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On his Asia-Pacific trip, Pope Francis also visited Papua New Guinea. There, the Pontiff called for more respect for women, who suffer from the country's rigid traditions, limited opportunities for advancement – and are often exposed to sexual violence.
The Caritas School in Port Moresby, shortly before the Pope is due to arrive. The students are rehearsing the songs they will soon sing. Children and young people from all over Papua New Guinea go to school here, some of them live in the adjacent boarding school.
Some are former street children, others come from more affluent families, says Pearl. She is in the eleventh grade at the technical school here, loves the lessons. And has a big dream: she wants to become an engineer and go to Australia. Not an easy goal for a woman here in Papua New Guinea, she knows that. “It is very difficult, we have very rigid traditions here in Papua New Guinea. But now times are changing, women are becoming more and more independent.”
Forced marriage and Witch hunt
But women still have much worse chances than men: they are completely underrepresented in important positions and play hardly any role in politics. Physical violence against women is very common, and in some parts of the country forced marriages and witch hunts still occur.
And so the Pope also called for more respect for women at a meeting with government representatives in Papua New Guinea: It is women who drive a country forward, said Francis.
“You have to be strong to make it”
One person who has managed to assert herself in this male-dominated world is Annett. She is the principal of a Catholic school for boys on the outskirts of Port Moresby – the first woman to run this school, she says. She had a very hard time being accepted in the first year.
“You have to stand up for yourself and you have to be strong to make it. What is typical for Papua New Guinea, here you have to be strong in what you do. If you start thinking: I am a woman, then that will not help you in your career,” says Annett. But she comes from a matrilineal society, which means that the land belongs to women and is passed down from mother to daughter. “We make the decisions and the men announce them. Because I come from this society, it is perhaps easier for me to work in a boys' school,” says Annett.
“Life situation has worsened”
Annett belongs to the Tolai people and originally comes from the province of East New Britain. Papua New Guinea is not one-dimensional, not just misogynistic, bad or dangerous, she says and smiles. With hundreds of islands and over 800 languages, that's not surprising. You can tell that she loves her country full of contrasts, full of apparent contradictions. But she also says that the living conditions of the people have worsened in recent years.
“They can't meet their basic needs. They can't pay their bills, they can't send their children to school, they can't even get a meal a day for their children,” says Annett. “They can't pay for bus tickets. There are these people.” And some of them then go astray, she says. They believe the easiest way to get money is to steal from people or rob them.
Alcohol, drugs and crime
Crime is not only high in the capital Port Moresby – but also in other parts of the country. In addition, there are repeated tribal wars in the highlands of Papua New Guinea – beautiful areas, says Annett, who was a teacher in the highlands for a long time. She can only agree with the Pope when, at the meeting with government representatives, he appealed to everyone's sense of responsibility so that the spiral of violence can finally be broken.
And she herself tries to improve the living situation of her students at her school: “Some have no money, others are tempted to abuse drugs or alcohol or are bullied – because of the environment in which they live,” says Annett. Some don't have something to eat every day, they struggle with it. And that's why they offer breakfast at their school.
The Catholic Church supports her, she says, as does a partner school from Australia. But even so: “Teaching is not easy at a school where even textbooks are missing: in some subjects, ten students have to share a single book.”
