Flying? On one wing!

J. Roughan

29 January 2009

Honiara 

 

Solomon Islanders have been doing their best to write a special chapter in the book  "How to create a modern state". For more than thirty years now, it has shouted to the world that a modern state needs only men and men alone to run its affairs. Women should stay in the kitchen, raise the kids and stay out of public affairs. Since 1978 it has elected more than 300 men--313 to be exact--to parliament but only a single woman! Solomon Islanders thought they could defy the experience of hundreds of other countries, vote into the highest political chamber only men and think that their nation could fly using only one wing! Well, the results are in! It doesn't work and in fact, is can't work!

 

Over this 30 year period our nation has lurched from crisis to crisis but that hasn't stopped it from repeating the same fundamental mistake of allowing only men to run the affairs of state. No other Pacific Island nation has suffered 5 years of Social Unrest which can be directly traced to the nation's refusal to strengthen itself by having women gain parliamentarian seats and to help run the affairs of state.

 

It's interesting to hear what's happening on Malaita these days. West Kwara'ae people are complaining that their one member has too many constituents to look after. They currently seek to elect a second representative to care for the West Kwara'ae people. Yet, for 30 years now, ALL the women of that constituency and the nation at large--half the entire population, about 260,000 women--have been without a single representative in parliament. How long will such an injustice continue? 

 

PNG has been doing serious soul-searching along this same line as well. Women's participation in national politics is not much better than what we find here. Currently only one woman sits in parliament but government officials intend to do something positive about increasing that number rapidly. Out of 36 women nominated by different groups, organizations and bodies, the government intends to appoint three of them to be members of parliament. 

 

While I appreciate PNG's concern to do something about the serious problem of women's under representation in parliament, I do not agree with the way they are going about it. Basically government will select the women parliamentarians. No, the country's citizens must elect these women to this high office; they aren't to be selected. The voting process as flawed as it can be at times, is a far better way to operate than a few high officials selecting women for parliament.

 

But time is not on our side. Our next national election takes place in 2010, less than 16 months from now. There has to be some changes in the law which allows only 50 parliamentarians. If the nation is to have a modest women representation in parliament, then an extra 10 seats have to be allocated for women.  Such legislation would be temporary until the idea of the male/female balance in parliament roots among voters.

 

In our next national election, then, all candidates, men and women, would follow the full requirements for election--proper registration, fee payment, constituency campaigning, etc. The very same conditions that apply to men candidates running for the office would apply to women as well. The only difference for a woman to successfully secure a parliament seat, however, is for the top 10 women vote getters across the nation to be allocated these reserved seats.

 

In the 2006 national elections, for instance, 25 women candidates from 21 separate constituencies ran for this high office. Seven of them in fact attracted double digit backing from voters--Afu Lia Billy, East Kwaio, gained the highest female vote, more than 21% of the total. Some women actually gained more votes than other parliamentarians in other constituencies.

 

This is but one idea. If a better one emerges to secure women's presence in parliament, fine. The election year is not far off at all. Voters require clear explanations and awareness programs for the need why the next election must be different from the last seven. Our many deep seated problems--growing poverty levels, few jobs for young people, quality education weakening, sense of peoples'  well-being in decline, etc.--which led to the Social Unrest period of 1998-2003 have not gone away.  All of these troubles happened during the 'male oriented, male dominated' political life of the nation.  A healthy female presence in parliament may well change the nation's fortunes and allow us to fly with two wings!