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Feminism in New Zealand is a series of actions and a philosophy to advance rights for women in New Zealand. This can be seen to have taken place through parliament and legislation, and also by actions and role modelling by significant women and groups of people throughout New Zealand's history. The women's suffrage movement in New Zealand succeeded in 1893 when New Zealand became the first nation where all women were awarded the right to vote. New Zealand was also the first country in the world in which the five highest offices of power were held by women, which occurred between March 2005 and August 2006, with Queen Elizabeth II, Governor-General Silvia Cartwright, Prime Minister Helen Clark, Speaker of the New Zealand House of Representatives Margaret Wilson and Chief Justice Sian Elias. [1]
In 1840 Māori women were part of the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi [2] that created New Zealand as part of the British Empire under Queen Victoria. The British government passed the New Zealand Constitution Act 1852 which granted limited-self rule, an estimated three-quarters of the adult male European population in New Zealand had the right to vote in the first elections in 1853. Māori first voted in 1868 and women voted in 1893.
Prior to European settlement of New Zealand Māori women had varied responsibilities as tribal leaders, military strategists, warriors, poets, composers and healers. Their roles were irrespective of their gender. [3] Kinship systems in Māori tribes were often arranged matrilineally. [4]
Diplomacy and rituals of exchange between Māori tribes were often arranged according to the concept of mana wahine, the prestige and political power held by a woman or the women of a tribe. Today, numerous Māori iwi and hapū descended from such women insist on identifying themselves as being "the people of" that particular female ancestor. For example, on the East Coast of the North Island a prominent iwi group is Ngāti Kahungunu, eponymous of the male ancestor Kahungunu. However within the Mahia area of that region, there is a local preference for the name Ngāti Rongomaiwahine; Rongomaiwahine being known as the more prestigious ancestor of the people there. [5] Similar insistence is made by members of Ngāti Hinemoa and Ngāti Hinemanu.
Scholars have suggested that the solidification of a patriarchal structure in Māori societies was shaped by colonial contact, largely through the expectations and prejudices of European settler-traders and Christian missionaries. [6] [7]
Once European migrants started arrived in New Zealand through colonisation there were more men than women. By 1916 and 1941 the gender differences were about equal. By 1971 the gender shift began and women began to outnumber the men. By 2001 there were 104 women to every 100 men. The female population is soon to outrank the male population by 2051, [8] because of the high mortality rate among men aged 15–24, and the female life expectancy is expected to increase much faster than males. [10]
In 2001 the gender differences in New Zealand were exponential having 63,000 more women than men. [11] According to current census records, this trend is expected to continue. There are other anticipated key issues expected to occur in the lives of the New Zealand women including:
From 1971 and 2001 some differences have occurred in New Zealand families. In 1971 the family was commonly a legally married husband and a wife with about 3 children. The men were the ones that went out to get the money for the household, while the women stayed at home and raised the children. Over the past 30 years this idea has changed due to bringing in different cultural ideals, family patterns, and contributions.[ citation needed ] Māori women are less likely to marry and more likely to live in extended family situations.[ citation needed ]
Arguably, Māori women have been involved with New Zealand feminism since 1840, when at least three Māori women were included in the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi which created New Zealand. [2] This was significant at a time when women generally did not hold power within the British Empire. It is reported that these women were allowed to sign the treaty after the Māori women had expressed their anger at being excluded. [14] The New Zealand suffragette movement included Māori women who also lobbied to be allowed to vote. In particular, there were Māori women who were landowners and they argued that they should not be barred from political representation. [4] Māori first voted in 1868 and women (both Māori and Pākehā) voted in 1893. [15]
A major focus of the early women's movements was the development of bicultural relations between Māori and Pākehā. [15] Political advances were made when Iriaka Ratana was the first Māori woman MP, who was elected in 1949. [16]
The development of the Māori Women's Welfare League or Te Rōpū Wāhine Māori Toko I te Ora in 1951 in Wellington, provided an avenue for Māori women to be represented in the New Zealand government. [17] While the original goal of the League was to preserve Māori culture and to promote fellowship and cooperation between various women's organisations, it became heavily involved in housing, health and education issues and was instrumental in making te reo Māori part of the country's official languages. [18] [19]
In 1970, women's liberation groups were formed in New Zealand and included Māori women in decision-making. [20] However, within a few years, Māori women began to separate from these groups to focus on their own issues. [15] Many of the feminist organisations dominated by white, middle-class women were delivering health and legal services but these were not reaching many Māori women whose main concerns were economic. [21]
To understand the key issues for Māori feminists, it is necessary to understand mana wāhine. In te reo Māori, the Māori language, what may be termed “feminist discourses” are often referred to as ‘mana wāhine’. [22] [23] [24] Mana wāhine discourses allows for the extension of Kaupapa Māori, Māori practice and principles, to the intersection of Māori and female identities, and makes said intersection visible. [24] Kaupapa Māori locates itself within a worldview different to that stereotypical of the west, allowing for the generation of new solutions. [25] As a result, mana wāhine is, in contrast to the broader projects of ‘feminism’, a self-deterministic approach that gives effect to the intersections of female and Māori identities. [2] Visibility and validation of this intersection in-turn validates mātauranga wāhine, Māori women's knowledge. [22] For some, preference for the term ‘mana wāhine’, in contrast to ‘feminist’, is a direct result of the preconceptions attached to said title of ‘feminist’, particularly in Pākehā culture. [26]
Multiple theories of Māori feminism (mana wāhine) exist concurrently due to the diversity of iwi, ‘tribes’, across Aotearoa/New Zealand. [27] Māori, regardless of iwi, share great disruptions that occurred as a direct result of the processes of colonisation. [28] There are, therefore, great differences between the Māori and Pākehā feminist projects. [2] In order to encompass a wide-view of issues facing women of Māori heritage, many argue that te reo Māori me ona tikanga (Maori Language and Culture) are necessary inclusions in mana wāhine, [28] and this epitomises the differences between mana wāhine and Pākehā feminism. [22] Biculturalism, therefore, is often campaigned for by Māori feminism, allowing for a simultaneous campaign for Indigenous rights; a campaign bypassed completely by multiculturalism. [29] Mana wāhine, therefore, acts as a tool which allows Māori women to take control over their history and future. [27] That is, mana wāhine, by necessity, takes into account sexism, racism, colonialism and class and overlaps with the political aspirations for self-determination. [30] This is why mana wāhine is an important area of discourse. [22]
Mana wāhine allows for the provision of analysis unique to the position held by those lying in the intersections of Māori and women. [31] The unique world-view of the Māori population is vital in the understanding of pre-colonial Māori society. [14] Sources such as Māori society, both te ao hou and te ao tawhito (the present and past); te reo Māori; Māori women's histories; and nga tikanga Māori, Māori customary practices, are important in development of these discourses. [27] Indeed, these sources give great importance to Māori sovereignty. [32] Kaupapa Māori conjointly working with mana wāhine locates Māori women in intersections of oppression from colonisation and the racism resulting therefrom, in addition to sexism. [24] The effect of colonisation was devastating, [28] the estrangement of wahanu, community, and the enforcement of the ‘nuclear’ family were particularly harmful. [14] colonisation also resulted in the enforcement of traditional, western, religious ideas of the status of women and this resulted in a dramatic shift of power away from women in Māori culture. [14]
Biculturalism continues to be a key emphasis for mana wāhine as it informs wider debates about colonisation and decolonialism, ethnicities and politics. [15] Biculturalism emphasises the important position of Māori culture, whereas in a multicultural nation Māori would be just one culture among many. This could then remove their sovereignty and the relationship Māori have with their land. [15] [29]
Colonisation significantly disrupted all of Māori society, but the disruption was on multiple levels for women. [28] As a result, Māori women have needed to reassert their positions and status, not just in the broad society but also in their own communities. They have needed to find their own voices. [28] However, this discussion does not always resonate with Pākehā women as they believe that Western feminism is for everyone. [28] Māori women emphasise the need to be visible in their differences as those differences count. [31] Of importance is the need to highlight that unless the ‘multiple forces of subjugation’ resulting from colonisation are taken into account, feminism cannot fully account for the realities of Māori women. [30]
Historically, as Māori collectivism gave way to Christian individualism, Māori have increasingly been forced into the Pākehā model of the nuclear family. [14] This has meant that Māori women have become increasingly vulnerable as their dependence on their husbands has increased and as they have become increasingly isolated from their broader community. [14] In addition, Māori women often end up with the jobs that Pākehā women do not want. It can therefore seem that Māori women end up with the ‘scraps’ from Pākehā women. [21]
There are critical differences between Māori women and men in relation to health, education, employment, and family structure and support. Critically, lifestyle options and opportunities for Māori women have been restricted. [27] However, even when it is identified that there are specific issues impacting Māori women, they are often not included in the forums for resolution. And if they are, their voices may be shut down. [30]
One of the goals of mana wāhine is to ensure that Māori women can make sense of their different realities and identities, and to celebrate the strength and resilience of Māori women. [23] As a result, mana wāhine stories and theories have been diverse rather than homogenous. [31] [23] This includes differing views on how to best achieve equity and reminding others, including Māori men, about who they are and where they have come from. [30] Many Māori today have been disconnected from their traditional cultures which have been reinterpreted through post-colonial eyes, resulting in some Māori men using this to deny women power and a voice. [33] When this is combined with Pākehā feminist priorities, many Māori women feel they are ignored when both gender and colonisation issues and impacts are discussed i.e. they are seen as lesser. [33] However, it is important that Māori women are not viewed as passive victims waiting to be rescued by Pākehā women. [34]
Some Māori academics have asserted that the term 'lesbian' is one with a western history and with western connotations, a term that may contradict some Māori cultural histories. [35] Sexuality, however, remains an important area of intersectional discourse for mana wāhine and Māori feminist projects, [24] with many prominent figures working in this field, including activist Ngahuia Te Awekotuku. [35]
The art of Māori women often confronts issues that have been underscored as relating to mana wāhine. [36] The materials used in the preparation and production of artworks, are not simply a means to an end; they are integral to the work and possess important meaning. The forms which artworks and objects take are diverse, ranging from sound and performance to painting, jewellery, and fashion; these forms are not simply the vehicle or vessel of artistic expression - they embody inherently the message of the work. Artists’ use of the body and space interrogates various issues, discourses and sites of contention including (but not confined to): the gendered cultural practices of Pākehā colonisation; the tensions between urban life and traditional spirituality; the restoration of cultural memory – cultural narratives (oral histories); and modern situational cultural and geographic isolation caused by dispossession. [37]
Importantly, ‘Feminist art’ tends to be viewed by many Māori women as Pākehā contrived and therefore irrelevant. [36] The continuous, ageless dynamism of mana wāhine is rather a more applicable term for this discussion. Additionally, because mana wāhine envelops these works within its matrices, they speak with a richer prescience than a work that is simply an expression of art in and of itself and necessarily gives way to a more expansive function and understanding of art, as such. [38]
Catriona Moore, speaking of feminist art more broadly, notes the multiplicities of purposes, directions, and outcomes that are characteristics of feminist art and aesthetics – these make the artworld a dynamic space for discussion, development and advancement. [39] Art characterised or described within a mana wāhine context operates similarly. However, artists who identify with and engage in exploring mana wāhine through their artistic practices do not necessarily identify as feminists, or label their art as such. [40] [36] [38]
Diverse works such as those by the Mata Aho Collective [41] [42] and the performance art of Rosanna Raymond, [43] [44] announce and powerfully realise reconnection and reclamation, two important tenants that situate women in mana wāhine and characterise activism in this space. Dr Maureen Lander's fibre and installation art [45] and Shona Rapira Davies’ use of textile and object making practices [38] delineate the strength of Māori women and the subtle yet poignant processes of restoration and affirmation achieved through their commitment to investing in and working with traditional materials.
Similarly the artistic practices of Nova Paul, [46] Lisa Reihana, [46] [47] and interdisciplinary artist and archivist Tuāfale Tanoa'i aka Linda T, [48] expend notions of conventional image making and cinematic art. These artists and their works are reminiscent of and carry on the practice of Merita Mata, [38] [46] which continue to challenge colonial narratives imbued with rejections of systemic Pākehā patriarchal models of power, knowledge and ownership.
The central place of exploring Māori mythologies through themes such as mourning, life, death, sovereignty, place and the spaces women occupy are interrogated in works by artists such as Alisa L. Smith [46] and Robyn Kahukiwa. Importantly, Robyn Kahukiwa does not associate herself with feminism. [38] [37] However, Kahukiwa's works find expression in mana wāhine, specifically with reference to the important place of women in Māori spirituality. By extension, the synergies in the expansive works of Pasiffika Queen and Sissy that Walk, who critique modern understandings of gender and sexuality, [49] further create discourses around Māori identity and representation.
Māori culture is the customs, cultural practices, and beliefs of the Māori people of New Zealand. It originated from, and is still part of, Eastern Polynesian culture. Māori culture forms a distinctive part of New Zealand culture and, due to a large diaspora and the incorporation of Māori motifs into popular culture, it is found throughout the world. Within Māoridom, and to a lesser extent throughout New Zealand as a whole, the word Māoritanga is often used as an approximate synonym for Māori culture, the Māori-language suffix -tanga being roughly equivalent to the qualitative noun-ending -ness in English. Māoritanga has also been translated as "[a] Māori way of life." The term kaupapa, meaning the guiding beliefs and principles which act as a base or foundation for behaviour, is also widely used to refer to Māori cultural values.
Iwi are the largest social units in New Zealand Māori society. In Māori, iwi roughly means 'people' or 'nation', and is often translated as "tribe", or "a confederation of tribes". The word is both singular and plural in the Māori language, and is typically pluralised as such in English.
Tikanga is a Māori term for Māori law, customary law, attitudes and principles, and also for the indigenous legal system which all iwi abided by prior to the colonisation of New Zealand. Te Aka Māori Dictionary defines it as "customary system of values and practices that have developed over time and are deeply embedded in the social context". More broadly since the decline of tikanga Māori as New Zealand's "first law" in favour of English law, tikanga has often been defined as a concept incorporating practices and values from mātauranga Māori, or Māori knowledge. Tikanga is translated into the English language with a wide range of meanings—culture, custom, ethic, etiquette, fashion, formality, lore, manner, meaning, mechanism, method, protocol, and style.
Takatāpui is a Māori language term that is used in a similar way to LGBT. When speaking Māori, LGBT people of any culture are referred to as takatāpui. In English, a takatāpui person is a Māori individual who is gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender (LGBT).
Māori politics is the politics of the Māori people, who were the original inhabitants of New Zealand and who are now the country's largest minority.
Ngāti Tūwharetoa is an iwi descended from Ngātoro-i-rangi, the priest who navigated the Arawa canoe to New Zealand. The Tūwharetoa region extends from Te Awa o te Atua at Matatā across the central plateau of the North Island to the lands around Mount Tongariro and Lake Taupō.
Tā moko is the permanent marking or tattooing as customarily practised by Māori, the indigenous people of New Zealand. It is one of the five main Polynesian tattoo styles.
Kura Te Waru Rewiri is a New Zealand artist, academic and educator. Art historian Deidre Brown described her as "one of Aotearoa, New Zealand's most celebrated Māori women artists."
Te Kao is a village on the Aupouri Peninsula of Northland, New Zealand. Te Aupōuri are mana whenua over Te Kao and the surrounding district, and it is the principal settlement of the iwi (tribe). Te Aupōuri's Post-Settlement Governance Entity, Te Runanga Nui o Te Aupōuri, has an office at Te Kao, along with the iwi's marae and urupa. State Highway 1 passes through the district. Cape Reinga is 46 km to the north, and Houhora is 24 km to the south. The Aupouri Forest and Ninety Mile Beach are to the west.
Pukepoto is a town in Northland, New Zealand. It lies south west of Kaitaia and north east of Ahipara. The Herekino Forest lies to the south east.
New Zealand art consists of the visual and plastic arts originating from New Zealand and comes from different traditions: indigenous Māori art and that brought here including from early European mostly British settlers.
Māori are the indigenous Polynesian people of mainland New Zealand. Māori originated with settlers from East Polynesia, who arrived in New Zealand in several waves of canoe voyages between roughly 1320 and 1350. Over several centuries in isolation, these settlers developed a distinct culture, whose language, mythology, crafts, and performing arts evolved independently from those of other eastern Polynesian cultures. Some early Māori moved to the Chatham Islands, where their descendants became New Zealand's other indigenous Polynesian ethnic group, the Moriori.
Hinematioro was the acknowledged leader of Te Aitanga-a-Hauiti, a New Zealand Māori iwi (tribe). She identified with the Ngati Porou iwi. In Māori culture she is an ariki tapairu, or first-born in a notable family, and her influence and mana were wider than her tribal leadership.
Women in New Zealand are women who live in or are from New Zealand. Notably New Zealand was the first self-governing country in the world where women were entitled to vote. In recent times New Zealand has had many women in top leadership and government roles, including three female Prime Ministers, most recently Jacinda Ardern.
Ngahuia Te Awekotuku is a New Zealand academic specialising in Māori cultural issues and a lesbian activist. In 1972, she was famously denied a visa to visit the United States on the basis of her sexuality.
Rongomaraeroa is the marae of the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa and incorporates a contemporary wharenuiTe Hono ki Hawaiki. It is located on the museum's 4th floor overlooking Wellington harbour, and was officially opened on 30 November 1997.
This is a timeline of the feminist art movement in New Zealand. It lists important figures, collectives, publications, exhibitions and moments that have contributed to discussion and development of the movement. For the indigenous Māori population, the emergence of the feminist art movement broadly coincided with the emergence of Māori Renaissance.
Mana motuhake is a phrase in the Māori language that means self determination, with the principle being autonomy and control. It is sometimes translated to the concept of sovereignty.
Elizabeth Anne Kerekere is a New Zealand politician and LGBTQ activist and scholar. She was elected a member of parliament for the Green Party in 2020, but resigned from the Greens on 5 May 2023, following allegations of bullying within the party. Kerekere remained in parliament as an independent until the 2023 election.
Waikaremoana Waitoki is a New Zealand clinical psychologist, academic, and former president of the New Zealand Psychological Society from 2020 until 2022. She is an associate professor at the University of Waikato, and focuses her research on indigenous psychology, Mātauranga Māori and cultural competency.
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