Women's groups for whom? The colonisation of women's groups in Papua New Guinea

Abstract

This paper explores the issues concerning women's groups in the context of women's network in Papua New Guinea (PNG) and from an association with such a network in West New Britain province. The women's groups in PNG often came into existence under the influence of colonial rule and as an adjunct to the Church. Some 20 years later, their vulnerability to colonization by other development factors--whether the state, the donor agency, or the beneficiaries--remains an issue for these groups because of their ambiguity of function and purpose. Despite this ambiguity, and in spite of the women subsuming a passive role in the face of the state and the donor, the women themselves have their own individual strategies for accumulating symbolic as well as real resources. However, the strategy is only open to a handful of women, whose position in society depends on the fact that prevailing patriarchal gender relations are continued. In addition, it is suggested that by simply existing, women's groups in PNG have continued to aid and abet the masculine tradition within the provincial and district governments.