Surfing in Papua New Guinea - Empowering Women through Surfing

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Nearly 12 months ago I posted about the efforts of the Surfing Association of Papua New Guinea (SAPNG) and their efforts to improve the rights of women in PNG through surfing. Womens rights in PNG are very poor compartive to many other countries across the world so I have decided to post about these issues again to raise greater awareness of this program.

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PNG Surf Trip

I visited PNG 18 months ago on an exciting surfing trip with a group of buddies to experience surfing in a relatively undeveloped country. We travelled to a stretch of the north-west coast of the island country to Tupira Surf Lodge, a short 3 hour flight followed by a bumpy 100km, 3 hour truck ride from town!

The wave is directly out the front of the lodge and is a fantastic right rolling over reef into the local bay. Surfing is a relatively newly found tourist venture in Papua New Guinea (PNG) so to ensure that it is implemented safely and sustainably, the Surfing Association of PNG (SAPNG), with assistance of the government and support from Australia, implemented a Surf Management Plan (SMP). The SMP aims to have a twofold effect of supporting the development of surf clubs and the sport itself whilst also generating a passive income stream for the reef custodians / communities.

In addition the SMP initiatives provide for:

• Recognition of traditional rights
• Growth of community development initiatives
• Fostering good community relations
• Sustainable quotas to avoid surfer overcrowding
• Conservation and awareness of the marine environment
• Tourism awareness benefits and participation (www.sapng.com)

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Pink Nose Empowerment of Women Program

An exciting initiative of the SAPNG has been the introduction of the Pink Nose Empowerment of Women and Anti-violence against Women Program. This program paints the noses of donated surfboards pink, signifying that these are for the exclusive use of women and girls to surf. Traditional beliefs are still very strong in PNG and men hold all high ranking positions with the traditional tribes that still inhabit the country. Violence against women is widespread still in this country. Inhabitants have very little access to amenities that most people take for granted. Malaria is rife throughout the population and I personally saw the effects of the virus when I visited as it knocked two staff members off their feet at the lodge where we stayed.

The program aims to ensure that the girls and women in these communities have access to surfboards which are normally snapped up by the boys in the communities. It also highlights the need for greater education for violence against women and the need for additional services to support the health and wellbeing of the people of PNG. For more information on the program, please visit the website http://www.sapng.com/blog/pink-nose-empowerment-women-and-anti-violence-against-women-program.

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The aim of this post is to bring greater awareness to the struggles of the people of this country and the need for better services and amenities. It also aims to highlight the struggle of womens rights in PNG and the need to better programs being implemented to try and improve conditions for women and girls across the country.

The Pink Nose Empowerment of Women program is a powerful venture, however, they lack access to resources such as leashes, surf wax and fins. Over the next 6 months, I intend to get together a package to send over to the SAPNG to help resource the program. I have sourced some leashes from local companies and intend to continue to look out for bargains when they arise to purchase for the program as well.

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Keep an eye out for some update posts in the months to come as we collect goods for this very powerful and important program in a country where the rights of women lags significantly behind those in more developed countries.

Thanks for reading.

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