* “Wāhine” is Māori for “women.” There is no exact English translation for “mana,” but for the sake of explaining the Inquiry’s title we can regard mana as “status” or “esteem” (to abuse or belittle one’s mana is a serious charge).  In the context of this inquiry “kaupapa” (also without a direct English translation) can be described as “topic” or “subject.”

On 20 December 2018, the Chairperson of the Waitangi Tribunal (Tribunal) in New Zealand initiated the Mana Wāhine Kaupapa Inquiry (Inquiry). The Inquiry is based on a claim made in 1993 by 16 prominent Māori women which alleged prejudice as a result of the British Crown’s (Crown) breaches of the Treaty of Waitangi (Treaty).

The claim in part contends that the Crown had a duty under the Treaty to protect the roles and responsibilities of Māori women (tino rangatiratanga) in Te Ao Māori (the Māori world).

Māori women have a preeminent place in Te Ao Māori, primarily as whare tangata (bearers of life). Birth is sacred to whakapapa (genealogy) which in turn is of paramount importance to all aspects of Te Ao Māori as the continuation of Te Ao Māori relies on it.

The claim and consequent Inquiry both seek to document the oppression of Māori women by the process of colonisation, and the resulting legislation used by the Crown to facilitate that process. It will investigate the actions and policies of the Crown since 1840 which have systematically discriminated against Māori women. The claim has until recently laid dormant, as the hearings for the 1993 claim only just began in February 2021.

THE WAITANGI TRIBUNAL

To provide a brief background to the Tribunal: it was established by the Treaty of Waitangi Act 1975 in order to investigate and address Crown Treaty breaches. It is a legal mechanism by which Māori claimants can make claims in relation to losses they have suffered as a result of said breaches, and its mandate has evolved significantly over time. It covers everything from preservation of Te Reo Māori (Māori language) to securing Māori rights over radio frequencies (the latter which caused a stir with the more conservative leaders of the time, who considered it discriminatory against non-Māori).

 However, it is important to note that the Tribunal’s powers are limited. It can only make recommendations to the Crown, and those recommendations are mostly non-binding (save for recommendations over State Owned Enterprise and Crown forest lands). The Tribunal’s role is prescribed under section 5 of Treaty of Waitangi Act 1975 and so it is, in every sense of the word, a creature of statute.

Incidentally, the Tribunal has typically avoided exercising its binding powers to date. It is difficult to separate the Tribunal’s reluctance to exercise its powers from it having been created by the very entity it is mandated to investigate, and ultimately make findings (and at times recommendations) against.

There are some inherent positives. In light of its various Inquiries and associated historical record-making, the Tribunal can at least be viewed as a repository for the historical Māori experience - a fact-finding mission of sorts. This is fitting and necessary when considering the oral history that has been lost as a result of significant and intentional acts of colonial oppression and suppression.

The Tribunal’s historiographical function will be a useful tool for exposing the Crown’s role in the prejudices and various violations of rights that Māori women have endured, in breach of the Treaty of Waitangi, as it has done in past Inquiries. However, the Tribunal’s potential to chronicle New Zealand history with a more truthful lens is not enough and its impact should not end there.

 As the hearings for the 1993 claim begin, it is a good opportunity to be reminded of and reflect on the current situation for Māori women in New Zealand. In doing so, we can see just how much work there is left to do to address wrongs that are over 180 years in the making. 

MANA WĀHINE & CROWN TREATY BREACHES

Māori women and Māori generally are overrepresented in a number of negative statistics in comparison to their non-Māori counterparts. Overall losses resulting from Crown Treaty breaches are near impossible to quantify and thus fathom, but turning our attention to areas in which Māori women currently suffer is a good place to begin trying to understand outcomes.

In 2019 there was a Māori-led inquiry into New Zealand’s Ministry for Children – Oranga Tamariki, following an attempt by the Ministry to take a baby from its Māori mother. This sparked investigations into the uplifting of children. It was found that in 2019, Māori babies were five times more likely to end up in state care than non-Māori. Dame Naida Glavish, who chaired the governance group overseeing the review, said of the report: “The Crown is not honouring Te Tiriti o Waitangi. There's been unprecedented breaches of human rights and the treatment of Māori women has been inhumane”. However, this one statistic is only the tip of the iceberg. It surfaced against the backdrop of a number of existing concerning statistics pertaining to Māori women.

Māori women make up 64 percent of the female prison population, despite making up only 8.5 percent of the country’s population. This makes them the most incarcerated indigenous women in the world, and the statistic only continues to worsen. In 2014 the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention had already marked Māori incarceration with concern when they made up some 50 percent of the prison population. 

Though research is scarce and infrequent, existing health statistics indicate that Māori women suffer disproportionately in maternal, mental, and physical health. With regard to maternal health, data from 2006-2015 indicates that there is a significantly higher maternal mortality rate among Māori women (26.3 per 100,000 maternities) than that of New Zealand European women (13.5 per 100,000 maternities). In 2018, the infant mortality rate for Māori was 4.9 per 1,000 births, compared with the national rate of 3.8 per 1,000 births.

New Zealand has one of the worst youth suicide rates in the developed world. In 2019 Māori made up 30 percent of all self-harm admissions, and the majority of admissions were young women.  This translates in mental health statistics for adult Māori women. The New Zealand Health Survey between 2013 and 2014 found that Māori women (over 15 years of age) have a significantly higher probability of anxiety or depressive disorders than non-Māori. These findings, though outdated, are the latest available on the Ministry of Health’s website. The imminent report of another Tribunal inquiry - the Health services and Outcomes Inquiry - should hopefully resolve this and provide us with more up-to-date findings in relation to Māori mental health.   

 There is also negative statistical representation of Māori women in economic markers. According to the Ministry for Women datasets, the gender pay gap for Māori women is 15.1 percent compared to the national gap of 9.5 percent. Māori women also face an unemployment rate of around 11 percent, compared with the national rate of 4.5 percent. 

Historically (and contemporarily) the Crown is responsible for a continuous failure to uphold Treaty principles. In the context of Māori women, such failures are self-evident in the deprivation they face in relation to their cultural, economic, and social rights in New Zealand.

RESPECTING THE TREATY

After 28 years, the hearings for the 1993 claim alleging prejudice against Māori women have finally commenced. Though well overdue, the eventual findings should tell the story of the great losses endured by Māori women and re-write the history of New Zealand with Māori perspective and evidence included – something that New Zealand’s historiography has typically repudiated.   

It is hoped that whatever the findings reveal, moving forward the Crown will make better efforts to uphold the principles of the Treaty. To do this, it must ensure Māori participation in decision-making (particularly that which affects Māori themselves); actively preserve and uplift Te Reo Māori me ōna tikanga (Māori language and customs/culture) as a whole; push for more inclusionary policy in all areas; and it must respect Māori autonomy over Māori affairs.

Georgia is a New Zealand qualified lawyer currently working in public law and human rights in London. She has completed internships with UNHCR and with the prosecution at the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia. She holds a Bachelor of Laws and a Bachelor of Arts majoring in History from the University of Otago, and is specifically interested in indigenous rights, racial and gender equality, and refugee law and policy.

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