Women in the National Parliament of Papua New Guinea
There have been 10 women in the National Parliament of Papua New Guinea since the independence of Papua New Guinea in 1975.[1]
| Name | Period of service |
|---|---|
| Nahau Rooney | 1977-1987 |
| Waliyato Clowes | 1977-1982 |
| Dame Josephine Abaijah | 1972-1982, 1997-2002 |
| Dame Carol Kidu | 1997-2012 |
| Delilah Gore | 2012-2017 |
| Loujaya Kouza | 2012-2017 |
| Julie Soso | 2012-2017 |
| Rufina Peter | 2022- |
| Kessy Sawang | 2022- |
| Francesca Semoso | 2023- |
As of 1 February 2019, Papua New Guinea was one of only three countries in the world out of 235 that had no women in its legislative branch or parliament.[2] In the 2017 national election, 165 women ran for parliament out of a total of 3,000 candidates, or five percent. No women were elected, including the three female incumbents.[3] However, in the July 2022 national election, for 118 members of parliament, two were elected.[4] In October 2023, a further woman, Francesca Semoso, was elected to represent North Bougainville in a by-election.[5]
References
[edit]- ^ "Papua New Guinea". Pacific Women in Politics. Retrieved 1 February 2017.
- ^ "Women in Parliaments: World Classification".
- ^ Papua New Guinea’s Parliament Has No Women, https://www.globalcitizen.org/en/content/papua-new-guineas-parliament-has-no-women/
- ^ "PNG Election : Female Candidate Kessy Sawang wins Raikos Open Seat". Papua New Guinea today. Retrieved 11 August 2022.
- ^ Kora, Belinda (6 November 2023). "Francesca Semoso is the first woman from Bougainville to be elected to Papua New Guinea's parliament". ABC Pacific. Retrieved 21 January 2024.
