“Many of you should consider public service or elected office,” she told an audience of more than 300 people that included Marshall Islands President Litokwa Tomeing and many elected and traditional leaders Monday at the opening of the Women United Together Marshall Islands, or WUTMI, annual weeklong conference.
“You can sit at home and complain or get involved in (creating) solutions,” she said.
Won Pat is Guam’s first female speaker. Guam is a U.S. territory, while the Marshall Islands is independent and closely affiliated with Washington, which provides about 60 percent of its national budget.
Won Pat is visiting the Marshall Islands, which has just one female in the entire 33-seat parliament.
Since constitutional government was established in this former American territory in 1979, there has never been more than one woman in the Marshall Islands parliament.
WUTMI runs voter education programs, raises awareness about widespread physical abuse of women in the country, and operates a “parents as teachers” program focused on giving young mothers child-rearing advice and support.
Won Pat offered a 12-point blueprint to prepare women for public office, saying the fact that most women “are not ready for politics” is not a good excuse to refrain from seeking public office.
“Women often talk themselves out of running for office,” she said. They say they are “not ready, it’s too soon to try to enter a man’s world.”
But, she said, “as women, we bring meaningful, real-life experience to the table. Not being ready is not a good reason (not to run).”
Won Pat said her experience in the Guam Legislature has shown that it is important for women to be their own person.
“Women do not have to be like men to succeed (in politics),” she said. “They should be themselves: determined, motivated and passionate about what they want to achieve.”
But whether Marshall Islands women decide to run for office or to express their community concern in another way, it is important to “lay the groundwork for our daughters to be the next great leaders and afford them the same opportunities as our sons had.”
She explained that if women decide to run for public office they must grapple with people asking how they can do that and take care of their family at the same time.
The long-time Guam educator, who has a Ph.D. in education, wondered why men are not asked the same question.
“The same standards don’t apply to men,” she noted, adding, “we can raise a family, so why can’t women be in politics?”
