Sistas, Let's Talk Radio Australia

So many women in the Pacifc put up with persistent pain. It might be because they can't access the care they need. Or they can't afford to take time off work. Or it could be that women are conditioned to be stoic and put other people's needs before their own.

So how do they get up every day and endure such pain? And more importantly, what needs to change so that they can actually stop and get the rest and the treatment that they need?

When Maakarita Paku was growing her family in the 1990s, it was a time of renaissance for Aotearoa's Maori people.

People like her were looking to their mothers and grandmothers to learn about the rituals that enabled women to endure the pain and risk of bringing new life into the world.

And she was one of many women who wanted to bring their children into a family that practiced those rituals.

Now, as more and more midwives are being trained to incorporate culture into safe birthing practices, Maakarita works as a Consumer Reviewer for the New Zealand College of Midwives – in other words, a traditional Maori Birth advocate.

Bringing a baby into the world is one of the most important things a woman can do, and for millennia this experience has been shrouded in rituals designed to keep both the mother and baby safe.

But in the 21st century, ancient birthing traditions have given way to lifesaving medical support.

This week, Sistas Let's Talk examines the contrasting experiences of Pacific women in developing counties and colonised countries.

In one place there are women who feel so disconnected from their culture that they seek out a traditional birthing experience, and in the other, the fight is to access modern medicine.

Life is easier for everyone when the household chores are done, but in most cases only half of the population is actually doing them.

Women do 80 per cent of the unpaid labour in the Pacific. Work like childcare, domestic duties and caring for neighbours. And it's impacting their ability to make a paid living.

 It's been this way for decades so when and how is it going to change?

All over the world, dating apps have changed the way people get together, but is that happening in the Pacific?

Or are there just too many logistical and cultural barriers for online dating to take hold in the region?

When Natasha Yalo, a woman from Papua New Guinea living in Cairns, went looking for love on a dating app she found it hard to meet men from her culture.

So she decided to try creating her own app especially for people from PNG.

This edition of Sista's Let's Talk was a repeat of the program broadcast on 15th June 2023

Casting a light-skinned woman to play a brown character in a Disney movie is one version of colourism, but in the Pacific it's just the tip of the iceberg.

Polynesian voices have managed to find their way to the mainstream - even though it is still problematic - but has that been at the expense of people from the Melanesian and Micronesian regions?

Surely there's space for all of us to represent and tell our stories.