For those of us who live our lives between both cultures, we learn to act appropriately depending on where we are at the time and what we want to achieve.

If we are women, and want to achieve elected office at national level - where of 111 parliamentarians, none is a woman - then we will need to address some very basic issues about our culture.

I know women who are highly educated, indeed some of them my colleagues and my sisters.

They are the classic modern women. In Port Moresby or Australia, they live the modern women they are.

But when they go back to their villages, they take their place as delegated by hundreds of years of customary conventions.

These conventions vary throughout Melanesia but in general you can take it that men are the head and brothers own the land.

And that they consult their brothers, fathers and elders before making decisions that affect the village.

This is where I’m going with this article: in PNG, more than 80% of the voters are rural-based.

They are based where life is governed more by culture than it is by formal law.

Both those who are educated in the Western curriculum and who remain uneducated have one vote each.

Some 80% of our people live in rural areas. People in rural areas dominate PNG elections.

These are voters who have no frame of reference for a range of concepts, perhaps concepts like ‘equality’ or ‘proportionality’ or even ‘democracy’.

Even those people who are educated in the Western, modern, idealistic ways are still very much internally regulated by their cultural upbringing.

Most everyone in PNG has a village they belong to: whether raised there by parents who grew up in it or who, even though urbanised, still feel strong ties to it.

So to win elections in PNG, one has to think, act, and do what the voters tell you.

And this requires a focus on the rural village.

This means female voters have to go back to their villages and communities long before elections, reinforce the relationship and obtain consent from the tribal elders.

Women need the support of men more than women. Women in rural villages do what their husbands tell them. This is the reality.

It's in rural villages where most elections are won or lost, and even in urban areas the influence of traditional culture is powerful

If women in rural areas made their own decisions - or if their decisions were informed by idealistic, modern, Western concepts - we wouldn’t need this conversation.

Women in PNG don’t vote in female MPs.

That is the strongest truth of the culture women candidates will come up against.

Even if women are free to make their own decisions, they will choose men over women. They actually do that.

In an earlier article, Research reveals insights into women candidates, I wrote of conversations with some current Bougainvillean and former PNG female candidates.

When these women were asked about their experiences, they attributed their success to the leadership and influence of men during the campaign phase.

What you might call toxic masculinity is sometimes an asset in elections if women can learn to use it to their advantage.

There is a requirement to study the prevailing cultural imperatives, align your strategies with them, and campaign accordingly.

Don’t ever raise the equality argument. You will not find sympathisers for equality in rural areas, or even in cities for that matter.

But you can take heart, for very many of us want you to win.

I would also urge you to listen carefully to how Papua New Guineans define leadership.

Many will tell you they trust the person who has lived with them in their communities.

They will trust people with the hanmak, who has implemented small projects to improve the community.

Especially during dry seasons or disasters, go out of your way and buy supplies for your village.

Assist in any way you can. It doesn’t have to be a huge contribution. But it will make you ‘visible’. It will keep you engaged.

You should understand that policies and plans do not matter in rural electorates.

To these people, talk is far less important than action. Doing matters much more than saying.

Winning an election is a long, hard road.

You need to know your people. Know your place. Be one with your people and your (village) place. You need their trust. Only then you are in a position to credibly ask for their votes.

Women candidates who have announced they will run for Port Moresby electorates in 2022 (top to bottom, left to right): Tania Bale (Port Moresby North-East, Anna Bais (Port Moresby North West, Michelle Hau'ofa (Port Moresby South), Sylvia Pascoe (National Capital District Regional)

There is no question that we need more women in parliament.

But to win, we need to follow the cultural imperatives that underpin our Melanesian society

If your goal is advocacy, then you don’t have to follow this advice.

After all, you are an independent individual with equality guaranteed by the Constitution.

You don’t need anyone’s permission to do stuff. Not men’s permission. Not your clan’s permission.

But if your goal is winning an election, you must abide by the norms and practices voters have agreed or, more likely, been acculturated to.

This is a socio-cultural venture where you are at the mercy of voters’ decisions. They decide whether you win or lose fate.

The strength of your advocacy is not a factor; the articulation of your cultural understanding is.

When you win, and have the national platform, you then can advocate for change.

It won’t be drastic change because you don’t want to risk losing next time, but gradual, incremental change.

It will be a long journey before we reach that idealistic, modern, Western form of democracy and equality - especially in popular elections where all can choose and all can vote.

So for now, women will have to take the long route.

Some people will ask what the role is here for corruption, foul play, intimidation or violence - offences committed mostly by men.

The truth is that until we have demonstrably free and fair elections, you need men’s support to help you get past these problems.

And yes, at times, they may even commit these offences for you. A bitter and even frustrating truth.

Urban seats will in all likelihood be slightly different from rural seats.

However the role of men in the prospects of success for female candidates is still very important. Even in urban PNG, culture prevails.

Now this has been my personal take on things but, where I come from, this is pretty much the truth.

Michael Kabuni - "If your goal is winning an election, you must abide by the norms and practices to which voters have been acculturated"

Further reading….

Research reveals insights into women candidates by Michael Kabuni

Ipatas leads charge to get women into parliament by Michael Kabuni

Election ’22: Can their political legacy get women into parliament? by Theresa Meki

The life of a woman in PNG politics by Dame Carol Kidu

Women's political participation in Papua New Guinea by Geejay Milli (free downloadable PDF)

Improving women’s participation in PNG politics by Anthony Swan & Grant Walton