The 'Pawa Meri' Project

Abstract

In late 2011 I was in the process of planning a research project which involved producing six films about leading Papua New Guinean women. I asked a colleague whether there were any women she would recommend. her response was swift and discouraging. Her assumption appears to have been that in making these films and putting particular women forward as role models, I was motivated by a desire to show Papua New Guineans what to aspire to and to 'do development'. Was my desire to make these films motivated by misguided benevolence? Did celebrating particular kinds of women reflect problematic assumptions about the kinds of women who were worth honouring? And to what extent would my perceptions about the great women of PNG be different from local perspectives?