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.