Haus Man, Let’s Talk About Violence Against Women

For those who don’t know, my name is Michael Kabuni, and ‘Academia Nomad’ is my personal blog. I’m writing this from my heart… appealing to my brothers, uncles, students, male colleagues and men of PNG to respect women, and value their lives.

I’m writing this piece after reading how a professional PNG man who has a PhD killed his wife, rapped her in a canvas, and was on his way to dump her remains when police conducting routine checks discovered her (might make news tomorrow). She is Imelda Tupi Tamanda. This comes after two women were tortured right here in the heart of PNG’s capital – Port Moresby.

Violence against women was supposed to be illegal, uncivilized, and sinful. But it’s obvious that starting from villages where men burn women in the name of sorcery, to tales in settlements and cities, to professional men, in every strata, men are guilty of perpetuating violence and murder against women.

I don’t personally know Imelda, but as a professional working class man, it really hurts to know we lost someone of that caliber. I feel like I lost someone I know.

This afternoon I felt that something within me died. I have a passion for research. I write articles on politics of PNG. But now I feel like I’ve been writing about things that don’t really matter. What good is all the analysis and debate, if women are raped, tortured and murdered each week? What good is education if PhD holders kill women? What good is development when women are tortured in the capital of our city? It all means nothing guys, if we continue to kill our own kind.

Where on God’s green earth can I find an justification for the violence perpetrated against our own kind? How can we, in an era where we send and receive message in an instant; conduct lectures and conferences online; have breakfast in Wewak and have dinner in Daru the same evening….. still perpetuate something as primitive as torturing women? How can we have 97% professed Christians in PNG and still take the life of our women in cold blood murder?

Can we all please stop, and have a serious conversation about the plight of women?

It’s about time MEN HAVE A SERIOUS CONVERSATION ABOUT VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN.

It’s not an UN Women issue. It’s not a women group’s issue. It’s not an NGO issue. It’s not a donor country’s issue. It’s a PNG issue. And when we have a serious issue in our villages and clans and tribes….men talk. PNG men, let’s talk about violence against our women. Let’s end this.

The plight of women must be discussed in the halls of Haus Man. It is a serious matter.

Pastors, preach it using the pulpit that wife bashing is wrong. It’s a SIN.

Lecturers and teachers, condemn it in class.

Young man tell your peers it’s wrong to raise your hands against women.

Chiefs, tell your tribe to respect woman. The conversation must enter the sacred halls of Haus Man.

We must all rise up. Seriously there is no justification to raise your hand against any woman. If you don’t want her, please let her go. Don’t kill her. She’s someone else’s daughter, grand daughter, sister, mother etc.

Make it personal. Say no to violence against women.

I pray to God that we will know and value human life. That we can live in peace. Yumi kilim yumi yet ya. Displa pasin mas stop.

Melanesian Man, Say No To Violence Against Women!