THIS week a community of enlightened citizens and international colleagues bid farewell to the late Enaha Peri Koroi Kwa for eternity.
Enaha was the loving mother of Jolene, Grace, Dika, Rabam and Lekwa, and a beloved wife and soul mate of Associate Professor of Law, Eric Kwa. Enaha, a charming Motuan beauty from Barakau Village, was bestowed a chief by Eric's people from the Siassi Island of Morobe Province.
At the mere age of 37, Enaha was acknowledged to be the most promising champion among the few who stood for and advocated for the rightful place of all women in Papua New Guinea and indeed globally.
As stated in many of the well meaning eulogies, Enaha was loved, respected and accepted in the ever widening circle of gender equity advocators- here in her country as well in the region. Public pronouncements made at the crowded UPNG chapel mourners heard unanimously the ever present sense of the great passion with which the late Enaha has single handedly pursued and supported to the end almost religiously that national phenomenon of gender equality advocacy. To this Enaha has had the unequivocal backing of her equally ingenious husband, Dr. Eric Kwa
Enaha was on her way to becoming the popular discerning national voice of consciousness in connection with the issues that affected women in this country. Speeches read out to honour the late Enaha's varied contributions; many have expressed that electrifying force, the inner radiance of energy manifested in the instinctive qualities of sincerity, devotion and glamour to duty brought on to the discourses on women and development in PNG in recent times. This was the Enaha hallmark; which legacy must now be upheld, emulated and entrenched in the greater national movement.
Even in keeping her own family back yard in the gender equality movement's chain had to be cleverly woven. Enaha's reluctant brother Douveri was made to comply; compelling performance of kitchen bound household duties. Message? Men and boys must do the chores too! Even in her family circles, in private moments and in the company of fellow citizens and international colleagues, Enaha talked little else but equality for women of this country- sincere in thoughts and in actions.
Enaha truly was godsend. Her loss is painfully felt widely. Indeed, in her short professional career, Enaha created both the needful intellectual and social space for enhancement of quality debates and propagation of the national plan of action for equal and fair representation in decision making bodies and organizations.
There were other equally important issues like the family and sexual violence that were being addressed by the National Council of Women, the Papua Hahine or even the Lutheran Church congregations. The late Enaha was acknowledged the rising star and iconic goddess of the contemporary women's movement and accompanying issues in PNG.
She articulated and brought a huge sense of enlightened debates and actions onto the national scene. The late Enaha got on well with everyone she came to know, as she cherished and sought counsel, while providing the most needed in-depth intellectual nursery for discourse, through well thought out arguments, in the context of the multiplicity of our cultural backdrop. The late Enaha was able to stitch the many discourses from all angles, ensuring that the whole of gender approach was cleverly situated even among the most ardent gurus of gender equity programmers at all levels of the society.
Farewell and Bamahuta, for you were the beginning of the gentle national heroic voice for the oppressed!
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