Opposition Leader and Member of Parliament (MP) for Aoke Langalanga, Matthew Wale, has thrown his full support behind the establishment of Temporary Special Measures (TSM) to increase women’s representation in provincial governments.
Wale made his position clear during a panel discussion at the Women’s Political Participation Forum held at the Heritage Park Hotel on Wednesday.
The forum was held under the theme “Addressing Financial and Cultural Barriers that Limit Women’s Political Participation in Solomon Islands” and aimed to provide a platform for dialogue, knowledge sharing and action planning to strengthen women’s participation in politics.
“When TSM first came to Cabinet, I was in Cabinet in 2009,” Wale said.
“Two men fought over the issue.”
He said divisions over TSM existed even then, but stressed that opposition to the policy was not based on sound policy grounds.
“There is no policy objection to TSM. It is more about emotions and emotional control,” he said.
Wale acknowledged that pushing for TSM has been difficult but urged women not to give up.
“Although TSM looks hard, don’t give up on it,” he said.
“Keep pushing it and eventually you’ll push it over the line. We will push it over the line.”
He said he supports any initiative that enhances women’s political leadership, noting that in previous elections he defeated three women candidates who contested against him.
Wale said many objections to women’s political participation are rooted in cultural attitudes rather than policy concerns.
“That’s who we are as a society, because our leaders are typical samples of our society, and we have to work with that,” he said.
He suggested that introducing TSM at the Honiara City Council and provincial government levels would be a good starting point.
“Over time, people will be persuaded that women can be good leaders,” he said.
Wale also pointed to countries such as Rwanda, where women make up about 50 percent of Parliament, as an example Solomon Islands could aspire to.
He encouraged women candidates to join political parties, stressing that government policies are driven by parties, not individuals.
“The policy of government comes from political parties,” he said.
