Islands of example...

Niue, Tokelau, Tuvalu present an encouraging, if not perfect, picture

By Bernadette Hussein

Situation analysis reports, recently

released by UNICEF, on women and children in the Pacific, while showing that there is much room for improvement, have also demonstrated that there might still be a hint of paradise in the Pacific. The United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund survey included Niue, Tokelau and Tuvalu, of which the reports paint a pic ture, which, though not perfect, is encour aging. The islands boast a high level of participation by women at various levels, high literacy rates and readily available family and village support.

In Tokelau, most children attend kindergarten at three years of age. At five and-a-half, they attend government schools. A hundred per cent of all children attend school, A Situation Analysis of Children and Women in Tokelau reported.

Most scholarship students attend schools in Western Samoa, Tonga and Niue, those qualifying for higher educa tion and training attend tertiary institu tions in Fiji and New Zealand.

In Tuvalu, primary education is com pulsory and free from Class One (age six) to Class Eight (age 13). Parents are required by law to send their children to school and attendance is closely moni tored by the school head office. Secondary education is compulsory at Forms Three and Four, but not free. All Tuvalu children are expected to attend secondary school until they are 15 years old.

The 1991 census puts Tuvalu’s overall

literacy rate at above 90 per cent. The downside, however, according to the report, is limited resources - the chil dren’s only source of reading material in the vernacular is the Bible.

“This, to a large degree, influences the their view of life at a very early stage,” the report states. “Islands do not have libraries where children and communities can get reading materials from. The lack of reading materials in English affects adversely the familiarity of children with the written English words.”

Niue’s adult literacy rates are at almost 100 per cent. Education has been compulsory and free for ages five to 14 since the 19505. However, males are more likely than females to proceed to tertiary studies; the figure for women has dropped slightly while that for males has increased.

In all three countries, the situation fac ing women is better than in some other Pacific Islands with larger populations.

For example, in Niue, women take their place in paid employment, politics and education, while, at the same time, maintaining their maternal roles.

Traditionally, they were seen as important contributors to the family’s income. They weeded plantations, cut copra, planted root crops, performed household chores and conformed to the unwritten beliefs and norms of a traditional society.

However, they did not participate in vil lage politics, which was the men’s domain.

This has changed over the years and today, women are the driving force behind village communities, churches and the family, UNICEF reports.

Women’s participation at national and local government levels is relatively high.

Niue’s one woman cabinet minister holds the portfolios of education, health, com munity affairs, tourism and the media.

“On occasions when the premier has been absent, this minister has acted as pre mier,” the report states.

There is at least one woman member in each of the village council elected posts. Women’s participation as senior officers in the administrative and legisla tive sectors is higher than men’s. And more women are employed in the clerical and service sectors than men.

Women play a significant role in agri cultural production. In the age group 45 to 54. four women to every man reportedly manage an agricultural unit.

Attempts are being made in Tokelau, to change the role of women from involv ing only traditional duties to including the social, cultural and economic develop

merit of the country. Tokelau is going

through major political changes and this

is going to have a major impact on women, the report says. Women do not play any direct part in politics and this is because members of the Fono are select ed from the matai or the head of the extended family group and it is unusual for a woman to head an extended family.

The future role of women in Tuvalu is presenting a dilemma brought on by the growing influence of the cash economy and other demands of a modem society.

Women are underrepresented in the wage sector, making up only 38 per cent of total paid employees. Due to lack of educa tional qualifications, women are outnum bered 2:1 in professional/technical and managerial positions. Instead, they are concentrated in lower-paid clerical jobs,

including public service grades.

Few women have occupied places in decision-making bodies, but in 1990 a woman for the first time a woman was appointed to the Public Service Commission.

The status of the youth in these coun tries is generally very good. In Niue, there have been no cases of sexually transmit ted diseases or AIDS reported. However, a national policy regarding AIDS/HIV/STD education was approved by the cabinet in 1993, specifically target ing Forms Five and Six students.

Youth in Tuvalu are treated as a very important sector in the overall develop ment of a nation. All islands in the coun try have their own youth groups which have their own programmes of activities, most of which revolve around social gath erings, gardening, picnics, Bible studies and sports activities.

A problem faced by the youth of Tuvalu is that development activities such as income-generating projects are rather limited and they tend to presume that their activities are mainly centred on recreation and the pursuit of spiritual ide

als. Despite limited youth development

programmes, many young adults keep themselves occupied with traditional skills learned when they were young, such as constructing local building struc

tures, weaving, cultivating, fishing and

other subsistence activities which con tribute to the general welfare of the fami ly. Health records show that no young person between the ages of 12 and 18 has ever been pregnant or contracted a sexu ally transmitted disease. The medical records at the health department indicate that the youngest person infected with an STD in the country was a 20-year-old.

Though life on the three islands may not be perfection, it is nearly paradise.

The only concern would be that the trends continue in a positive direction and not regress. ■