Josephine Abaijah

Dame Josephine Abaijah GCL, DBE (b. 1944 in Misima, Papua New Guinea) was the first woman to be elected to the Papua New Guinea House of Assembly in 1972. With a background in health care and administration, she was totally committed to the welfare and interests of the Papuan people, and to preservation of their way of life. She despised the Australian colonial administration which she regarded as racist and incompetent, and went on to found and lead the Papua Besena movement which agitated for Papua to become a completely independent country on its own instead of becoming an independent country linked with New Guinea - Papua New Guinea, as it has indeed become.

Her autobiography "A Thousand Coloured Dreams" (pub. Longmans, 1991) is described as a compelling mix of Papuan politics, Australian incompetence and insincerity, and word pictures of the colour and beauty of an under-rated island nation.

External links

*http://www.png-gossip.com/news/g050916.html