Born in Misima and one of 17 children, Abaijah began working in the Department of Public Health after leaving school, becoming a health education specialist.[2] She also attended the University of London, where she obtained a diploma.[2] She also played netball for the Papua New Guinea territory team, becoming vice-captain.[2]
She contested the Central Provincial seat in the 1972 elections, becoming the first woman to win a seat in the House of Assembly, and only the second female legislator in Papua New Guinea after Doris Booth (who had been an appointed member in the 1950s). Abaijah was the only woman elected at that time.[3] After being elected, she founded and led the Papua Besena movement, which agitated unsuccessfully for Papua to become a separate independent country instead of being linked with New Guinea as Papua New Guinea.[2][4]
Asked by the Pacific Journalism Review for her opinion as to why there were (in 1995) no women in Papua New Guinea's Parliament, she stated:
I maintain that I will not give money to somebody to vote for me. So I think that's one big reason. The men can get money, the men can bribe. We are finding it very difficult for women to go around bribing people. I think this is where the country is going nowhere because here there is a lot of bribes, there is a lot of corruption, something that women don't want in this country.[6]
However, Abaijah returned to parliament after winning the Milne Bay Provincial seat in 1997,[7] unseating Tim Neville. She lost the seat to Neville in the 2002 elections.
Her autobiography, A Thousand Coloured Dreams, was published in 1991.[8]
References
^Brij V. Lal, Kate Fortune. The Pacific Islands: An Encyclopedia. Published by University of Hawaii Press, 2000. pg 297.
^Sepoe, Orovu, "To make a difference: Realities of women’s participation in Papua New Guinea politics", Development Bulletin, no. 59, 2002, page 40 (Electronic versionArchived 2009-09-13 at the Wayback Machine)
