Women Rise to their Feet in the Solomon Islands!

Trudy Hairs, Overseas Program Manager – Solomon Islands

Nukufero is a remote Russell Island village in the Solomon Islands. A particularly isolated region, the Russells have no roads, few phones or radios, and transport is by outboard motorboats – a mode which is both costly and too frequently hampered by high seas. The local Tikopian people of the Russells are characterised by strong “kastom” that very explicitly considers women inferior to men – so much so that women are forced to walk on their knees when in the presence of men in and around the home.

When IWDA’s local project team visited Nukufero in mid-2005 to measure interest in the project within the community, they held a public meeting for men and women at which this “kastom” was observed by all women who spoke. Towards the end of the meeting however, one woman rose to her feet to share her views. She said that this was the first time she had ever stood in the company of men at a meeting. Unexpectedly, her courageous decision to stand was accepted by those present.

According to the Nukufero people, IWDA is the first NGO to work in their village. While previous NGOs have visited and held one-off workshops, none have established a local program. Specifically, IWDA is the first NGO to work with Nukufero women.

Naelyn Arofo is one of 25 women in her village currently participating in the AusAID funded “Community Capacity and Sustainability Development Project”. Women’s groups are the cornerstone of IWDA’s work in the project, based on the potential for greater impact that a united voice offers in commanding the respect and recognition of community leaders: it is easier to be heard and included in decision-making as a group than as an individual.

In late 2005, IWDA’s partner agency Union Aid Abroad-APHEDA conducted a literacy ‘training of trainers’ course in the capital, Honiara. A kindergarten teacher, Naelyn was one of 7 women nominated by IWDA’s project team to participate in the course.

On returning home, she immediately set about establishing literacy classes at the local school and now runs 3 regular classes per week for around 50 adult women and men living in and around her village.

In a truly isolated village like Nukufero, it is remarkable to see a woman seize an opportunity and, in so doing, secure such warm support from her community. Sometimes it just all comes together!

This entry was posted on Tuesday, January 23rd, 2007 under Solomon Islands.