (from Sydney) for a conference organised by a UN Women’s organisation on the subject of women’s representation in parliament. Amongst others, there were women parliamentary representatives (past and present) from all over the Pacific, it was being held at the Grand Papua Hotel – and I’d wager a guess that I was the only one paying my own way.
When there was a call for a show of hands to indicate who would like to speak by addressing what had gone before by the previous speaker, I lifted my hand. I was told that I was not recognised by the meeting and would not be given the opportunity to speak – notwithstanding my status as an international journalist who has long advocated for women in PNG parliament including to an Australian audience.
I left the meeting and didn’t return. I never reported on it. The abovementioned meeting was in preparation for the 2017 elections –– there are now no women at all in the PNG parliament – EPIC FAIL.
These NGOs need to gauge their own effectiveness before they replicate this petty bureaucratic behaviour (expensive talkfests have proved particularly ineffective except as a paid holiday for the fortunate.)
INABILITY TO PULL TOGETHER
While PNG women compete with each other – some getting as mean as barnyard dogs – for the juiciest scraps thrown from the table of men there’s little hope for them. And don’t men love it? There’s nothing like a ‘cat fight’ to get some men hot in the loins.
Under the circumstances, men with influence can afford to write off women as ‘not even being able to agree amongst themselves’ and so should not be taken seriously – and women play right into their hands. You go girls!
And some of the elite women of PNG are the worse offenders:
I have witnessed some breathtaking examples of jealousy and sabotage by these women against non PNGeans who are only in there trying to help. The spiteful campaigns, often waged through social media against these women by other women, are exceptionally vicious and it is a wonder many of the maligned persevere. Indeed, I need to keep reminding myself that it’s not the jealous and selfish elite stratum of female PNG society for whom I advocate. This is the only thing that has helped me galvanise the strength to go on – others have expressed similar sentiments. We know, by experience that should we drop the ball, that the many prominent women who shout the loudest: who have their photo taken most often with the Prime Minister and other dignitaries are unlikely to pick it up – and in PNG that means another woman is in danger of being maimed or killed.
But to be fair, I am generalising about a too prevalent phenomenon whereas, in reality, there are some wonderful PNG women (and also wonderful ex patriots) who are doing a sterling job of advocacy. Yet one would expect PNG women to take on this role – they are advocating ostensibly for themselves – whereas when the ex-patriots have taken up the cause it is mostly from the goodness of their hearts and often costs them dearly.
So, elite (business) women of PNG, it is understood that many of you have made it against seemingly insurmountable odds, but your behaviour towards those that still struggle was ugly.
I think it was Michelle Obama that said (and I paraphrase) – “every woman who has walked through an open door should reach back and pull another woman through with her” – not slam it in her sister’s face.
