UN agency to scrutinise Vanuatu’s progress over women’s human rights
By Rita Narayan Vanuatu’s record on women’s rights will be scrutinised by a United Nations committee in Geneva from tomorrow. The committee will review the country’s progress in implementing the...
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Images: IWD Walk for Peace
For the first time in five years, WWW4Peace (Women Walk and Work for Peace), has extended the Peace Walk and celebration of International Women’s Day (IWD) to Auckland. This year WWW4Peace, IWPG...
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‘I was told it was against kastom for women to be in Parliament’
“Respect”, as Father Walter Lini famously said, “is honourable”. But despite the enormous social, economic and cultural contributions they make every day, Vanuatu’s women are rarely given the respect...
View Article‘Equal rights but we’re not using it,’ says new Samoan woman MP
By Diedre Fanene in Apia Ali’imalemanu Alofa Tuuau is a proud Samoan woman. She is the only new female representative in Samoa’s Parliament, having secured her seat at Alataua West on Friday during the...
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Meet the incredible women protecting their communities in disaster zones
An International Women’s Day message by Holly Miller. I’m writing this from Fiji, where a 30-day State of Emergency continues following Tropical Cyclone Winston, which struck on the February 20,...
View ArticleBandung women workers demand equal pay, prosperity and end to outsourcing
Workers in the West Java provincial capital of Bandung from the Indonesian Trade Union Congress Alliance (KASBI) protested at the city hall this week demanding equal wages for women workers, the...
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Vanuatu DPM slams kidnap, attack on woman: ‘Enough is enough’
By TJ Aumua The kidnapping and attack on a local Vanuatu female tourism manager, Florence Lengkon, has stirred strong criticism of violence against women in the island nation. Deputy Prime Minister Joe...
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Veiqia Project reawakens woman’s role in Fijian society
By Ariane Adam The Veiqia Project Exhibition is now open at Auckland University of Technology’s St Paul St Gallery Three as a result of the journey of seven women reconnecting with a “sleeping”...
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Long after Cyclone Winston, Fiji women struggle for basic needs
Women have been facing health and security issues since last month’s disaster, reports Ami Dhabuwala of Asia-Pacific Journalism. While the world was busy celebrating Women’s Day on March 8, in Fiji...
View ArticleVanuatu women unite to end violence, stage public rally
Women in Vanuatu’s capital have banned together to call for an end to violence against women. The Vanuatu Daily Post reported that a “Stop violence against women” parade planned for Port Vila today...
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Samoan women score a try for gender empowerment
Samoa’s Rugby Union is encouraging more of its country’s women to participate in rugby. Sport administrators and gender equality advocates are seeing greater participation in the sport as a step toward...
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Vanuatu petition marchers protest over violence against women
By a Vanuatu Daily Digest correspondent in Port Vila In an outpouring of popular protest, several hundred women, men and children marched in Port Vila and Luganville yesterday to demand an end to...
View ArticleImrana Jalal: Paradise lost – shocking report on Pacific violence against women
OPINION: By Imrana Jalal in Suva The Pacific Islands conjure up images of paradise: white sand beaches, transparent sparkling aquamarine seas, and happy smiling islanders. But what lies beneath is the...
View Article‘Invisible’ Pacific, indigenous presence at UN disappoints NZ team
By TJ Aumua Six of the Auckland participants who attended the UN Commission of the Status of Women held in New York in March have had an opportunity to report back on the discussions that were held on...
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Fear of reprisal puts limit on Pacific human rights journalism, say advocates
A regional media forum in Fiji has heard the fear of retribution is a barrier to reporting human rights stories in the Pacific, Radio NZ International reports. Thirty people from 13 Pacific nations...
View ArticleWomen still not safe from sexual abuse in Indonesia’s ‘rape culture’
Special Correspondent in Jakarta The Indonesian government’s response in the wake of a spate of rape and murder of young women and children this year has been widely welcomed by the public in general,...
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Vanuatu rights advocate Jenny Ligo blasts failed case against accused drivers
By Len Garae in Port Vila Vanuatu gender and human rights advocate Jenny Ligo has called on the Minister of Justice to “revisit resources” made available to curb violence against women. Ligo,...
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Dan McGarry: Silence in the face of Florence’s bravery an indictment
ANALYSIS: By Dan McGarry Justice Richard Chetwynd acquitted the three men accused of intentional assault on Florence Lengkon on Friday, accepting the defence’s submission that they had no case to...
View ArticleWomen victims tell chief judge of Marcos-era martial law torture
By Patty Pasion in Manila Victims of horrifying acts of torture during Martial Law in the Philippines have recounted their painful experiences before Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno. Etta Rosales,...
View ArticleReported domestic violence in Fiji ‘tip of the iceberg’
By Julie Cleaver In Fiji, the number of reported domestic violence cases has increased. Police say in the first quarter of this year, it registered 951 which is 13 percent more than in the same period...
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Indonesian women march for equal rights and protection
The women’s march in Jakarta. Video: UNANews By Katharina R. Lestari in Jakarta More than 1000 Indonesian women took to the streets of Jakarta this week to demand greater respect for women’s rights and...
View ArticlePNG parents must ‘be serious’ on education for girls, says councillor
An EMTV report calling for a “breakthrough” in education for girls in Papua New Guinea. Young Papua New Guinean women and girls must be encouraged to enter into a broad range of careers and be involved...
View ArticleAsia Pacific Report tribute to Teresia Teaiwa – thanks to Tagata Pasifika
Dr Teresia Teaiwa featured in a Tagata Pasifika video when winning the Manukau Institute of Technology Pacific Education Award prize at the SunPix Pacific Peoples Awards in 2015. The director of...
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Sharon Bhagwan Rolls: Feminists face shrinking spaces at UN
COMMENT: By Sharon Bhagwan Rolls in New York Pacific — and global — feminists are facing challenging times this week in New York with efforts to squeeze out NGO access to United Nations negotiations....
View ArticleMore women in Solomon Islands politics — how it needs to be done
In this University of the South Pacific’s student journalist documentary broadcast on Radio Pasifik, Wansolwara’s Elizabeth Osifelo investigates the issue of women participating in Solomon Islands...
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Images: ‘No BCL, no mining,’ say protesting Panguna women
Landowner women and mothers have protested over plans to reopen the Panguna mine on Bougainville in Papua New Guinea. They demonstrated in Arawa in central Bougainville and blockaded the route to the...
View ArticlePNG faces ‘catastrophe’ over health if no crisis action taken, warns MP
Pacific Media Centre Newsdesk An unprecedented level of mismanagement of Papua New Guinea’s affairs since 2012 has caused serious health issues, including widespread suffering and preventable deaths,...
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Scott Waide: Why sorcery superstition thrives in PNG where services are poor
ANALYSIS: By Scott Waide in Lae, Papua New Guinea In the early hours of October 23, 2017, a woman in her late 40s was dragged out of her home by a mob who accused her of practising sorcery. Until then,...
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Women must be at centre of global climate solutions, says Fiji minister
By Mereoni Mili in Bonn, Germany It is important that women and girls remain in the centre of climate solutions. These were the words of Fiji’s Minister of Women, Children and Poverty Alleviation...
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‘Embalming’ hampers autopsy finding in death of PNG journalist
By Staycey Yalo in Port Moresby The final autopsy report on Post-Courier journalist Rosalyn Albaniel Evara, handed to the Papua New Guinean Coroner’s Court last week, has an “undetermined death”...
View ArticleIndonesia losing only female top justice amid gender rights worries
By Rieka Rahadiana and Yudith Ho in Jakarta Indonesia is set to lose its first and only female constitutional justice, whose term is up next year, potentially dealing a blow to women’s rights in a...
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Indonesian protesters call for end to violence against women in Yogya
By Rizki Halim in Yogyakarta Dozens of women held a rally at the Zero Kilometre point in Indonesia’s Central Java city of Yogyakarta to commemorate International Women’s Day yesterday. Taking up the...
View ArticleChanging politics trigger predictions for Fiji’s first woman prime minister
By Nasik Swami in Suva Fiji might see its first woman prime minister after this year’s general election, predicts New Zealand-based political sociologist Professor Steven Ratuva. Following in the...
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PNG facelifts for APEC but neglects gender-based violence
The Papua New Guinean government has been working tirelessly to clean up its capital city in preparation for APEC, instead of attending to serious issues such as gender-based violence. Pauline...
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Gallery: Stimulating insights, vision for gender diversity summit
Pacific Media Centre Newsdesk Former New Zealand prime minister Helen Clark is the new patron for the National Council of Women and she shared her stimulating thoughts and insights at the national...
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Why New Zealand was the first country where women won the right to vote
ANALYSIS: By Professor Katie Pickles 125 years ago today Aotearoa New Zealand became the first country in the world to grant all women the right to vote. The event was part of an ongoing international...
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Draft family law progressing but more action needed on violence
New Zealand steps up campaigns through supporting non-government organisations and groups to raise awareness and groups and help support victims of domestic violence. But, writes Mike Mohr, of Asia...
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Fiji women have confidence that their gender in politics will hear their voices
By Koroi Tadulala in Suva The role of women in every segment of society is vital and this is slowly been reflected through more women contesting political spaces in Fiji. This year recorded the highest...
View ArticlePNG faces TB crisis with 35,000 new cases each year, warns NGO
Businesses for Health will host a street festival in Port Moresby on March 22 to create more awareness about TB. Video: EMTV News By Lillian Keneqa in Port Moresby Papua New Guinea is facing a...
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‘NZ is waking up to our … spectrum of colours’, says Pasifika journalist
Journalist Sri Krishnamurthi’s video interview with Alistar Kata. Pacific Media Watch Newsdesk Alistar Kata is uniquely placed to talk about diversity in New Zealand media newsrooms. Not because she...
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PNG women ‘as good as dead’ say protesters calling for tougher laws
Pacific Media Watch Protesters in Papua New Guinea and on social media have launched calls for tougher laws to protect women and girls from gender-based violence and brutality after the torture and...
View ArticleTragic death of Jenelyn Kennedy and media ethics aired on Southern Cross
Pacific Media Watch Host Sherry Zhang interviewed the director of the Pacific Media Centre, Professor David Robie, about the tragic life and death of Jenelyn Kennedy from gender violence in Papua New...
View ArticleDame Meg Taylor: We must act now over gender-based violence in PNG
OPEN LETTER: From Dame Meg Taylor to the people of Papua New Guinea I write this as a Papua New Guinean and a daughter of this nation. I believe in the rights of women. I believe that the Constitution...
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‘It’s time men stand up for our women’ message at ‘turning point’ PNG vigil
By Rebecca Kuku in Port Moresby A passionate plea by men, women and children has echoed around the Papua New Guinean capital of Port Moresby – that it is time to turn the corner on addressing...
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Scott Waide: Playwright Andrew Kuliniasi unleashes another creative bomb – on...
COMMENT: By Scott Waide In a nation such as Papua New Guinea where oral storytelling is central to the intergenerational transfer of knowledge and wisdom, playwright Andrew Kuliniasi has taken things...
View Article‘It gives us nightmares,’ says PNG police officer dealing with domestic violence
Asia Pacific Report newsdesk “We take the pain and problems of victims home and it gives us nightmares many times.” A police woman serving at the Family Sexual Violence Unit (FSVU) of the Papua New...
View ArticlePapuan and human rights defender Carmel Budiardjo dies at 96
Asia Pacific Report newsdesk British and Indonesian human rights defender Carmel Budiardjo, founder of TAPOL watchdog and the movement’s driving force for many decades, has died peacefully aged 96....
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Solomon Islands riots: ‘We’ll shoot you with stones’ abuse for journalists
By Mike Tua in Honiara Facing angry rioters threatening them with physical attacks, Solomon Islands mainstream and freelance journalists and photographers were confronted with an unsettling reality...
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Gavoka slams Fiji’s ‘shameless’ inaction over women’s rights
By Talebula Kate in Suva Women’s participation in decision-making is fundamental to improving gender equality but despite making up half of Fiji’s population, representation at all levels of leadership...
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Posie Parker departs NZ – JK Rowling blasts protest as ‘repellent’
RNZ News British gender activist Posie Parker has left New Zealand, calling it the “worst place for women she has ever visited”. Kellie-Jay Keen-Minshull, also known as Posie Parker, shared a photo on...
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