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by Intan Shafinaz
Women in Oil Palm Network, Papua New Guinea (WOPN-PNG) organized a workshop to develop a strategic plan that will address human rights abuses due to oil palm development, government-made discriminatory practices, and non-adherence to customary principles. SHAFINAZ SUHAIMI provides an insight.
Despite the Papua New Guinea National Constitution and various other government strategies which call for women to be recognised as equal partners in development, women's issues are rarely addressed and are sidelined by policies and laws in PNG. This surprising inequity was highlighted in a recent workshop in PNG that the writer attended, where women came together to share their experiences where they often found themselves subjected to structural and physical abuses and ignored as a crucial aspect of community well-being.
This is ironic given the fact that PNG is a matrilineal society where women are the rightful landowners yet it is the men who sign away land to oil palm companies without the women's knowledge or consent.
As in many developing regions in tropical Asia and Africa, PNG is experiencing an oil palm development boom. Although this is recognised to bring positive economic impacts to smallholder communities in oil palm growing areas, insights from the workshop showed that reality is not as simple as that.
In PNG, the distribution of oil palm income and the introduction of a cash economy have very specific negative impacts on women. One of these impacts is the gender disparity of their earnings. Men have more control over the income from oil palm than women. This is mainly because companies seek consultation with the men instead of the women. Men are also preferred over women in higher paying jobs such as harvesting fresh fruit bunches. Male domination is present at all levels in society, where decision- making powers and women's rights as equal partners are denied due to cultural barriers.
According to Susan Theresa Tomda of Papua New Guinea Oil Palm Research Associations (PNGOPRA), "Because women have a closer bond with the land, they feel degraded, low self-esteem and deprived of their land when their voice is not heard."
Amongst other issues aired, women are also exploited for cheap labour to increase productivity and profitability for multi-national corporations and are sometimes subjected to sexual harassment in employment. There have been many cases of unwanted pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases among women workers, thus impacting women's health and safety.
In addition to sexual abuse, women are suffering from other health problems as they are exposed to chemical pollution due to a lack of a proper waste management system which contributes to an unhealthy environment. Run-offs from plantations pollute the waterways, posing potential threats to local people who are dependent upon it for drinking water and cleaning.
Basic services have not been met by oil palm companies and although Personal Protection Equipment (PPEs) are supplied, women and men are still exposed to harmful chemicals because in most cases, these equipment are worn for a short period of time and the worker removes them as they get very hot. Many women and men who come into direct contact with these chemicals have serious lasting medical conditions including asthma, skin diseases and affecting the normal functioning of their reproductive systems. Their overcrowded living conditions in labour quarters contribute to the increase in communicable diseases.
Overcrowded settlement blocks result in shortage of land for food gardens which is a serious threat to food security. Women are especially dependent upon their gardens as they are important both for feeding the family and earning an income from selling garden-grown food at local markets. Women usually depend on the money from food sales at the markets, rather than on oil palm income. Conversion of traditional farm lands or food gardens into oil palm plantations restricts women's ability to provide food for their families, and women would only get a tiny amount of money from their husbands, which is sufficient to buy store food for the family that will last only a couple of days after pay day.
Women struggle to buy essential household items as men often spend the money carelessly on gambling and beer. As a result, domestic violence has become common especially around pay day. Women in smallholder blocks shared experiences of abuse by their husbands who take the family income and spend it on entertainment. Because of this, families are unable to send their children to school and this contributes to the vicious cycle of unemployment and poverty.
The workshop participants also heard how the oil palm industry has impacted their culture. The influx of immigrant labour employed by plantation companies is threatening local societal norms and creating land disputes. Locals sometimes fail to protect their land when immigrant labourers who squat on the edges of the plantations eventually claim the land.
The community is also facing discrimination with the latest amendments to their Environmental Act, which prohibits the communities from raising issues that pertain to the destruction of their environment.
The lack of law enforcement in protecting the environment results in deforestation, the destruction of ecosystems and critical habitat loss was also raised. The communities are powerless as their land is exploited and the sheer disregard for traditional practices such as hunting-gathering and access to medicinal plants are threatening the continuity of their way of life.
Launch of "Many Cries - One Voice" - WOPN's 5-year Strategic Plan
Successfully registered as an association on May 14, 2010, the Women in Oil Palm Network is a not-for profit community interest and community-based non-governmental organisation that is made up of representatives from the various provinces of PNG. Ms. Tomda explained that "The body is made of women representatives from around the country - from oil palm growing, non-oil palm growing and proposed palm areas. The women especially were excited, motivated and empowered now that they have a voice in the industry."
The overall strategy of WOPN is to create an enabling environment for women to be active in decision-making in order to better protect the environment and their cultural heritage, and to ensure responsible use of resources for the benefit of all. This, they claim, can be achieved through advocacy, training and promotion of alternative livelihoods which will realise the vision whereby communities affected by oil palm are strengthened to participate meaningfully in governance and responsible development.
WOPN developed a 5- year (2011- 2015) Strategic Plan during a week-long workshop on July 5th-11th, 2010 at Motupore Island with the purpose of developing WOPN as an organisation by women, for women. The workshop was organised by Centre for Environmental Law and Community (CELCOR) with support from Global Green Grants Fund (GGF) and Democratic Governance Transitional Phase (DGPT) and was attended by 23 participants, including one representative from Malaysia's women and migrants rights organisation, Tenaganita.
Issues that were highlighted in the workshop were analysed for possible solutions, which further enabled the women to focus on setting WOPN's goals, objectives and key result areas. The latter include getting women empowered and free from all forms of abuse, to get them involved in all levels of governance and in decision making processes on issues that affect them and for them to have alternative livelihood options. WOPN's strategic plan was launched after an emotional week, Margaret Loko (UNDP), Dorothy Tekwie (Greenpeace), Johannes Bauer (UN-REDD), Thomas Paka (Eco-Foresty Forum), Damien Ase (CELCOR) and Regina Pian (Democratic Governance Transitional Phase) was at hand to give the necessary support and foundation to kick their Plan into action. WOPN would embark on awareness road-shows and membership drives starting in October and November 2010 to inspire and encourage women to be committed to the movement.
Ms. Tomda recognizes that the industry has brought in a lot of positive changes in terms of economic values to many smallholder growers in the oil palm growing areas but she hopes that the impacts of development is addressed seriously. "Women realize that they cannot stop oil palm development but they can find possible solutions to address the issues."
She adds, "With women's voice in the industry, I believe we can play a vital role in finding possible solutions with full the support from the industry in addressing the issues affecting us. I want WOPN to be a dynamic and vibrant voice."
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Original URL: http://www.wildasia.org/main.cfm/library/Many_Cries
Published: 06 September 2010
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