The Wellington Punjabi Women Association Inc is working to bridge the cultural gap between the New Zealand police and the Punjabi community around domestic violence cases in the region.
Navneet Kaur Braich, association chairperson, says the lack of authorisation to deal with domestic abuse cases means the association refers victims to the New Zealand Sikh Women’s Association in Auckland, which then forwards the information to the appropriate authority in Wellington.
“But we are working on obtaining the authority to take victims who approach us directly to the police ourselves,” Braich says.
She says the association is working in collaboration with the New Zealand Police Family Safety System (FSS), which is part of the Whangaia Nga Pa Harakeke (WNPH), a police sponsored initiative where police and local iwi “work in partnership to reduce family harm,” as per the official website.
Currently, there is no association that victims of domestic violence within her community can turn to in Wellington, Braich points out.
Though Braich has no access to official figures, she says a lot of cases come to the notice of the association.
Braich claims the NZ police “don’t understand other cultures very well.”
The police are easily misled by members of the community and often don’t get the full story.
“You need people who are familiar with both Punjabi and Kiwi cultures to serve as a via media between the police and the community,” Braich points out.
This is the gap that the association aims to fill.
When Karminder Kaur, Sarab Gurmeet Kaur, Harpuneet Kaur Batth, Jasdeep Kaur and Braich got together in 2015 to start the association, it symbolised a bold move by a clutch of Punjabi migrant women to break free from the shackles of what they saw as “antiquated patriarchal belief systems.”
The first event held by the association was a “ladies’ night”, when women from the community got together to celebrate their newfound liberty and opportunity for free expression.
The association’s activities are a mix of recreation and empowerment, with sports and cultural events staged alongside seminars to raise awareness of migrant women’s rights.
Braich is especially peeved by “narrow-minded men who do not let their wives work or socialise,” and vigorously supports women from the community to launch businesses of their own.
The Upper Hutt Women Expo 2022, the first project of its kind launched by the association recently, had 40 stalls displaying the wares of women-run businesses.
Punjabi week will be celebrated in November in primary and secondary schools across New Zealand from this year on, thanks to an initiative floated by the association that found favour with school managements.
The five free spirits who got together in Wellington seven years ago are soaring to new heights of emancipation.