4. THE POST-CONTACT POLITICAL RIGHTS OF WOMEN

4.1 Women, as mentioned previously, were overlooked in the Constitution and their rights were, therefore, not institutionalised. However, some aspects of the Constitution and early codes of laws were equally applicable to women and some were directed specifically at women. For instance, one of the new additions to the 1850 Code was Article XXXVII, which adjured women to ‘work…. and preserve in labouring to clothe your husband and children; unmarried women shall work to be useful to their relatives and parents. If they do not work, they shall not be fed or assisted; for our assisting the indolent, is supporting that which is evil’ (Latukefu, 1974:236). The Emancipation Edict of 1862 which finally emancipated the common people from the chiefs also liberated women. Not only was it unlawful for ‘for any chief or person, to seize, or take by force, or beg authoritatively, in Tongan fashion, anything from anyone’ but ‘everyone has the entire control over everything that is his’ (Latukefu, 1975:34). The first part of the Constitution which guaranteed the rights of the individual also applies equally to women: the right to freedom of person and possessions; the liberty of every individual; the equality of all men, chief, commoners and foreigners; freedom of worship, speech and press; and the right to expect the Government to protect their life, liberty and property.

4.2 The most serious omission in the Constitution and subsequent laws was the rights of women in relation to land ownership. The land laws, according to some Tongan views, were based on the understanding that women’s interests were protected through the traditional institutions of the fahu. The fruits of the land were theirs for the asking, through their brothers, and their mothers’ brothers. In modern Tonga, the institution of the fahu continues but it has failed to provide adequately for the needs of all women. The land laws as they stand today (Land Acts Nos. 18 of 1903, 19 of 1927, 17 of 1930, 13 of 1936, 4 of 1937, 5 of 1941) 22 of 1942, 7 of 1943, 7 of 1945, 4 of 1947, 10 of 1948, 12 and 1949, 20 of 1950, 3 of 1951, 5 of 1952, 9 of 1953, 8 of 1955, 12 of 1959, 9 of 1962, 10 of 1963, 20 of 1966, 9 of 1967, 9 of 1968, 4 of 1972, 6 of 1973, 20 of 1974, 18 of 1976, 18 of 1977, 6 of 1978, 4 of 1980, 11 of 1980, 15 of 1980, 7 of 1982, 1 of 1983, 18 of 1983, 16 of 1984, 21 of 1984, 7 of 1986, 4 of 1987, 46 of 1988, and G.S 43/72, 13/76, 38/79, 117/86, 1/87, and G.49/76, F137/77) do not yet acknowledge the changes in the society and therefore the existing legislations fail to protect women’s interests in this important resource. A woman can only inherit a life interest in the estate of her father if there are no other male heirs, and provided she remains single, and does not commit fornication. Widows are also entitled to a life interest in their husbands estates provided that they do not commit fornication during that period.

4.3 The rights to vote and stand for elections are granted by Sections 64 and 65 of the Constitution to all Tongan subjects:

4.4 Every Tongan subject of twenty-one years of age or more who being a male and not a noble pays taxes and being a male or female can read and write and is not insane or imbecile and is not disabled by the twenty-third clause shall be entitled to vote in an election for representatives of the people to the Legislative Assembly and on the day appointed for election shall be exempt from summons from debt. (Act No.l 15 of 1951).

4.5 Representatives of the people shall be chosen by ballot and any person who is qualified to be an elector and who is not in debt for a larger amount than is allowed by law may be chosen as a representative of the people: Provided that no person holding an office of emolument under the Crown shall enter the Assembly except 1914).

But in the 1875 Constitution, the privileges of voting and standing for elections were granted only to those who paid land taxes, and since these were restricted to males, only males were given the right to vote. It was not until the 1951 Constitution (Amendment) Act (No. 15 of 1951), that the Constitution was amended to include females and non-tax paying males. Today, both sexes have the right to vote and stand for elections on an equal basis for any elected post in the Government. But given the history of voting rights in the country, it is not entirely surprising that women have little inclination for participating in political activities. To date no woman has ever been appointed to the position of judge and only two women have been elected into the Legislative Assembly as people’s representatives (1975-1977 and 1978 to 1980). One of them was the wife of a chief and the daughter of the Prime Minister, the King’s brother. No woman has ever been appointed to a ministerial post or governorship and no woman has ever stood to be elected for district or town officer. Yet, as has been noted previously, women comprise the majority of voters in the country.

5. DEMOCRACY AND THE RIGHTS OF WOMEN

5.1 The Collin’s English Language Dictionary defines the word ‘democracy’ as ‘a system of Government in which people choose their rulers by voting for them in elections. ‘Politics’ is used in the same dictionary to refer to ‘actions or activities which people use to achieve power in a country, society, or organisation or which ensure power is used in a particular way. ‘Politics’ also refers to the study of the ways in which a country is governed and power is acquired and used in that country’. Authorities are the people who have the power to make decisions, especially the Government of a country.

5.2 My own definition of democratic participation has less to do with sharing of power and control of people and activities but with equity of access and opportunities to participate in the decision-making processes, not only at the executive and law enactment levels of government but at all levels of the societal structure.

5.3 The lengthy discussions on the statuses and privileges of women in the pre-contact period served to highlight several points I wish to raise:

1) That women, through their control of the ‘blood’ lines, wielded a great deal of power both at the famili and societal levels;
2) That women, participated actively in the decision-making processes;
3) That the structures of the society at both the political and social levels, although they appear elegantly consistent on paper, were in fact, flexible instruments designed to accommodate changes and irregular events.

5.4 However, despite the seeming superiority of women in the traditional system, there were several anomalies: tu’a women had very few rights; aristocratic women appear to have had very little control over their choice of spouses. The question, then, is what have women gained or lost in the post-contact period. I will very briefly sketch some of these gains and losses for discussion purposes.

a) The ‘Fahu’ System

Under the influence of the missionaries, the 1862 Code of Laws decreed that ‘all chiefs and people are to all intents and purposes set at liberty from serfdom, and all vassalage, from the institution of this law; and it shall not be lawful for any chief or person, to seize, or take by force, or beg authoritatively, in Tongan fashion, anything from anyone ‘(Latukefu, 1974:247). The Edict has been interpreted to mean the outlawing of the ‘claims of sisters and their children’ (Gasiley, 1987:76). Gailey claimed that ‘in the concomitant processes of commoditisation, class and state formation, Tongan women became marginalised’ (1987:77), the evidence today supports Jame’s (1988) contention that:

Conversion to Christianity tended towards a socially leveling effect: highly ranked women lost much of their awe and privilege when the old sacred values passed away or were ‘defused’ (in particular, the mystical power of the mehikitanga [father’s sister, usually refers to eldest sister] or old was undermined) while commoner women gained rights by the institution of law and Christian values regarding the equality of persons before God…

Women were overlooked in significant 19th century changes, importantly, with regard to land tenure …; nor was their role in kainga leadership formally recognised or institutionalised in either modern office or bureaucratic office…(1988: 43-44).

Thus, despite the legislation, the principle of the supremacy of the sisters over their brothers and of children over their mother’s kin, and the social practice based on it have survived in Tonga, although probably in a less overt form. Arranged marriages for social and political gains continue to be practiced in chiefly and commoner families and marriage to chiefly and elite women are still seen by many men, including powerful and well-educated commoner men who aspire to the membership of the elite group, as one of the most expeditious means through which to buy acceptance (Bott, 1981). Fathers’ sisters continue to exert influence over the lives and affairs of their brothers and their children and the fahu system is exhibited in various forms in all social ceremonies, but the practices are today dictated not so much by the haunting fear of the ‘black’ powers of the sister as by the strengths of the emotional commitments developed among members of the fa’ahinga.

b) The land Tenure Issue

Land can only be leased by women. Moengangongo (1985) reported that in 1885 only 9 per cent of registered land leases were held by women. Data provided by the Lands and Survey Department indicated that of the 2,971 leaseholds registered in 1988 only 168 or 6 per cent were held registered by women. Table 2 shows the number of leases held by women, and for what purposes.

Table 2: All Land Leases Registered by Women By Purpose (Source: Department of Lands and Survey, 1991)

Purpose	Number	%Total
Residential Leases	147	75.0
Agricultural Leases	19	9.7
Business Leases	30	15.3
All Leases	196	100.0

The data show clearly that most leases are taken out for residential purposes. With greater affluence among women, many are investing their excess income on constructing houses either for themselves or for renting, Business leases are also on the increase as more women, capitalising on the Government’s loan incentives to small businesses, become entrepreneurs. According to a spokesperson in the Lands and Survey Department, both trends will continue. He stated, however, that the number from fathers, brothers, and other male relatives is ten times the official figure.

c) Women in the Economic Sector

The roles of women have certainly been transformed by the cash economy. While women have continued with tapa making, mat weaving, oil-making, light agricultural work, lagoon and reef fishing and looking after children, etc., they are also now involved in many other activities which were not permitted or available to them in the old order. The Emancipation Edict of 1862 released lower ranked women not only from bondage to their chiefs and chiefly women but from much of the restrictions on their women but from much of the restrictions on their activities. It gave them the freedom of choice.
However, despite the greater involvement of women in the economic sector, they still have a long way to go to catch up with the men. Despite a near equitable educational opportunities at all levels, ‘more than twice as many males were in paid employment than females’. The vast majority of the non-economically active population were female engaged in ‘home duties’. Unemployment figures for females were far higher than men, particularly in the younger age group (15-19 where the ‘female rate at this age-group is even higher at more than 50%’ (Statistics Department: Unpublished Manuscript, 1991:27).

Part of the difficulty in computing the involvement of women in the economic sector relates to women’s access to land. As shown by a number of studies (Needs, 1988; Hardaker et at, 1987; Moengangongo, 1986), the roles individuals play in economic production, particularly in the rural areas relate significantly to access to land. As also mentioned in previous sections, women’s access to land traditionally, and in modern Tonga, is controlled by men: father, brother, husband, or other male relatives. Her agricultural activities, therefore, whether for subsistence or cash purposes, are by necessity limited and constrained by this fact, and probably accounts for the large number of women who work on the land only part-time.

However, despite some grave disadvantages, women have achieved some notable gains: they are paid equal wages with men for performing the same work and are entitled to exactly the same rights and privileges; promotions are largely based on merit and women can compete on an equal basis with men for job opportunities; female civil servants are now granted paid maternity leave of one month (C.D. No. 851 of 3 June 1987), which is more generous than many developed countries. Figures released by the International Women’s Rights Action Watch revealed that less than five per cent of big corporations in the US allow their women employees more than a week’s paid maternity leave.

d) Health Care and Women

The socio-economic indicators as well as the Health Care Indicators and Health Status and Quality of Life indicators as provided by the Ministry of Health for the whole population for 1989 demonstrate that the women of the country are well-looked after. The percentage of babies delivered by trained personnel is 95%. The percentage of children immunised against diptheria, tetanus, whooping cough, measles, poliomyelitis, tuberculosis and pregnant women immunised against tentanus ranged from 88 to 91%. Local Health Care, including the availability of at least 20 essential drugs within one hour’s walk or travel, is available to 100% of the population. The percentage of children up to at least one year of age given routine child care by trained health personnel is 95%. The percentage of pregnant women with at least three visits for antenatal care is 95 %. The percentage of the population served with safe water is 100%, and the percentage of the population with adequate sanitary facilities is 70.38%. The percentage of newborn infants with at least a birthweight of 2,500 grams is 98%. The percentage of children with weight for age that corresponds to the approved reference values is 98.4%. In 1989, there were no reported cases of diptheria, tetanus, poliomyelistis or neonatal tetanus. There was only one reported case of whooping cough, 2 cases of tuberculosis and 25 cases of measles. In fact, there has been no reported death from neonatal tetanus or a new case of diptheria for the last twelve years (1978-1989). All in all, it would appear that the health care in Tonga is adequate and that would include the health of mothers and women in general.

e) Educational Opportunities for Women

At the primary level the distribution between the two sexes has been a consistent 53% to 47% in favour of the males since 1980 as the following table shows. The distribution of the two sexes at the secondary level is more or less the same but the percentage for girls tend to be slightly higher than at the primary level as shown in Table 15. In fact, the girls predominate at the Tonga School Certificate Examination (sat at Form 5 level or year 5 of secondary schooling) where they make up 55% of the total number of candidates. It is only at Form 6 level (University Entrance level) that boys predominate again but girls still make up 44-46% of the candidates. It is interesting to note that girls appear to perform better at both levels. At the primary level the percentage of boys required to repeat at each level is 62.8% compared to 37.2% for girls. In the Form 6 examination (Pacirfic Senior School Certificate), of the 137 candidates (out of 700) who qualified by the minimal aggregate grades to Form 7, 46% were girls, but when those who failed to qualify in English were removed, 52% of those who remained were girls. The same results were repeated in 1990. Of the 145 (out of 632) candidates who qualified by minimal grades 46% were females, but when those who failed to qualify in English were deducted, 52% of those who fully qualified were girls.
But despite the superior performance of the girls at the lower rungs of the educational ladder, they are less well-represented at tertiary levels and in post-secondary education. At post-secondary level, they are still managing to keep the percentage in the forties but at university level they are significantly less represented (only 35 per cent).

f) The Legal Rights of Women

The Legal rights of men and women differ markedly in some aspects. The Tongan Nationality Act (Acts of Nos. 6 of 1915, 11 of 1935, 7 of 1959, 4 of 1961, 5 of 1961, 20 of 1984, 30 of 1988) applies differently to men and women. Any person may be deemed a Tongan subject if his/her father is a Tongan, even those born abroad of a father born in Tonga. Only the children of unwed Tongan mothers can claim the same privilege. Under the terms of this Act, the children of women in Tonga, unless they are born out of wedlock are automatically assumed to attain the nationality of their fathers. With regards to marriages, both men and women have the same rights to enter freely into marriage and the same rights to seek a divorce. There are no provisions for maintenance of divorced wives or settlements. The court may also ‘make such orders as appears just with respect to the custody maintenance and education of the children of the marriage.’ According to the Crown Counsel, the invariable practice of the Court is to grant the mother custody of the children except in very exceptional circumstances. In fact, she could recall only one case in which custody was awarded to the father (Divorce Act: Acts No. 10 of 1927, 15 of 1944, 8 of 1953, 7 of 1960, and 39 of 1988).

Registration of illegitimate births is covered under the Marriage and Registration Act. Whereas any of the parents can register a child born out of wedlock, the law does not require the name of the father unless the information is provided at the ‘joint request of the mother and the person acknowledgeing himself to be the father of such child’, in which case he signs the register together with the mother. The maintenance of such children is protected under the terms of The Maintenance of Illegitimate Children Act (Acts Nos. 10 of 1906, 19 of 1962, and 7 of 1955). The Maintenance of Deserted Wives Act (Acts Nos. 17 of 1916, 8 of 1966, 15 of 1987 and 9 of 1989) stipulates that in the case of proven neglect or refusal to maintain his wife and children, the court may order a husband to pay his wife a weekly sum or to supply his wife and children with food, clothing and other necessities or to provide accommodation in accordance with his means or ‘make any other order as in the circumstances of the case may seem just and proper’. A husband who is under such a court order cannot leave the country and if he persists in disregarding such court orders his tax and town allotment will be taken from him and awarded to his wife and their children for their support. A woman, however, can only apply and be granted such orders if she has not been proven guilty of adultery.
The Criminal Offences Act (Acts No. 10 of 1924, 21 of 1926, 7 of 1929, 5 of 1930, 5 of 1931, 6 of 1935, 15 of 1935, 12 of 1936, 7 of 1939, 4 of 1942, 24 of 1942, 13 of 1943, 7 of 1944, 4 of 1948, 5 of 1948, 5 of 1949, 23 of 1950 6 of 1952, 6 of 1954, 9 of 1956, 12 of 1957, 13 of 1957, 9 of 1958, 13 of 1958, 14 of 1958, 9 of 1959, 7 of 1962, 16 of 1962, 20 of 1966, 19 of 1978, and 9 of 1987) encompasses a great many of the legislations relating to women. Section 70 on bigamy applies equally to both sexes. Section 71 forbids any person to keep a brothel and ‘every male person who knowingly lives wholly or in part on the earnings of prostitution shall be liable to imprisonment.’ Those impersonating a female for immoral purposes are punishable by law and the police have the authority to arrest anyone without a warrant suspected on reasonable grounds to be soliciting for immoral purposes. Sections 94 to 96 deal with abortion. Anyone, ‘with intent to procure the miscarriage of any woman or girl – (a) administers to or causes to be taken by her any drug or other noxious thing; or (b) unlawfully uses any instrument or other means whatever, shall be liable to imprisonment for any period not exceeding seven years.’ The expecting mother guilty or such an offence is liable to a prison sentence of more than three years, and the procurer or supplier is also liable to imprisonment for a period not exceeding four years. A person who ‘entices any married woman to desert her husband’ is also liable to a fine not exceeding $500 pa’anga or imprisonment for a period not exceeding six months (Section 108). Section 9 covers rape, which is punishable by imprisonment for any term not exceeding fifteen years. Tongan law does not recognise domestic rape, and sub-section 2 of the Rape Clause States that ‘carnal intercourse by a man and his wife shall not under any circumstances be deemed rape.’ The statement has been amended (No. 9 of 1987) to make an exception in cases where sexual favours have been withdrawn by due process of law, as in the cases of separated and divorced women. Also punishable under the law are: attempted rape (imprisonment not exceeding ten years) (Section 110); carnal knowledge of any girl under 12 years (imprisonment not exceeding life) (Section 111); attempt to have carnal knowledge of a girl under 12 years of age (imprisonment not exceeding ten years) (Section 112); indecent assault on any female (imprisonment not exceeding two years) (Section 114); indecent assault on child under 12 years (imprisonment not exceeding five years) (Section 115; procuring of any girl or woman under 21 years of age (not being of known immoral character) for her defilement (imprisonment not exceeding five years) (Section 116); procuring any woman or girl for her defilement by use of threats, etc. (imprisonment not exceeding four years) (Section 117); abduction of any woman of any age (imprisonment not exceeding seven years) (Section 118); and abduction of girls under the age of fourteen years (imprisonment not exceeding five years). In the cases of girls under age or insane, the law does not accept a plea of consent as an adequate defence nor a belief as to her age or sanity.

The Section on Assault (104) does not differentiate domestic violence from other forms of assault. There are no records either of domestic violence only. According to the Police Department, many cases of domestic violence are reported but very few actually get into court. The differences between the two parties are usually settled out of court. The most common offence against the person is assault followed by bodily harm. According to the Police Department, very few of these reported cases were offense against women. The most common were those committed while under the influence of alcholol, and these were most often directed against other men. The worst offenders were young people between the ages of 15 and 25, and these offences were committed commonly outside of the domestic scene. It would appear then from the information provided by the police that the incidence of domestic violence against women in Tonga is not a serious problem. However, other researchers in the field, such as James (personal communication), have claimed that the incidence of domestic violence against women is on the increase and is by no means confined to the economically and socially deprived but is to be more commonly found among the elite and the educated middle-class. The Crown Counsel (personal communication) supports his claim and stated that many women of this level have approached her for counseling in their marital difficulties and to discuss the possibilities of divorce proceedings although they never do follow through. She attributed the increase in such incidents to the fact that many working husbands are finding it very difficult to cope with the professional success of their wives or their increasing economic independence. Many of the men also working at the top executive levels are also suffering from what one woman cal ‘power shock’. These are usually quite young men who have been given very high powered responsibilities at too young an age, when they have neither the experience nor the emotional maturity to cope with the pressures and privileges of their jobs. They often seek relief in alcohol, and wife-beating is too often a logical extension.

6. CONCLUSION

6.1 From these discussions, it can be said that the changes brought by Christianity, law, health services, education and a monied economy have had largely beneficial effects on the vast majority of women in Tonga who were of the tu’a level. Most are now in a position to control the disposition of their goods and services. They continue to create for their own uses and their kin those items which in the old days were property or the prerogative of chiefs, such as tapa cloths, scented coconut oil and fine mats. Although their rights and privileges were not recognised and institutionalised either in the church or bureaucratic systems, something of their original mystical association with the ancient gods and being their guardians of the sacred heritage of the nation have lingered sufficiently in the collective values, memories and practices of the society to award women special prerogatives in these spheres which no amount of legislation could have granted or enforced without the consent of the males who thereby become disadvantaged. Both chiefly and commoner women have retained in various forms the privileges of the fahu system (Rogers, 1977; James, 1988). The fahu system, despite the odds, has survived the changes wrought in Tongan society by imported institutions and values.

6.2 But despite these comforting statements, the reality is that women still have little opportunities to participate in the decision-making processes at all levels of the society. Table 3 below shows that only 29 per cent of women employed in the Civil Service are likely to have opportunities to participate in decision-making in spite of the fact that some 43 per cent of all Civil Service employees are women. It was only this year that a woman has been appointed to Level 1 of the Civil Service, and then only after a complaint was lodged against the Cabinet’s decision. Despite too, the evident superior performance of girls at all levels of the education system, girls have been able to gain only 35 per cent of scholarships. Perhaps, the figure is not surprising when it is noted that apart from the Acting Secretary of the National Scholarships Committee, who has no voting privileges, all other permanent members are males. A situation which is repeated in most Government boards and committees, quasi-government members are males. A situation which is repeated in most Government boards and committees as well as church boards and committees. These are the institutions which determine policies, control funds, and allocate rewards within the society. I believe that in order for women to develop the skills necessary for the effective implementation of the democratic process, they must be given the opportunities to experience and participate in the decision-making processes. They must be appointed to boards, and committees; which are responsible for determining policies, control funds, and allocate rewards within the society. The educational data have amply demonstrated that women are capable and willing and able. The only remaining factor is the goodwill, acceptance and support of the males of the nation, whether at the executive and law enactment levels of government, departmental and divisional levels, quasi-government organisation levels, church levels or even family levels. The American historian Samuel Eliot Morison who wrote the Oxford History of the American People sated that:

According to the natural history of revolutions, we would expect the American Confederation to fall apart, or that the army or some outstanding leader would set up a military despotism. What actually happened was the establishment of government under law. The reasons for this noteworthy outcome, lie, first, in the political experience of Americans…

Secondly, they believed in the importance of political institutions as a guarantee of liberty… Moreover, the principles of the American Revolution were essentially conservative; the leaders were thinking of preserving and building something new and different. As John Dickinson said… ‘Experience must be our only guide, reason may mislead us.’ (Morison, 1965:270)

I am firmly convinced that unless there is concerted effort on the part of every male in the nation who wields power and authority at whatever level of the society to acknowledge and promote strengths and unique qualities that women have contributed to the development of this nation and can accord future developmental activities, we will have been wasting our time here this week. The question is not a matter of structural change but merely changes in attitudes and behaviour.

Home | About Us | Media Releases | Articles | Forms & Brochures | Contact Information

Designed and Hosted by