Women's rights in the Solomon Islands

On 8 March 2013, the women’s community in the United States has celebrated this year’s “Women’s International Day”. On this basis, I wish to congratulate many of my women’s readers for their tremendous contribution to our global community, and the communities of the Pacific Islands region, and especially the Solomon Islands.

A special tribute to one of my aunties, whom I have called her mum, Te’unguniu Tesimo Tesasave, my dad’s eldest sister, who had played a huge role in my upbringing, when her dear husband had unexpectedly died, while I was a toddler. I only wish that I could repay her love and hard-work despite adversities to lead, care, protect, inspire and instill in me humanity, self-belief and a clear understanding of what women are capable of contributing to society. Aue Tinau (Thanks mum).

As a matter of respect to other women, I will also briefly reply to two very interesting questions about issues relating to the status of women and their legal rights in the Solomon Islands. In the past, such questions were treated with contempt and even mocked by the predominantly “gay” leadership of the country. A student from Solomon Islands, who is studying “Law” at the University of the South Pacific, asked the questions. They were brought to my attention via Forum Solomon Islands International (FSII).


And if I’m not adequately addressing them, please I appeal to my good readers to take time off your busy schedules to reply to this blog via the space for comment. Her questions are thought provoking because they went direct to the inner tenant of our existence as a modern nation, struggling to cope with contemporary expectations in a hybrid society. In the context of this discussion, I’m making reference to the term “hybrid society” to mean, the co-existence of “traditional customs” and “western culture” that often influenced the expectations and decisions of our modern leaders, and the way our people are treating women issues, including the issue of “equality” in our society.

As a nation, our traditional and modern democratic institutions are not existing in isolation from each other or in a vacuum; rather they co-exited and neither system eliminates the other. Instead it reproduces a society, where our moral and ethical standards, cultural, social, political and economic values, virtues and norms are “hybrid”. In this situation, people are trying to deal with modern demands and expectations through the lenses of hybrid expectations: Our desire to embrace modern values, but hanging on to our customs and traditions.

To help our foreign readers get the context of our debate, I wish to introduce this discussion by linking the issues of “women’s rights” and “equality” to the issue of land ownership and utilization in the Solomon Islands. My point of reference is how “rights” to property ownership in Western society is a sign of equality. But in the context of Solomon Islands, the rights to ownership of property, land in particular, isn’t translating to “women’s rights and equality” in modern society. I wish to paint the following case-scenario. In Solomon Islands society, landownership is attached to a person’s rights, ownership, social and cultural status in a community, which also legitimates his or her leadership status.


Land is considered as our “mother”, the giver, provider and sustainer of our lives, cultures, identity, traditions, communities and the nation. It is on the basis of this understanding that we attached our lives, history and existence with land. Additionally, land is not a commodity for anyone to sell because of its meaning, identity and history to the people (tribal groups) who owed it. In this context, land is life and it can only be given by handing down from generation to generation-through two systems: patrilineal – from father to son or matrilineal – from mother to daughter. Modern Solomon Islands is made up of nine provinces.

Three of the provinces, Malaita, Choiseul and Rennell and Bellona provinces, have patrilineal land tenure system, with few cases of matrilineal. While the provinces of Makira, Isabel, Western, Temotu and Guadalcanal, the land tenure system is matrilineal, where women are the principal owners of tribal land. Over 5 percent of the country’s land, mostly in urban centers, is owned by the national government. All in all, women technically owned 70 to 80 percent of the land in Solomon Islands.

Unfortunately, such ownership is not reflective in the political power structure and laws of the country. Women are not given the same rights to participate in national leadership and to a lesser extent, decision-making processes. Despite the non-recognition of women’s rights and equality in the country’s legal framework, women in general have been greatly contributed to the human resource trained manpower of the country.

And this is only made possible by parents of those individuals, who have earlier on recognized the importance of allowing their daughters to pursue education. Unfortunately, they (parents) still a minority group in our country. But it helped to open a window that gave few women to attend schools and now serving as senior public servants in successive executive governments in the country. These women are only a few privileged one in a country where majority of our women population are based in rural areas.

In most cases, they are still subjected to traditional customs that are indirectly denying them the same opportunities that their men folks are enjoying (i.e. access to education, health care, legal services, rights to choose, expressing their likes and dislikes, participate in leaderships, taking ownership of their life choices). For decades, this case of inequality or lack of legislation to recognize women’s rights and equality in society has proven to be detrimental and an obstacle to women’s advocacy of their issues at political level.

Over 40 years of parliamentary democracy, there were only three women, who were democratically elected to parliament. The first one was in the 1970s and the last one was in the early 1990s. They were from Isabel and Guadalcanal Islands, where women predominantly owned the land. Recently, a woman, who is originally from Fiji, was elected to our national parliament. Her election was simply a sympathy vote from her husband's supporters, who were looking for ways of showing allegiance to her husband, the former Member of Parliament, after he was jailed for criminal offenses but subsequently released under some dubious political intervention.

In the past, successive governments have been resisting legislations to recognize women’s rights and to ensure that women rights are given due respect and a proper place in society and at political level. The challenge of dealing with this issue is entangled in how women’s role is perceived in our traditions as child bears – no less, no more. It appears to have strong influenced the way society viewed women’s struggle to challenge the status quo of quasi cultures and traditions. And this is where I would like to begin by answering the following questions.

1. Why it is not good to empower women and have women right law?

Legislation alone is just one aspect of a number of wide-ranging issues that need overhauling. But for the purpose of this question, the non-existence of legislation or laws to recognize women’s rights is a disservice to the nation of Solomon Islands and its people. First, our country is made up of villages and communities and women are continuing to play a huge role in community building through family leadership in molding and nurturing future leaders.

Unfortunately, in many cultures in our multi-ethnic society, the role of women is tied down to domestic duties. Sadly, it builds a negative perception in the minds of our leaders about the idea of “women’s rights. There is an element of fear that simply plays a role in perpetuating the reluctance by governments to end this injustice. Secondly, it is only sensible for the leaders of the predominantly “gay” cultures in the country to recognize that without the vital role of women in our nation, we will continue to miss out from utilizing the potentials of women in leadership positions.

Thirdly, without laws to recognize women’s rights and equality (contributions), our nation is likened to a bird flying with one wing. Our plane is on the airport tarmac over the past ten years because of this gender inequality. Fourthly, the absence of laws to provide women with equality and rights as a starting point to compete in every aspect of our nation's development is an indirect way of denying women the opportunity and motivation to work harder, dream bigger and become the best in whatever they do. In this situation, the biggest loser in this whole equation is the Solomon Islands. At political leadership level, we are denying ourselves of the benefits of women’s talents and leadership abilities.

2. Why it is good to empower them and have women right law?

It is also equally true that any law to recognize women’s rights and equality will benefits men as well. It will help men to realize that it takes two wings for a bird or plane to fly and our nation needs that wing now more than ever. Our country is grounded with one wing because of the male dominance of the national leadership. It is only through legislations that politicians and bureaucrats will be forced to begin the process of peeling off one-by-one and discards our traditional and cultural perceptions, attitudes, stereotyping, and negative treatments of women.

It will also ensure that women are not disadvantaged or denied opportunities on the basis of gender. Such law will act as an insurance-cover (instrument) for women to know that their contributions are just as important as of their male counterparts. The long-term benefits are immeasurable and will give women hope, inspiration, expectations and aspirations to dream big and be the best. Recognizing women in our legal system will provide a sense of self worth, and infuses a sense of confidence in women to contribute, speak, voice, compete, achieve, seek and pursue wealth, happiness and dreams in life.

I viewed the struggle of our women for equal rights as similar to the black civil rights movement in the USA during the 1950s and 1960s against racial inequalities. Following the repelling of “racial inequality” in the US Constitution, it benefited both the white and black communities. It provided new horizons, not only for Afro-Americans, Hispanic, Asians and other migrants, but also white Americans, who were also freed from the guilt of denying blacks any opportunity for education and employment on the basis of their color.

In a way, it brings out the best in people competitiveness and produces exceptional individuals and leaders in the USA. In an environment where equal rights is the norm, people (regardless of race, color and gender) enter the race at the foot of the ladder of opportunities, knowing that they all have a chance to make it up to the top of the summit. Additionally it empowers people with confidence, sense of direction and motivation to think that regardless of their color, race and gender, they all stand a chance. I’m sure, such legislation will work wonders to our nation. And we have to start somewhere. Our people need to start this process of changing their “attitude” towards anything woman by an act of Parliament. Women should be given the space and encouragement through legislations to take the lead.

Not only our politicians are treating the issue of women’s rights and equality with disrespect, but also many of our men folks are guilty of contributing to this traditional stereotyping of women. The fight to give women equal rights through our constitution has to start with us the current custodians of our society: men. We need to change our “attitudes” toward women and respect them for their worth. The former UK Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher, once said “attitude” shapes “character”, character shapes destiny. Through this changing of attitude and hopefully mindset, it will surely change the way we behave and treat women, hopefully with respect, understanding and compassion.

Yes, there have been attempts in the past by successive governments to legislate laws that recognize women’s role and place in our society, but time and time again, our predominantly gay legislative assembly, the Solomon Islands National Parliament, has floundered every opportunity. And our leaders cannot make excuses time and again about our customs and traditions. This is because at grassroots level in the country, women are the owners of our land, the “glue” and dignified leaders of our communities, yet they have been denied of the dignity they deserve based on some flimsy cultural excuses. It is time for our young generation, men folks, to speak out loud and clear about our desire to see our mothers, sisters, aunties and daughters properly afforded the constitutional recognition that they rightly deserve.