How do we as a nation, endowed with a multitude of cultures, facilitate gender-equality development without losing the intrinsic identity that lies within our cultures, traditions and belief systems?
“For this I must say balance is better, balance is key,” says Miss PNG Air Services, 22-year-old Helen Ipauki.
“In the context of our Pacific Region, it is no secret that Papua New Guinea and her neighbouring Island nations too struggle with problems of gender-inclusion and inequality,” continued the final year medical student.
“A paternalistic culture predominates even in some societies, complicating the global will driven towards achieving gender equality. Yet this should not deter our efforts to secure our vision of equal rights and inclusion for all regardless of gender or creed no matter how complex the means may be.
“Being challenged with having to write a speech based on the theme ‘Balance for Better’, I find myself inadvertently recounting stories of heroines across the world who have pioneered the basis of gender-inclusion and the involvement of women in sectors primarily reserved exclusively for men.
“Women who have fought so hard just so they may be taught how to read and write; I read touching stories of women who had led massive civil rights movements that advocated for women to have legal rights to vote, better salaries, and to enjoy a degree of freedom that moved away from traditional male paternalism. Above all most importantly, for women to have a voice that could, not only be allowed to speak, but to be heard when spoken.
“All these stories have been nothing short of inspiring and I am filled with respect and admiration for these brave women who stood up for what they believed in and paved a way for generations of women to be able to do what we do now.
“A good example was the American promoter of Women’s Rights Lucy Stone who strongly advocated in the face of immense opposition for women to be allowed to speak in public platforms - something which I and countless women across the globe are now able to enjoy despite the fact that it took nearly half a century before any such thing was allowed.
“The concern here and now is that if such issues were raised and addressed as early as the 19th Century, why still are we talking about it at this day and age. Surely a theme ‘Balance for Better’ implies we are yet to achieve a desired level of equality on gender-based matters.
“The issues of gender-inequality today do not necessarily comprise the blatant and overtly expressed gender-based issues encountered before. More women in our societies are able to exercise their choices, participate in politics, education, and sports; and live a life relatively free from gender discrimination and violence. This does not mean gender-inequality has been eradicated, rather only that it persists now in a different form.”
Ipauki will be participating in the Miss Pacific Islands PNG Pageant in August.
(From left: Miss Ipauki, CEO & Managing Director of PNG Air Services, Rex Paki and Miss Pacific Islands, Leoshina Kariha)