Tongan women have a hard time relating to the feminist movement around the world, said Her Majesty Halaevaky Mata'aho, Queen of Tonga.
While Tongan women are traditionally subordinate to men, they actually occupy the more influential roles in the family and society, she said.Mata'aho spoke at Brigham Young University Wednesday as part of an official visit she is making to Utah.
"On behalf of His Majesty King Taufa'ahau Tupou IV and the government and people of Tonga, I would like to take this opportunity to extend toward The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and to Brigham Young University, our heartfelt gratitude for your long-established and very substantial contributions towards the education of the people of Tonga," Mata'aho said.
The Kingdom of Tonga is a group of 150 islands situated in the southwest Pacific near Fiji and Samoa, Mata'aho said. The nation's 100,000 people live on only one-third of those islands that extend about 800 miles from north to south.
"Tonga is one of the most homogenous nations in the world. Almost all of the people are Tongans, and almost all of them are Christians. There is only one national language, namely Tongan. All of the land, since time immemorial, is owned by Tongans," Mata'aho said. The Tongan monarchy has existed since A.D. 900, almost 876 years longer than the United States.
"The traditional organization of Tongan society and its basic concepts and values are directly derived from those of the individual or nuclear families," Mata'aho said. Each family follows a basic organization of clearly defined status, duties, rights and privileges for each family member.
The father is the head of the family. It is his duty to provide security for his wife and children.
The mother is subordinate to the father, but is also considered the anchor and homemaker for the family. As the family anchor, the mother's role is considered the most influential in Tongan society.
"One of the seemingly contradictory features of Tongan society is how to reconcile the subordinate role of the wife to the husband with the fact that she is nevertheless the most influential person in the family," Mata'aho said. "To me, the answer is really quite simple. Whichever member of the family is assigned the awesome responsibilities that the mothers are expected to fulfill, cannot help but become the most influential member of the family. Given this thorough training in human management it is therefore no wonder that Tongan women, when they really put their minds to it, can achieve almost whatever goals they have."
Even the children have their place in society.
Older children are responsible for the welfare of their younger siblings and have authority over them.
The sister is considered superior over the brother. Even when they grow up, the sister has the right to demand goods, services, money or time from her brothers and their offspring.
"Given the pervading preponderance of the family system in Tongan society, it therefore stands to reason that most of the roles that people play will be related to the family system," Mata'aho said.
"The Tongan women probably do not want equality, unless the men become liberated," Mata'aho said.