The Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC), through the
Union des Femmes Francophones d’Océanie (Union of Francophone Pacific
Women), which includes French-speaking women organizations from French
Polynesia, Wallis and Futuna, Vanuatu and New Caledonia, convened a
meeting to discuss women’s civil rights within the framework of
customary and common law, in Noumea, New Caledonia.
According to
SPC, people from one of the eight Kanak nations in New Caledonia have
their entitlements defined by their specific status, with specific
impacts on women. Those under customary status do not have access to the
common law system and the judicial systems can be confusing.
At
the event, testimonies of Kanak women about adoption, divorce and
domestic violence were presented to a panel of customary assessors,
common law practitioners (including judges, lawyers and academics),
social workers and representatives of civil society organizations. Other
testimonies showed common gender inequities, as well as the
difficulties women experienced while attempting to access the law.
SPC
reported that the customary assessors believe traditional institutions
are protective of women’s rights, but that they admitted that they are
not equipped to address the reality of today’s circumstances. the event
revealed that many women are unaware of their rights.
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