Josephine Abaijah
Encyclopedia
Dame Josephine Abaijah, GCL, DBE (b. 1944, Misima, Papua New Guinea
) was the first woman to be elected to the Papua New Guinea House of Assembly
, in 1972. She was the only woman elected at that time.
She was re-elected in 1977
, and stood unsuccessfully
for a third term in 1982. After fifteen years out of Parliament, she was elected once more in 1997
.
She founded and led the Papua Besena movement, which agitated unsuccessfully for Papua to become a completely independent country on its own instead of being linked with New Guinea as Papua New Guinea
.
She expressed support for Colonel Sitiveni Rabuka
's military coup in Fiji
in 1987.
Asked by the Pacific Journalism Review
for her opinion as to why there were (in 1995) no women in Papua New Guinea's Parliament, she stated:
Regarding the condition of women, she told the Review:
Her autobiography, A Thousand Coloured Dreams, was published in 1991.
Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea , officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is a country in Oceania, occupying the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and numerous offshore islands...
) was the first woman to be elected to the Papua New Guinea House of Assembly
House of Assembly of Papua and New Guinea
The House of Assembly of Papua and New Guinea was the legislature of the territory of Papua and New Guinea from 1964 to 1972. Before 1964, the Legislative Council of Papua and New Guinea sat from 1951 to 1964 under the Papua and New Guinea Act 1949...
, in 1972. She was the only woman elected at that time.
She was re-elected in 1977
Papua New Guinean general election, 1977
General elections were held in Papua New Guinea between 18 June and 9 July 1977. They were the first election since independence from Australia in 1975. The result was a victory for the Pangu Party, which won 40 of the 109 seats. Voter turnout was 60.3%....
, and stood unsuccessfully
Papua New Guinean general election, 1982
General elections were held in Papua New Guinea between 5 and 6 June 1982. The result was a victory for the Pangu Party, which won 61 of the 109 seats. Voter turnout was 52.0%....
for a third term in 1982. After fifteen years out of Parliament, she was elected once more in 1997
Papua New Guinean general election, 1997
General elections were held in Papua New Guinea between 14 and 28 June 1997. The result was a victory for the People's Progress Party, which won 16 of the 109 seats, despite receiving fewer votes than the National Alliance Party. Voter turnout was 66.0%....
.
She founded and led the Papua Besena movement, which agitated unsuccessfully for Papua to become a completely independent country on its own instead of being linked with New Guinea as Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea , officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is a country in Oceania, occupying the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and numerous offshore islands...
.
She expressed support for Colonel Sitiveni Rabuka
Sitiveni Rabuka
Major-General Sitiveni Ligamamada Rabuka, OBE, MSD, OStJ, is best known as the instigator of two military coups that shook Fiji in 1987. He was later democratically elected the third Prime Minister, serving from 1992 to 1999...
's military coup in Fiji
Fiji
Fiji , officially the Republic of Fiji , is an island nation in Melanesia in the South Pacific Ocean about northeast of New Zealand's North Island...
in 1987.
Asked by the Pacific Journalism Review
Pacific Journalism Review
Pacific Journalism Review, founded at the University of Papua New Guinea in 1994, is a peer-reviewed journal covering media issues and communication in the South Pacific, Asia-Pacific, Australia and New Zealand. Since 2002, it has been published by Auckland University of Technology's School of...
for her opinion as to why there were (in 1995) no women in Papua New Guinea's Parliament, she stated:
- "I maintain that I will not give money to somebody to vote for me. So I think that's one big reason. The men can get money, the men can bribe. We are finding it very difficult for women to go around bribing people. I think this is where the country is going nowhere because here there is a lot of bribes, there is a lot of corruption, something that women don't want in this country."
Regarding the condition of women, she told the Review:
- "Now women can't go from their homes to their gardens because of fear of being raped. It's unfortunate. I don't want to paint a picture that is negative -- this is my country and when I talk about it I want to give a good picture of it -- because I want to be proud of it. But how can I be proud of it when these are things that are happening?"
Her autobiography, A Thousand Coloured Dreams, was published in 1991.
