The participation of Australian aboriginal women in a changing political environment

Wherever Europeans colonized they took with them the same assumptions that males in any society were always the political power-brokers and decision-makers. They failed to see that in many cultures, such as those of Aboriginal Australians, women held significant political as well as social and economic power. Whilst there is enormous diversity in Aboriginal culture across Australia, some generalizations can be made both about the traditional scene and the contemporary one.

In pre-European times Aboriginal women played very important economic roles in their societies. Unlike European women they did not have to depend upon their men folk to feed either themselves or their children. Indeed in some areas the men were often absent for long periods of time on ceremonial business. The women also had important roles to play in the religious and political spheres, these two being closely interdependent. In many cases knowledge and the resulting power was gender-specific. Thus there were men's sites and there were women's sites, and the traditional owners, whether they be female or male, had sole decision-making powers over those areas.

Today the variation in the position of women in the Aboriginal society is enormous. In some southern communities where little traditional knowledge remains, women often hold important leadership positions—albeit quite different from those of the northern women in the more traditional areas.

At the macro-scale of Australian politics, Aboriginal women have been largely ignored. Their past has been misinterpreted and their present power down-played. When Aboriginal representatives are sought by government authorities it is the men who are perceived as the leaders. This runs counter to the position at the micro-level where both women and men hold political power, the determination being the place or the situation rather than the gender.