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PAPUA NEW GUINEA - DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER SUPPORTS

ELECTION OF WOMEN IN GOVERNMENT FOR GREATER EQUALITY

PNG's Deputy Prime Minister says electing women in Parliament will help the country adopt progressive conceptions of the under-represented gender. [ABC]

8 Nov 2011 - A Papua New Guinea official says he hopes electing 22 female ministers in the next parliament will break down the country's traditional views on women's role in society.

Deputy Prime Minister Belden Namah says the 22 seats reserved for women will show men that women can also do the job and will start to change their minds about women's abilities to engage in the political system.

Mr Namah says the seats would be reserved for two or three terms so that women can learn the diplomatic processes, but the main objective was for women to eventually compete with men on an equal basis.

"We want to break that hurdle and see that women can participate in our country just like everywhere else in the world," Mr Namah told Radio Australia's Pacific Beat program.

He says the election of female candidates will be open to both male and female voters.

"We want to demonstrate to the people that these women not only represent women in the districts of the provinces, but are unanimously elected by both males and females," he said.

"The world has moved on. So, we want to see this new culture applied to our system of governance in PNG."