Sistas, Let's Talk

Family is so important to across the Pacific, and while many traditions are similar like the feasts, and the singing and dancing, every family has its own special things to look forward to at Christmas. In the last episode for 2024, Sistas, Let's Talk celebrates family gatherings with Seiuli Salamasina von Reiche who is going home to Samoa for the festive season and Aggie Tupou who will celebrate in Australia, a long way from her extended family.

For proud Samoan Fa'afafine and trans woman of colour, Amao Leota Lu, Islander food and church hymns kept her connected to her Samoan heritage whilst growing up in Australia. And then there's the heart bells that rang when Amao journeyed back to Samoa after many years away; where seeing her beloved Fa'afafine community proudly represented on billboards and in influential roles across society couldn't stop her from smiling. Sistas Let's Talk discusses connection — but also isolation, when living in a Pacific diaspora.

For arts scholar and curator, Aunty Sana Reana Balai, living as part of the Pacific Island diaspora in Australia offered her new opportunities – and challenges. Carving out a new life abroad where she rarely saw other Pacific Islanders, Aunty shares stories on how she kept herself grounded and connected to culture, whilst removed from her beloved homeland of Buka Island, in Bougainville. And how her yearning to see other Black people led her to an Olympic legend.

Matilda Sweman thinks deeply about education. Particularly for girls in Papua New Guinea. That's because she went to school just after her country gained independence, at a time when very few girls were being educated. She went on to become a primary school teacher in the East Sepik region for almost two decades, and now she's an author and a lecturer in teaching at the Papua New Guinea Education Institute. On Sistas Let's Talk, Natasha Meten speaks to Matilda Sweman about educating girls, working with limited resources and thanking her father for sending her to school.

For many girls in the Pacific, talking about menstruation, sex and childbirth is so taboo that their mothers are not the ones to explain it to them. But understanding sex is vital for so many reasons. If you don't know about sex, you can't know about sexually transmitted infections and unwanted pregnancies. So how can we encourage people to have more open conversations about sex? This week on Sistas Let's Talk, Natasha Meten speaks to Rachael Tommbe from the Meri Lida Project, a program that trains women in peri-urban communities to talk about sexual reproductive health, so that they can share this vital information with their peers in rural villages. She also speaks to Youth Nursing Officer Primrose Famane about why women should seek help if they experience painful sex.

The Pacific region, has some of the highest rates of gender-based abuse in the world. Far too many women suffer physical and sexual violence at the hands of a family member or a former spouse. But domestic abuse is not just physical. It can come in the form of emotional abuse — like controlling behaviour, isolation, and insults intended to damage a woman's state of mind. This week on Sistas Let's Talk, Natasha Meten speaks to survivor and advocate Alicia Sahib, human rights defender Anne Pakoa and Renata Nataf from the Bible Society of the South Pacific.

You probably know about the last moments of the Rainbow Warrior. But what do you know about the Greenpeace ship's last voyage before it was bombed by the French in New Zealand in 1985? Where had it come from, why was it there and what was it doing? Find out in The Last Voyage of the Rainbow Warrior.

When you educate a woman you educate a nation, however, in many parts of the Pacific it's still difficult to access a good education, because of distance, or the cost, or even family obligations. And when parents have to choose whether their sons or daughters will go to school, girls are still missing out. Fortunately, that is changing as more young parents are graduating from high school and university and bringing their knowledge back to their villages and communities. This week Sistas Let's Talk speaks to business and training leader Susil Nelson-Kongoi, education analyst Anne Pakoa and university students Leah Lowonbu and Yuri Hosei about the importance and challenges of keeping girls in school.

Debbie Kaore was a well-known athlete in Papua New Guinea, but behind the scenes she was one of the many women in her country going through domestic violence. When her partner hit her with a hot iron she let her friends share a video of her injuries. Debbie tells Natasha Meten on Sistas Let's Talk why she wanted the world to know what she was going through.

Getting to the Olympics is no easy feat. Especially when you're from Pacific Island nations that don't always have the professional sporting facilities and funding to support you in your training. We meet three women who dedicated their time and efforts to achieve excellence in sport and at the same time, have pushed the boundaries and narratives of the role of women in their countries. Hear from Yuri Hosei, a swimmer from Palau, Ellie Enock a parathlete shot-putter from Vanuatu and Leonie Beu a sprinter from Papua New Guinea.

Growing up in the Pacific Island culture, one of the many commandments we have to live by is to respect our elders. At times this means dealing with certain members of family that we just have to tolerate for the rest of our lives - - our overbearing aunties.But, of course, we do more than just, tolerate them. We adore them, we look up to them, and we love them. And most of all, we obey them. ABC broadcasters Seiuli Salamasina von Reiche and Agnes Tupou share what made their aunties so special and how being an aunty has shaped them.

The internet and social media have changed our lives in so many ways. It's connected us to communities and family, helped us express ourselves and share our stories. But there’s also a dark side to using social media that can be unsafe for women. Hear how we can use the internet to grow and connect and at the same time tackle online abuse.

This week we’ve selected some of our favourite episodes that celebrate women taking the lead and doing amazing things for themselves and their communities.

Women are the backbone of society in Papua New Guinea, but when it comes to who has the power to make big decisions, particularly around resources, it's the men who dominate this space. Women are often excluded, dismissed or told to focus on domestic chores. But more and more organisations are actively working with women to empower them with leadership skills to help address climate change.

When Tongan woman Alisi Jack-Kaufusi was diagnosed with ovarian cancer at just 24-years-old, she was in disbelief. The subsequent surgeries and treatments have taken their toll, but, after seven years living with the disease, Alisi is passionate about sharing her story to help raise awareness of ovarian cancer and ensure it gets more resources into research, treatment and prevention.

We discuss the power of self care and community support to help you escape violence and create a path that's healthier and safer.

Women face many challenges, but there are many across the Pacific making it in business and leadership

Florence Swamy's job is to build peace, ranging from working with relocated climate-affected communities to dealing with violence in villages and working with Fiji's military.

Sistas, Let’s Talk is a show for women across the Pacific region.

Sistas, Let’s Talk is a show for women across the Pacific region.