Q&A: Meet Clara, a young woman leader in the highlands of PNG
In 2025, Clara stood in her local elections in Jiwaka Province, Papua New Guinea. Despite losing by just two votes, she considers it a victory because she showed that women are ready to lead. Here she speaks to IWDA about her leadership journey and what comes next.
Why did you decide to run as a candidate in local elections?
“I decided to run for the elections because I was a pioneer graduate of the Young Women’s Leadership Program (run by IWDA partner Voice for Change). I saw that in our community, women were undermined. So because I was trained and empowered, I decided that I must be the role model.
I wanted to prove to the society that we women, we can do whatever men can do – like contest for elections. We can have the chance to become leaders in the community.”
What did you learn in the Young Women Leaders Program?
“Before the program, as a young woman, I faced a lot of challenges. Space was not given for decision-making. There was no opportunity for leadership roles, and the basic services were not reaching women.
I was a quiet person, I didn’t talk too much. Now I can speak in public. My leadership journey is a nine-year journey. Changes don’t happen overnight, especially for young women with husbands and children… it takes time and it took me nine years.
We went through a lot of training like leadership training, respectful relationships training and education on sexual health and reproductive rights, gender-based violence, gender equality and livelihood training.
So after all of this training, I saw that my leadership became very visible. Before in the community there was no space given to me, but today when there is a big event in the community they say “Clara, do you have anything to say?”
How did you develop your leadership skills in the community?
Importantly, Voice for Change didn’t train us and leave us. They also provided the platforms and opportunities where we have to plan and implement community awareness raising. They give that opportunity to young women leaders, so we go back to our communities and we implement campaigns like 16 Days of Activism. So that’s where the community sees our leadership and it also helps us build our confidence.
Voice for Change also gave us the opportunities to attend forums at a regional level, so we have a cross-exchange and exposure and we learn from others. Then when we go back to our community, it strengthens our leadership.”
How did your family respond to your decision to run in the election?
“One of the most important things I learnt is that leadership is not only me, it is about the support network from my family. So whatever training and skills and knowledge I gain, my husband has to understand as well. So my leadership started in the family and then came out into the community. That’s why I was very happy that the secondary targets of the Young Women’s Leadership Program is about targeting the spouses, community leaders and our family members.
When I broke the news to my family, they were really happy because I had worked with the community and my leadership had become visible already. So they have trust in me what when I become the leader or the ward councilor, I can do it.”
What is your message to other young women who are considering running in elections?
“We can do it. We know it’s challenging and it’s hard, but when I raised my hand, I experienced that women can do it when we have a good support network. So my message to the other young women is to build a support network first within the family.”
What is your next goal?
“So I just lost by two votes, but I’m not worried. The point is that I raised my hand. I’m now a young leader in my community so I have achieved my goal and I’m very happy. The next election, I will contest again.”
When women lead, equality follows.
When women lead, equality follows.
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