12 Dec 2016

Fa'afafine lawyer, discrimination a post-colonial mindset

7:31 pm on 12 December 2016

Samoa's fa'afafine still face discrimination, much of it as a result of colonisation.

Guests pose during the Samoa Fa’afafine Association's(SFA) Fa’afafine Industry Variety Awards (FIVA) held on Friday 09-12-2016.

Guests pose during the Samoa Fa’afafine Association's(SFA) Fa’afafine Industry Variety Awards (FIVA) held on Friday 09-12-2016. Photo: Samoa Fa'afafine Association/Malaki Iakopo, Yuki Kihara, Anto Tufuga

That's according to the legal advisor to the Fa'afafine Association, Alex Su'a.

Last week's Samoa Fa'afafine Week saw a continued focus by Samoa's so-called third gender on advocating for equal rights.

Samoa's prime minister Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi told a forum during the week that all people are the same in the eyes of God, but Mr Sua says much that fa'afafine face is mired in post-colonial mindsets.

"There are a lot of conversations going round about the continued need to decolonise our minds and our mindsets and our practices. There's always going to be tension between the sort of traditional indigenous reference points and what we've learned to kind of adopt as our culture now basically through church teachings and the bible and through colonisation," Alex Su'a.

Alex Su’a, lawyer and legal advisor to the Samoa Fa’afafine Association.

Alex Su’a, lawyer and legal advisor to the Samoa Fa’afafine Association. Photo: Samoa Fa'afafine Association

Samoa Fa'afafine Week's theme was 'Persevere in Life and serve with Love' and included events promoting human rights awareness and HIV prevention education.

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