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6 - Women Speak for Land

Disrupting and Re-forming Property and Authority

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 January 2023

Rebecca Monson
Affiliation:
Australian National University, Canberra
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Summary

Solomon Islanders often refer to the idea that women may not, cannot and do not speak about land matters, and it is clear that the recursive constitution of property and authority not only sediments land control, but state norms and institutions, as (hyper)masculine domains. Yet it is equally clear that women do ‘speak’, and this chapter focuses on collaborative efforts to disrupt dominant understandings of property, territory and political authority and assert more expansive practices. This chapter argues that first, an analytical emphasis on state-sanctioned property reinforces the dominant portrayal of gender relations in the region, according to which women are silenced and victims of their culture and religion, and reproduces material inequalities. Second, the political strategies actually used by women, which appear to resonate elsewhere in the region, suggest that custom and Christianity provide greater scope to contest the terms of property, territory and authority than is generally recognised. This has important implications for understanding the ways in which property might be challenged and re-formed.

Type
Chapter
Information
Gender, Property and Politics in the Pacific
Who Speaks for Land?
, pp. 208 - 234
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2023

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  • Women Speak for Land
  • Rebecca Monson, Australian National University, Canberra
  • Book: Gender, Property and Politics in the Pacific
  • Online publication: 19 January 2023
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108953672.007
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  • Women Speak for Land
  • Rebecca Monson, Australian National University, Canberra
  • Book: Gender, Property and Politics in the Pacific
  • Online publication: 19 January 2023
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108953672.007
Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • Women Speak for Land
  • Rebecca Monson, Australian National University, Canberra
  • Book: Gender, Property and Politics in the Pacific
  • Online publication: 19 January 2023
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108953672.007
Available formats
×