Sistas, Let's Talk

Descendants of Australia's South Sea Islander community are reclaiming their identity, learning the stories of their ancestors and re-connecting with extended family via social media.

Work programs like the Pacific Australia Labour Mobility Scheme promise opportunities that can be really appealing.

Pioneer fautasi skipper Vaimasenu'u Zita Sefo-Martel became the first female long-boat skipper in the traditional men's sport of fautasi racing

With gender-based violence an inherent problem within many families and communities across the Pacific, how do we teach men to respect girls and women?

Over the past 20 years, an influx of guns and a general breakdown in traditional rules has seen tribal violence in Papua New Guinea escalate.    

Beauty pageant are a big deal in the Pacific region, and many consider them to be a celebration of culture and identity. But allegations of racism against Melanesian contestants have plagued the competitions. Hilda Wayne talks to former winners of Pacific beauty pageants to find out what the world of Pacific beauty pageants is really like.

In the Pacific, talking about sex is a big taboo topic – but clear and open discussions can benefit everyone. 

We live in a world that is increasingly dominated by a western way of life, so it is important to nurture language, culture and beliefs. 

Agriculture is one of the main economic pillars for Pacific countries, and too often women do the hard labour with little or no financial say. Not anymore.   

The best chance of survival from breast cancer is with early diagnosis, so you can receive life-saving treatment, but this doesn't happen for many Pacific women. 

The world is changing at a rapid pace and the younger you are, the easier it is to keep up with those changes. But when you are a young woman in the modern world, how do you protect your Pacific roots?

A woman is beaten every 30 seconds in Papua New Guinea, and more than 1.5 million people experience gender-based violence in the country each year.

Financial literacy is something many of us grapple with, but meet the Pacific women meeting this head on and changing their lives  

In order to get locals to appreciate the need for conservation, Yolarnie Amepou had to learn their language and appreciate and respect the diversity of the region.  

Type 2 diabetes is one of the biggest health issues facing people in the Pacific, and the World Health Organisation suggests women may be the key to stopping it. But does this place yet another burden on them?

Bringing a baby into the world is meant to be a joyous occasion but imagine going through this during a natural disaster. With the impacts of climate change, more pregnant women and newborns will be affected.

Hilda Wayne talks to Pacific Island women who are the eldest sister in their family about the challenges and rewards of this unique role.

Not too long ago, a clip from an Australian podcast went on viral on TikTok when a prominent personality used his platform to make fun of Pacific women. The fallout was swift. Women from around the globe have started calling out a growing number of Pacific men who go on social media to denigrate Pacific women. This week, Hilda Wayne finds out why there are some men who are happy to punch down on w...

Storytelling is woven deep into the Pacific cultural fabric, passed down from one generation to another for thousands of years. But it's facing a very modern threat.

The Bull sisters shot to fame when they joined Australian music group The Black Sorrows, but their musical interest began in the Tongan church. 

Putting pen to paper to create a manuscript can be easy, but the process of turning that into a published book can be the complete opposite.  

The Black Sistaz were born without a state when their parents fled West Papua for the Netherlands, and now they use music to speak out against Indonesian rule 

While HIV is easily treated and no longer a death sentence, Fiji is seeing a rapid rise in infections 

Hilda Wayne talks to Pacific Island women about what it is really like to live with disability

When the only social security available is the extended family, women can be left financially vulnerable with the death or divorce of their husband.