WELLINGTON, (RNZ PACIFIC) – The New Zealand Green Party co-leader says Pacific and Māori women need to keep disrupting the patriarchy to increase their say in society.
Marama Davidson, the party spokesperson for Pacific people, was at a ceremony marking 125 years of women’s suffrage in New Zealand.
The event at parliament, Mausina, was led by Pacific and Māori women from the MAU artists’ collective.
Davidson commended the contribution of Pacific and Māori women to New Zealand.
However, referencing the performance of a Mausina dancer at the event, she said there was more work to do.
“I hope it means that we’ve got to keep throwing a spanner into the works because there’s a lot more mahi for us to do together, and what I loved about today was the connection of Māori and Pacific women being made very strong and very clear.”
The women of the region have done a lot of work to re-connect the peoples of oceania said Marama Davidson and champion the issues important to them.
She referenced the work of Teresia Teaiwa on gender, militarism and feminist activism within the South Pacific.
“And Oceania Interrupted which is Māori and Pacific women working together for the independence of West Papua,” said Davidson.
“And remembering the ongoing work that we’ve done to understand that which brings us together as Māori and Pacific women,” she said.
