Discuss The Traditional Place Of Women In Papua New Guinea Society And The Changes Taking Place In Contemporary Papua New Guinea.
Discuss the traditional place of women in Papua New Guinea society and the changes taking place in contemporary Papua New Guinea.
From the earliest time of their life Papua New Guinean women (specifically those of the Papua New Guinean Highlands) are subject to suppression, exploitation and malapropism at the hands of the dominant males. From the position as a sexual object to their role as the primary animal farmer, women are little more than a subservient to male desire (Brown 1988). Traditionally their life as a vassal begins from the moment that they are born, being perceived as dirty. This is reinforced when a girl reaches puberty which is sometimes after their arranged marriage (Herdt 1994). Throughout their lives they are subjugated into manual labour through the day, and at night a sexual slave to their husband. This treatment has only recently begun to change through the continuing influence that Western societal values are having on these once remote Papua New Guinean communities.
In Papua New Guinea there is no "one common people", as they are traditionally tribal; the fact that over eight hundred different languages are spoken in Papua New Guinea (Ethnologue 2005) illustrates this. It is due to this that it is impossible to speak in general terms about "women in Papua New Guinea", as it would misrepresent a significant proportion of the Papua New Guinean populus. Owing to this, this essay will primarily discusses groups within the New Guinea Highlands as they are the most studied, most enlightening and arguably the most interesting assemblage within the countries vast array of societies.
The Papua New Guinean Highlands are a male dominated society, thus in order to properly discuss the traditional place of women, it is necessary to assess the position of men, and their influence on women. Hence while this essay will primarily deal with the woman's role, at times it will discuss the role of males in relation...
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