Women in politics deserve all the encouragement they can get, in a male dominated arena. It is great to see Ms Hilary Clinton once more in the headlines now backing Barack Obama. A world away on the tropical island of Vanuatu, in the South Pacific, another woman faces unbelievable odds, in an even more male oriented arena, Mrs Jenny Ligo. Jenny is taking up the challenge to go for her once in a lifetime Blue Moon Opportunity. An opportunity that will completely change her life, no matter the outcome.
Jenny follows in the footsteps of her famous aunty when she was granted a chiefly title by the head of the national Council of Chiefs, Chief Paul Tahi, earlier this year. Jenny had to ceremoniously killing eleven pigs, to gain that honour and in order to enter the brutal field of politics. A feat she also did at her wedding to Joe Ligo late last year, on the island of Pentecost.
Jenny is the niece of political and women’s rights’ activist, Grace Molisa. Jenny’s Aunt became the first woman to hold the post of Private Secretary to the country’s first Prime Minister, Father Walter Lini, after the nation’s Independence, 28 years ago.
It is now only weeks to the general election, in Vanuatu and Mrs Ligo has returned to her home, the tropical island of Ambae. All should have been plain sailing for this courageous lady, as she travelled to most parts of the island on her election campaign. Wrong!
Chief Moli Tari, speaking on behalf of some of the chiefs of the island of Ambae, says that Jenny is not allowed to contest in her home island, according to custom principles. It seems strange that this principle never floated to the surface at Jenny’s pig killing ceremony. Perhaps ancient custom principles of the island change from day to day?
Because of her marriage to Joe Ligo on Penetecost, the Chief told Jenny, she can only contest the Ambae constituency on one condition. She must perform another custom ceremony, by presenting the chiefs with ten tusked pigs.
Now, Jenny can’t just slip out and buy 10 tusked pigs, like going to the supermarket. Pig and their tusks are real currency in parts of Vanuatu. They are the wealth of every village and one of their highly prized possessions.
Pigs, chosen to produce the highly valued tusks, have their top teeth knocked out. The bottom teeth then grow into the coveted curled tusk. It is then necessary for the pig to be hand fed for the remainder of its life and tied up, in order to prevent the animal breaking or damaging the valuable tusks.
Where does Mrs Ligo find the 10 pigs she may have to pay to Chief Moli and his group of chiefs? Particularly as Chief Moli is not a resident of the island of Ambae. Will Jenny have to present the pigs on the island of Ambae, or to the chief residing on the distant island of Santo? Will the pigs have to be flown to the island of choice, for the presentation as going by ship could not be an option.The elections would be over by the time the pigs reached their destination. This may make Vanuatu, one of the first countries in the world, where pigs can fly.
Two more chiefs have now stepped into the political arena. Chief Benwel Garae of North Ambae and Chief Pascal Sese of Lolopuepue. They come from the chiefly rank of Mambuhangvulu, the second highest rank of the Ambae chiefly system. They told the local newspaper in Port Vila, the capital of Vanuatu, the call made by Chief Moli is childish and has no substance.
Jenny would be happy to meet face to face with Chief Moli, but for some unknown reason, Chief Moli, living on the island of Santo, is not available to see Mrs Ligo.
Jenny truly deserves to be congratulated and seen as one of our modern day heroines. Jenny could make a difference in the education of the next generation. A soft spoken mother, with iron strong determination, Jenny will look after the future of the children.
Postscript: Jenny didn’t get elected this time round, so is now planning her next election campaign for four years time. I hope she makes it then. Jenny however, is an inspiration for other women to give it a go in a male orientated society in the tropics. Jenny won’t give up until her Blue Moon Opportunity comes to pass.
Take time out to find out more about the author and a genuine Blue Moon Opportunity at http://winaresort.com
Click Here For The Latest News
Tags: Barak Obama, bride price, ceremonial pig killing, curled pig tusks, dreams, education, fulfil your dreams, Hilary Clinton, local elections, pigs and bride prices, pigs can fly, pigs fly, pigs in local elections, pigs in marriage ceremonies, politics in the South Pacific, South Pacific, tropical island, tropical islands, Vanuatu, women in politics, youme support foundation
One Response to “Pigs May Fly In Local Election”
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
November 6th, 2008 at 9:45 am
[...] Pigs May Fly In Local Election Women in politics deserve all the encouragement they can get, in a male dominated arena. It is great to see Ms Hilary Clinton once more in the headlines now backing Barack Obama. A world away on a tropical island in the South Pacific, another woman faces unbelievable odds, Mrs Jenny Ligo. Jenny followed in her famous Aunty’s footsteps when she was granted a chiefly title by the head of the national Council of Chiefs, Chief Paul Tahi, earlier this year, through ceremoniously killing eleven p [...]